According to the Rosalynn Carter Fellowship website, informed journalists can have a significant impact upon public understanding of mental health issues as they shape debate and trends with the words and pictures they convey. They influence their peers and stimulate discussion among the general public, and an informed public can reduce stigma and discrimination. Mental illnesses constitute some of the most serious, under-recognised, and under-reported health problems in the United States and around the world. Designed to help reduce stigma and discrimination, The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism provide stipends to journalists in the United States, South Africa, New Zealand, and Romania to study topics related to mental health or mental illnesses.

The Fellowships are designed to:

• Increase accurate reporting on mental health issues and decrease incorrect, stereotypical information;
• Help journalists produce high-quality work that reflects an understanding of mental health issues through exposure to well-established resources in the field; and,
• Develop a cadre of better-informed print and electronic journalists who will more accurately report information through newspapers, magazines, radio, television, film, and the internet, and influence their peers to do the same.

No standard application form is used. The contents of the application packet are outlined on The Carter Center website. Application packets and letters of recommendation and support must be postmarked no later than April 28 2008. Items postmarked after the deadline will not be accepted.

The deadline for application is April 28 2008.

Click here for more information.

Click here for a list of previous winners.