Alaska Press Club offers a mentorship opportunity for journalism students each year. Participants will have the opportunity to pitch, report and produce a story that reflects on the theme “Journalism in Alaska.” An experienced, working Alaskan journalist in the field of the fellow’s choice provides support, ideas and a valuable critique. It’s a great way to network with professionals, get feedback and see your work published.

If you are a journalism professional who would like to mentor a student, contact rosey@alaskateenmedia.org.

Alaska Press Club Journalism Fellows 2013

Unwritten: Changes in rural reporting in the last few decades

Student: Elika Roohi, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Mentor: Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News
Reporters Rhonda McBride and Alex DeMarban talk about transitions in how we report and consume news about Bush communities.

Reporting the Exxon Valdez Spill

Student: Anne Bartholomew, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Mentor: Annie Feidt, Alaska Public Radio Network
Reporters Steve Heimel and Mike Doogan talk coverage of the March 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The reporters discuss what it was like to cover the spill, how citizens helped report the facts and whether they think Alaska’s reporters today have the resources to cover stories like they did in 1989.

Portraits of Alaska’s Changing Media Landscape

Student: Tim Brown, University of Alaska Anchorage
Mentor: Loren Holmes, Alaska Dispatch

Today the communications industry is searching for a new model of profitability that can best serve Alaskans and remain authoritative and independent. Professional communicators and ordinary Alaskans are shaping the conversation about the changing media landscape of the Last Frontier.

Alaska Press Club Journalism Fellow 2012

UAF Science “Geeks” Make Science Interesting

Student: Kelsey Gobroski, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Mentor: Lori Townsend, APRN

It can be difficult for scientists to show other people why they love what they love, because it’s hard to translate science. But when they find the connection to everyday life, scientists and writers can keep people engaged in the world around them. Two science geeks at the University of Alaska Fairbanks use anecdotes to keep their audiences hooked.

Alaska Press Club Journalism Fellows 2011

Slideshow: Anchorage Times Archives

Student: Kosette Isakson, Dimond High School and Alaska Teen Media Institute
Mentor: Marc Lester, Anchorage Daily News

Photo by Kosette Isakson

Kosette Isakson photographed the Anchorage Times archives, which are currently located at the Anchorage Daily News building. She discovers how newspapers archived information in house before the Internet.

‘Deadliest Catch’ and Dutch Harbor: How Alaska Has Made Journalism History

Student: Lauren Heyano, Polaris K-12 School
Mentor: Katie Spielberger, Capital City Weekly

Is reality television journalism? Lauren Heyano explores this question with her reporting on “Deadliest Catch,” and an interview with Tim Mahoney, a Harbor Officer with the City of Unalaska.

Nellie Moore

Student: Aviva Hirsch, West Anchorage High School and Alaska Teen Media Institute
Mentor: Lori Townsend, APRN

Aviva Hirsch profiles Nellie Moore, one of the first Alaska Native women to join the journalism profession in Alaska.