Program Goal: To provide individuals working in public media with the mentorship, support and network to cultivate careers in public radio.

Program Description:

AIR’s New Voices Public Radio Fellowship is designed to foster the growth and development of public radio professionals. We empower individuals with mid-level experience as reporters, hosts, producers, and editors in public media newsrooms or podcasting.

Up to sixteen individuals will be selected to join a public media-specific cohort, fostering collaboration and long-term professional relationships within the public media industry.

Fellows will receive mentorship and guidance from public radio professionals, ensuring participants receive personalized insights and strategic career advice. 

During the eight-week fellowship, participants will attend weekly webinars and discussions with special guests from public radio stations. While the program is open to anyone who works in or wants to work in public media – the weekly discussions and sessions will be targeted to reporters, hosts, producers, and editors. Webinars will be focused on different topics related to working at or within the public radio ecosystem. 

For the 2025 New Voices Public Radio cohort, fellows will be expected to complete a capstone project: a well-formed story pitch. Throughout their eight weeks, they’ll have the opportunity to workshop story ideas and polish pitches with each other before they pitch to a panel of decision makers at NPR and member stations at the end.

You will be guided by New Voices Public Radio Captain Thomas Lu (NV ‘20) and AIR’s New Voices Program Manager Lynn Casper. Upon completing the program, you will become part of the New Voices alumni network. 

Program Objectives:

• Offer mentorship and guidance from experienced public radio professionals.
• Build a support network of contacts within the public media industry.
• Increase diversity and representation within public radio newsrooms.
• Provide webinar programming and discussion groups on topics related to working in public radio newsrooms and the challenges faced. 

Who should apply?

• You currently work in public media or have previously worked in public media.
• You are mid-career and feel stuck or could use some mentorship and training to work towards your career goals.
• You have experience working in media and have produced, edited or pitched stories before -- but could still benefit from a group pitching workshop.
• You come from a historically marginalized and/or underrepresented community and lack access to opportunities and resources.

The Cohort’s Responsibilities and Expectations:

• Willingness and commitment to participate in all required programming, mentorship, and feedback report.
• Submit a final project for review and potentially participate in a pitch party.
• You must be 18 or older to apply.
• You do not need to be a U.S. citizen to apply but you must be based in the U.S. and have a U.S. Bank account to receive the stipend. The program leans towards navigating public radio in the U.S., which is why we state this upfront as we are a U.S. based organization.         
• New Voices is as much about you and the community you’ll build within your cohort. It’s important to be open and willing to put yourself out there in a group setting and have the time to meet with other cohort members 1 on 1.      

Program Duration: 8 weeks 

Attendance and participation in all programming is required. The program will meet twice weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-8pm ET starting on September 2nd and ending on October 23rd, 2025. Please ensure that you are available for all dates indicated. Failure to attend will result in removal of the program and loss of stipend.      

If chosen: 

Sixteen selected participants will receive mentorship, professional development support, online workshops with leaders in the industry and a $1,000 stipend. Each participant will be thoughtfully matched with a mentor they will meet with each month during the program. A curated series of compelling speakers will present on various topic, providing you with a toolkit of versatile skills to adapt to a changing media landscape, while reimagining more collaborative career paths. 

• AIR will award a $1,000 stipend to each fellow for your full participation.
• You will be asked to publicly identify yourself as “AIR New Voices” in your bios and bylines.
• You will need to complete a short survey after each lecture/presentation.
• You will complete an evaluation about your experience in the program, progress on the goals you initially set at the beginning of the program, your experience with your mentor and your vision for the future of audio, the ways in which you can help shape the industry. We'll also be very interested to hear about the connections you will make.

The deadline for applications is Sunday July 6, 2025 at 8:59PM PT / 11:59PM ET. 

Remember to save your progress if you wish to pause your application and return to it later.

An online information session was held on Wednesday, June 18 at 9AM PT / 12PM ET. The recording & slides are available here.

Questions? Contact AIR's New Voices Program Manager at casper@airmedia.org.