Marquette.edu // O'Brien Fellowship In Public Service Journalism //

Application

Applications For The 2025-26 Cohort Are Now Closed.

Tips for a successful application:

Applications should include a personal statement, brief biography, references, work samples, resume, and project proposal. Before submitting an application, applicants may discuss their projects with O’Brien Director Jeffery Gerritt (obrienfellows@marquette.edu).

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Project proposals should address these questions and point

In a tight paragraph, your proposal should outline the project and your familiarity with the topic.
What is the key question you are trying to answer?
Based on your preliminary reporting, what makes this story timely and important?
How would your project break new ground? If other outlets have covered this topic, how would your work advance the story?
How would you ensure your reporting examines the impacts of race, gender, class, or sexual identity? How have you, in your previous work, covered issues of race and equity? How will you encourage the students you mentor during the fellowship to examine these issues in their own reporting?
The O’Brien Fellowship is committed to incorporating student journalists into its projects as researchers, data analysts, reporters, writers, or multimedia specialists. What roles might students play in your project? Which of your personal or professional experiences would make you a strong mentor and teacher?
How would your work be available to the public? In what format(s)?
How would you gather information for the story? Is the story data or document driven? If so, what are the documents and how will you get them? Is it a source-driven story? If so, who are the sources? Are they cooperative? Hostile? What would you do to ensure "real people," or stakeholders, drive the narrative?
What are possible obstacles to completing the reporting? How do you plan to navigate them?
At minimum, what would your project produce? What is the greatest potential upside?
Estimate how long you would need to complete the project.
How would you ensure your project identifies not only problems, but also solutions?

Introduction

O’Brien Fellows complete, during nine-month Fellowships over two academic semesters, in-depth reporting projects of their choosing on a topic of state, regional, national, or international interest. See the Our Work section of our website for examples of previous O'Brien projects.

Since the O'Brien Fellowship began in 2013, most Fellows have worked from a home base in the O’Brien newsroom in the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. O'Brien accepts remote, non-residential applications, but gives extra weight in the selection process to applicants ready to reside in Milwaukee during the Fellowship. (O'Brien provides residency/rental and moving allowances for residential Fellows who come from outside the Milwaukee area.) We strongly encourage those applying for O'Brien Fellowships to choose the residential option, owing to the advantages it provides to Fellows and the top Marquette journalism students they mentor while pursuing investigative projects.

SEE OUR CODE OF CONDUCT >>

Eligibility

We seek applications from staff-employed or independent journalists residing in the United States or its territories. Applicants should have at least five years of professional journalism experience as an employee or freelancer. Investigative reporting experience is preferred. Applicants may be connected to print operations, radio, television, websites, podcasts, online publications, wire services, or magazines of general public interest. There are no academic prerequisites.

Stipend and Benefits

A stipend of $75,000 for nine months, paid to your sponsoring organization or directly to the Fellow in the case of independent journalists.

A residency allowance based on family requirements for Fellows moving to the Milwaukee metropolitan area for the duration of the fellowship: up to $7,000 for a single, married, or partnered Fellow, up to $9,000 for a Fellow with one child, up to $10,000 for a Fellow with two children, up to $12,000 for a Fellow with three or more children. Fellows submit rent receipts from the rental property owner. The allowance is paid in equal monthly installments over the course of the Fellowship.
A moving allowance of up to $7,000. (Fellows from the Milwaukee metropolitan area are not eligible for a moving allowance.)
A travel and research allowance up to $9,000. This covers project-related travel as well as technology, data, and document costs and equipment needs.
Employee benefits continue to be paid by the Fellow’s employer, where applicable. Independent journalists can choose to select Marquette employee health insurance.

Selection and Criteria

Potential to produce a rigorous, multimedia public service journalism project triggering major impact, significant reform, and creative solutions to social problems.
Ability to complete the project during the nine-month Fellowship.
Capacity to integrate Marquette students as part of a reporting team.
Plan to ensure the greatest possible exposure for the project once completed.
A Selection Committee consisting of distinguished journalists and Marquette faculty and alumni will interview candidates from a pool of finalists. Following those interviews, the Selection Committee will send a list of recommended Fellows to the Dean of the Diederich College of Communication for final review.

How to Complete The Application

Method 1 (Preferred)

We provide space in our official online application form for you to link to your supporting files from a file sharing service such as Dropbox or Google Drive, or from your personal or company’s website. This allows us to view your materials online. This is our preference.

Method 2

If you are unable to send us a link to your materials, you may email them to us at obrienfellows@marquette.edu with the subject "O’Brien Application Materials: Your Name."

Method 3

As a last resort, we will accept physical copies of materials at the mailing address below. These materials won't be returned to you. Please call us before sending them.

Questions?

Contact obrienfellows@marquette.edu

FAQS

Current Selection Committee

John Barron | Former Editor/General Manager, Tribune Content Agency

John Barron is the former Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Chicago Sun-Times. In his 40 years in journalism, Barron also served in leadership roles with Tribune Publishing and Crain Communications. He is a past president of the Illinois Press Assn. Barron holds a Journalism degree from Marquette University, which honored him as a Distinguished Alumnus with the “Byline Award” in 2005. He is now Executive Development Director for Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

Daphne Chen | Investigative Editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Daphne Chen is the investigative editor at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She was previously an investigative and data reporter and was part of a team whose coverage of racial disparities in electrical fires in Milwaukee was nominated for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. She is a graduate of Columbia University.

Marty Kaiser | Journalism Media Consultant, Martin Kaiser LLC

Marty Kaiser led the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to three Pulitzer Prizes while editor from 1997 to 2015. Before coming to Milwaukee, he worked as an editor and reporter at newspapers in Florida, Chicago and Baltimore. He is now a journalism consultant and managing director of the University of Maryland's Capital News Service.

Greg Borowski | Deputy Editor of Projects and Investigations, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Greg Borowski is executive editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, his hometown newspaper. A Marquette University graduate, Greg worked as a reporter in Marion, Ind., and Lansing, Mich., before joining the Journal Sentinel staff in 1998 to cover City Hall. As editor of the newsroom's watchdog team, he oversaw projects that won virtually every major national award, including the Pulitzer Prize. He oversaw the news operations for the Journal Sentinel and 10 other USA TODAY Co. newsrooms in Wisconsin before becoming executive editor of the Journal Sentinel in March of 2023. He is the author of three books, including a nonfiction account of a groundbreaking high school football team.

A. Jay Wagner | Professor of Journalism and Media Studies, Diederich College of Communication

Dr. A. Jay Wagner is an associate professor of journalism and media studies at Marquette University’s Diederich College of Communication. A former Chicago newspaper reporter, his research centers on media law, government transparency, and freedom of information. He teaches courses in media law, investigative reporting, and First Amendment studies, bringing professional newsroom experience into the classroom.

Juan Carlos Ampie | Director of Student Media, Diederich College of Communication

Juan Carlos Ampié is the Director of Student Media at the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University. He has over 25 years of experience working in journalism and news production in his native Nicaragua and the US.

Ruby L. Bailey | Editor in Chief, Illinois Answers Project

Ruby L. Bailey, currently Editor in Chief at the Illinois Answers Project, has more than three decades of journalism experience, including leadership roles at USA Today, The Indianapolis Star, the Detroit Free Press, and The Sacramento Bee. Before joining the editor ranks, Ms. Bailey was an award-winning business and enterprise reporter. A Detroit native, she served as a Washington Bureau correspondent for the Detroit Free Press for seven years and was an embed with the U.S. Navy during Operation Iraqi Freedom. She earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Wayne State University in Detroit and a master's degree in theology from Biola University.