Freedom Forum Center Thirteen media professionals and scholars have been named to residential fellowships at The Freedom Forum Media Studies Center at Columbia. The fellowships, among the most competitive in the world, support studies of media and communications issues that have yielded best-selling books, an electronic newspaper, software and databases, media feedback systems and television programs. Approximately 12-14 spots are awarded each year. Among this year's projects are studies investigating media coverage of race, civil rights, welfare and crime, and several examinations of the media marketplace and its effects on content and information. Other projects include two comparative analyses of U.S. and Canadian media, a study of China's evolving media system, a history of culture and communication and a look at the media trial of O.J. Simpson.
Fellows receive a stipend, housing allowance, office, research assistance and other resources.
In operation since 1985, the fellowship program has attracted 146 individuals to date, including many of the world's leading journalists, broadcast executives and scholars. Their work has resulted in more than 90 books, hundreds of articles and monographs, as well as a training center for international journalists. The Center received approximately 2,000 inquiries about fellowships this year, conducted some 500 formal interviews and considered more than 110 semi-finalists. Fellows are named by a selection committee headed by Columbia President Emeritus Michael Sovern, chairman of the Center's National Advisory Committee.