While mainstream news rooms do not comprehensively address the scope of today’s storytelling  and storytellers, these publications remain important and owe readerships a duty of quality representation.

The American Society of News Editors reported last fall that  journalists of color composed about 17 percent of domestic news rooms. In online media, about one quarter of journalists are people of color. These gaps in who tells whose stories make minority journalism organizations even more vital. Recognizing this, on Tuesday a Black journalism mainstay announced a new opportunity for up-and-comers with melanin. 

The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is partnering with Facebook for the Facebook Journalism Project Scholarship. “It’s an exciting time to enter the field of journalism,” NABJ President Glover said. “NABJ is pleased to join Facebook to support and train the next generation of journalists. We are grateful that our students will be able to tap into this worthy program.” 

NABJ will receive $250,000 in scholarship grant funding to disperse to promising student journalists during the next five years. Prospective applicants must be enrolled juniors, seniors or graduate students at an accredited university in the United States, and in pursuit of a digital media, journalism or communications degree. The NABJ and Facebook scholarship program will include $10,000 and funding for equipment and begins during the 2018-2019 school year. Check out the website here for more information.