PETERBOROUGH, N.H. – June 18, 2015 – The he MacDowell Colony, the nation’s first artist residency program, will award the John S. Carroll Fellowship in journalism annually over the next three years. Part of MacDowell’s Art of Journalism Initiative, the fellowship honors the late veteran editor of The Baltimore Sun and the Los Angeles Times by supporting residencies for journalists engaged in long-form work. Long a champion of adventurous and compelling non-fiction, the Colony launched the initiative to double its support for journalists as resources for longer projects has diminished in the era of fast news and free content.
The Carroll Fellowship was established by one of his friends to celebrate Carroll’s legacy as a champion of outstanding journalism shortly before he died on June 14. As a reporter at The Baltimore Sun, Carroll covered the Vietnam War, the Middle East, and the Nixon White House. While he was an editor at The Herald-Leader in Lexington, KY, a series of articles that exposed N.C.A.A. rules violations at the University of Kentucky won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. Later, he edited at The Philadelphia Inquirer for eight years and led coverage on several Pulitzer-winning stories.
During his tenure at the Los Angeles Times, the newspaper won 13 Pulitzer Prizes. From 1994 to 2003, Carroll was a member of the Pulitzer Prize board, serving as chairman in 2002. In 1998, he was named Editor of the Year by the National Press Foundation. His other distinctions include election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Burton Benjamin Award for lifetime achievement in defense of press freedom, the American Society of Newspaper Editors Leadership Award, and the Richard Clurman Award as a mentor of young journalists.
Since 1907, The MacDowell Colony has been a leader in bringing together artists of all disciplines and nurturing work that has defined the cultural life of the U.S. and the world. MacDowell has supported literary non-fiction and essayists since its earliest days, and continues with each generation of writers such as James Baldwin, Max Frankel, and Frances Fitzgerald, and today with the acclaimed work of Sheri Fink, Michael Paterniti, and William Finnegan. Located in Peterborough, NH, MacDowell provides private studios, all meals, and living accommodations as well as valuable multidisciplinary exchanges.
With the Art of Journalism Initiative, MacDowell is working with news organizations, publishers, journalism schools, and others in the journalism community to promote residencies as a resource for journalists working on long-form projects with the power to change society. Accepted journalists receive fellowships covering all residency costs and are eligible for small project grants from a fund endowed by the Calderwood Charitable Foundation. The initiative has a goal of investing $4.5 million in endowed fellowships, with $2.1 million raised so far.
Journalists accepted for MacDowell residencies over the next three years will be eligible. There are three application deadlines each year with the next falling on September 15th for Winter-Spring residencies. To apply, go to www.macdowellcolony.org/apply.
