Fellowship programme honours veteran journalist

By WANSOLWARA/VANUATU DAILY POST

Aspiring ni-Vanuatu journalists now have the chance to upskill their practical professional training after Trading Post Limited launched the first annual Jonas Cullwick Memorial Fellowship programme.

Trading Post Ltd, a company which publishes the Vanuatu Daily Post and produces the Vanuatu Nightly News Broadcast throughout Melanesia, said the annual cadetship programme would provide career-track employment for young ni-Vanuatu people who aspire to a career in journalism.

The fellowship for recent graduates beginning their journalism career was designed to preserve the journalistic legacy of Jonas Cullwick, an established journalist with more than 40 years’ experience in the industry.

“Beginning this year, the Daily Post is establishing an annual programme to plant the seeds to grow future pillars of journalism in Vanuatu,” Vanuatu Daily Post media director Dan McGarry said in a recent statement.

“The fellowship consists of a six-month paid placement with the newspaper, and optionally to assist with production of our Nightly News broadcasts as well.

“Jonas Cullwick Fellows will receive a modest but competitive monthly salary during the entire period of their placement. They will contribute to our news gathering and will work side by side with the rest of our journalism team.”

Mr McGarry said between one and three successful applicants would be selected each year with the application period for each year starting from January 15 to February 15.

He said successful recipients would be announced at the end of February each year.

“This is a practical training exercise and applicants should already have at least some classroom experience or knowledge of the fundamentals of journalism,” he said.

“Media professionals from the region and beyond with expertise in print, online and radio journalism have indicated their willingness to provide on-the-job training and skills development.

“Generally-speaking, these would consist of 1-3 week modules of intensive on-the-job training and education.”

Paying tribute to Cullwick, Mr McGarry said the late media veteran established himself as a paragon of responsible journalism.

“His warm, unassuming and unflappable demeanour was complemented by a steely resolve. It proved an invaluable asset in getting the big stories.

“As another veteran reporter once said to him, ‘If Jonas called, people picked up the phone’. In many ways, Jonas is irreplaceable. One eulogy remarked, ‘A nambanga tree has fallen’. But the mighty nambanga or banyan, has many stems. And that, indeed is its strength.”

Interested fellows can view the application requirements here –  https://dailypost.vu/site/announcing_the_jonas_cullwick_memorial_fellowship.html