Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships

The Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships (AFPF) administers a fellowship program that brings mid-career reporters and editors from developing countries to the United States, where they spend five months in American newsrooms for an in-depth, practical introduction to the professional and ethical standards of the U.S. print media.

In the conviction that a strong, free press is essential to the healthy functioning of a democracy, the late Alfred Friendly, a Pulitzer-Prize-winning reporter and former managing editor of The Washington Post, conceived the program that would both impart American journalistic traditions and respond to worldwide interest in the dissemination of fair and accurate news. Of the many training programs available to journalists, the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships is the only one to offer a non-academic, long-term, hands-on experience in a single newsroom. It was Alfred Friendly's belief that working side by side with reporters and editors is the best way to absorb the practical realities of journalism in this country and the instrumental role it plays in our society.

Alfred Friendly set the following three primary objectives for the fellowship program:

Enable Fellows to gain a practical understanding of the function and significance of the free press in American society.

Provide Fellows with experience in reporting, writing, and editing that will enhance future professional performance.

Foster continuing ties between free press institutions and journalists in the United States and their counterparts in other countries.