Yale Law School Announces Journalism Fellows

Four journalists will attend Yale Law School as recipients of Knight Fellowships in Law for Journalists, 1999-2000.

The fellowships bring mid-career journalists to the Law School for an academic year to improve their understanding of legal and policy issues. Students who complete the course of study earn a Master of Studies in Law degree (M.S.L.). The Knight Fellowship is the only one of its kind that offers a master’s degree in law upon completion of the program.

This year’s fellows will be Jody Becker of WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, Kristin Eliasberg of the PEN American Center, Michael Newman of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Mike Romano of The Seattle Weekly.

Becker has spent the past five years at WBEZ Chicago Public Radio reporting, writing and producing features and news with emphases on urban affairs and culture, education, business and the environment. Her segments have been featured on national broadcasts of Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Marketplace. She was awarded the National Education Writers Association Fellowship in 1998. Becker graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in political science and went on to earn an M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Eliasberg has extensive editorial experience at The New Yorker, American Lawyer and Rolling Stone. At The New Yorker, she was newsbreaks editor and assistant to the executive editor, before becoming program director for the PEN American Center. She received her B.A. degree in European history and literature at Cornell University.

Newman has spent most of his professional career at The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette where he currently works as technology reporter and columnist. In 1994, Newman was named a Henry Luce Scholar and subsequently took a yearlong hiatus from the Gazette to travel to Korea where he wrote about business, economics and culture for the Far Eastern Economic Review. Newman graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. degree in English.

Romano has been a staff writer at Seattle Weekly since 1994. His awards include First Place General News/Arts Reporting, given by the Society of Professional Journalists, and First Place Editorial, Communicator of Excellence Award from the Washington Press Association. Romano has worked on freelance projects for publications including The New York Times Magazine, US News and World Report, Wired Magazine and Newsweek, and in documentary film, television, radio and online media. He earned a B.A. degree in philosophy from Wesleyan University.

The fellowships were established to allow a select group of journalists a chance to step back from the pressure of deadlines and learn about the law in depth. They receive the basic foundations of a standard legal education and have the opportunity to take elective courses that focus on their areas of interest. Fellows study alongside law students, meet frequently with members of the faculty for informal discussion and meet as a group with legal experts and other speakers who visit Yale.

Thanks to the generous support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, fellowships include a stipend for living expenses. Yale Law School provides full-tuition grants to fellows who return to journalism after completing their year of study.

Applications for the 2000-2001 Fellowships in Law for Journalists will be accepted until January 3, 2000. For further information, please contact Fellowships in Law for Journalists, Yale Law School, P.O. Box 208215, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8215; via email to gradpro.law@yale.edu or by telephone at (203) 432-1696.

* or Elizabeth Stauderman, Director of Public Affairs, Yale Law School