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Fellowship in Media, Communications and Information Policy

Rockwood’s Fellowship in Media, Communications and Information Policy is a multi-session leadership program for media activists, policy advocates, media makers and scholars committed to ensuring an open and democratic media environment. Launched in 2006 with support from the Ford Foundation, 2010 marks the fourth active year of the program. Please visit this link to see a list of 80 Media Fellow alumni from the past three cycles of the program  

The goal of the Fellowship is to develop strong leadership in and collaboration among key leaders working in the media reform policy sector. The strategy is to convene and train emerging and senior representatives from national and state advocacy organizations, academic and nonprofit research institutions, “alternative” media content producers and media justice organizations to create partnerships within and across these approaches to policy reform.

With additional support from the Ford Foundation, the 2010-2011 program will provide fifteen new emerging national leaders working to advance media access and openness with Rockwood leadership and collaboration trainings. The program will then convene these leaders with an additional fifteen key 2006-2009 Media Fellows alumni to deepen partnerships and collaboration in the field.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Key Skills

Over the course of seven months, the 2010-2011 Fellowship is designed to teach powerful visioning, listening, speaking, presentation, coaching, team-building and feedback skills to emerging media reform leaders.

Key skills developed through the Fellowship are:

  • Deal more effectively with leadership challenges
  • Manage relationships to increase personal and organizational effectiveness
  • Sharpen and sustain compelling visions for your work
  • Inspire and align others to work effectively towards common goals
  • Increase sustainability and engage with tools to prevent burnout
  • Build partnerships inside and outside your organization

Program Offerings

Between October 2010 and April 2011, each Fellow participates in two different residential retreats, peer coaching pairs and leadership practice assignments.

Art of Leadership

The first residential retreat Fellows attend is a 4-5 day Art of Leadership training, one of Rockwood's signature programs.

Between October 2010 and January 2011, Fellows will select one Art of Leadership training to attend in small groups of two to six Fellows. This means that the fifteen Media Fellows will attend their first training in small separate groups, not all together as one complete cohort. By selecting from Rockwood’s currently-scheduled Art of Leadership offerings, Fellows will be in training with up to 24 other participants who have enrolled separately from the Fellowship. This approach gives Media Fellows an opportunity to build connections and share learning with a broader, multi-sector community of nonprofit leaders. (Fellows will have an opportunity to come together as one complete cohort group in the second Advanced Training and Dialogue Retreat as described below.)

Art of Leadership training dates and locations available to 2010-2011 Media Fellows include:

  • October 10-13, 2010 (Edith Macy Conference Center, Briarcliff Manor, New York)
  • November 1-5, 2010 (Westerbeke Ranch, Sonoma, California, for Women Leaders engaged in Racial Justice & Human Rights)
  • December 6-9, 2010 (Westerbeke Ranch, Sonoma, California)
  • January 24-27, 2011 (Westerbeke Ranch, Sonoma, California)

Peer Coaching
Coaching is both an important leadership skill and resource for social change leaders. Following the Art of Leadership, Fellows form peer coaching partners to provide support to each other in managing leadership challenges back in their organizations and reinforce tools from the training.

Leadership Practices
To reinforce the tools of the training, Rockwood has designed leadership practice "homework" assignments for Fellows. Assignments involve "practicing" with the tools from the trainings. As an example, the Art of Leadership offers some strategies to engage with difficult conversations. One Leadership Practice assignment invites Fellows to identify an actual conversation that they can use the training tools for and then implement the tools. Leadership Practices will be supported by group conference calls where Fellows can share stories and “meet” other Fellows in the program over the phone.

Advanced Training and Dialogue Retreat
The second component of the Media Fellowship is an Advanced Training and Dialogue Retreat: a 3-day residential training retreat to be held April 11-13, 2011 at Edith Macy Conference Center in Briarcliff Manor, New York. In order to deepen partnerships and collaboration in the field, this Advanced training will be convene all fifteen new 2010-2011 Fellows as a complete cohort, along with fifteen additional participants who will be alumni selected from past year’s Media cohorts. In addition to furthering the practice of leadership development, the Advanced training will reserve time and space for Fellows and alumni to collaborate through essential conversations specific to the media reform sector.

The Trainers
Our programs are led by nationally and internationally-recognized thinkers, educators, and activists who are experienced in sharing the most in depth, leading insights on leadership development, collaboration and capacity building.

The Art of Leadership trainings available to 2010-2011 Media Fellows will be led by two of Rockwood’s trainers, depending on the course selected.

The April 2011 Advanced Training and Dialogue Retreat will be led by:

José Acevedo

José is an expert in the development of leadership skills and the creation of high-performing organizations who has spent the last 25 years working with a broad range of organizations to help them function innovatively in pursuit of specific mission-critical results.

Helen S. Kim

Helen is an organizational development consultant, facilitator and executive coach with 18 years of experience working with social change organizations and leaders in the U.S. and internationally.

FELLOWSHIP PARTICIPANT CRITERIA

Rockwood’s optimal criteria for enrollment in the 2010-2011 Fellowship include a cohort of leaders who:

  1. Are engaged in work focusing on media reform, specifically around issues related to advancing media rights, and access and openness*
  2. Are emerging leaders in the field, having been engaged in the work for at least 3-5 years*
  3. Demonstrate personal/professional readiness for new leadership skills
  4. Have experience with cross-strategy collaboration and desire to strengthen such work
  5. Reflect the racial and gender diversity of our communities

*With a particular focus on candidates who are working to advance media access and openness, as well as emerging leaders in the field, the 2010-2011 Fellowship has slightly different criteria than past years.

COSTS

With generous support from the Ford Foundation, Rockwood will cover all on-site training program fees as well as room and board costs for Fellows. The program has an estimated value of $7,000 per participant.

We ask that Media Fellows fully pay for their own travel costs to and from each residential training retreat for their participation in the program. This means that all costs associated with travel to the Art of Leadership as well as the Advanced Training, including airfare, ground transportation, meals or lodging needed must be covered by the individual Fellow participant.

As needed, the Fellowship offers up to $100 in limited airfare and/or ground transportation travel reimbursement per Fellow. We ask that applicants note the location of the available Art of Leadership trainings (New York and California) as well as the location of the Advanced training (New York) when considering budgeting and travel costs for participation in this program.

HOW TO APPLY

The nomination phase for the 2010-2011 Fellowship in Media, Communications and Information Policy is now closed. Qualified applicants have been invited to apply. The application deadline is Friday, July 30, 2010 at 5pm (Pacific). Fellows will be announced by mid-September 2010.

However, if you wish to nominate yourself or someone else who fits the above criteria, please contact Rockwood staff listed below. While the nomination phase is closed, we will accept applications on a case by case basis from new nominees as long as the application is submitted by July 30, 2010.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information on the Fellowship in Media, Communications and Information Policy or, or if you have any feedback, please contact:

Sharon Price, Fellowship Manager
ROCKWOOD LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
[T] + 1 510 524 4000 x 106
[E] sharon@rockwoodleadership.org
www.rockwoodleadership.org

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