JAWS offers Alice Stipends to support local news journalists

2020 JAWS conference, The Future of Journalism: Forging the Path Together, Dec. 4-6

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In response to the pandemic and its impact on local news coverage (more than 1 in 5 local newspapers have closed), the Legacy Fund of the Journalism and Women Symposium will provide stipends for women journalists in small markets and/or whose work focuses on underserved communities. Stipends for successful applicants will cover registration cost for the professional organization’s annual conference


Each Alice Stipend grants attendance at all sessions of the 2020 JAWS virtual conference, The Future of Journalism: Forging the Path Together, Dec. 4-6.

The Alice is named in honor of Alice Allison Dunnigan (1906-1983), the first African American woman credentialed to cover the White House. She started her journalism career at age 13 writing one-sentence news items for the local Owensboro (Ky.) Enterprise. In 1946 she worked for the Associated Negro Press, the first black-owned wire service, supplying more than 100 newspapers nationwide. She covered three U.S. presidents. “Race and sex were twin strikes against me,” Dunnigan once said.

"Alone atop the Hill," the 2015 edition her autobiography edited by Carol McCabe Booker, recounts Dunnigan’s remarkable journey.

Conference sessions offered for those involved in the challenges of covering local news will include a panel on women who are leading local news outlets as well as a breakout room for Alice recipients.  For more information on JAWS and the program, visit our website.

Stipends covering the $120 registration fee are available to non-JAWS members who are involved in local journalism in small markets. To apply, fill out an application by Nov. 20.

Journalism and Women Symposium is celebrating 35 years of supporting the professional empowerment and personal growth of women in journalism and working toward a more accurate portrayal of the whole society. The JAWS Legacy Fund focuses on timely special projects to extend the organization’s outreach.