taz Panter fellowships : Exploring the US Media Landscape: Haufler Fellowship

taz Panter Foundation | ”Exploring the US Media Landscape: The Haufler Fellowship” is a group trip to Washington, D.C., and New York City designed for a cohort of 10 accomplished journalists based in German-speaking countries. The Haufler Fellowship aims to cultivate a deep understanding of the forces shaping the US media landscape and their potential impacts on the USA, Germany, and beyond.

Officially launched in early 2024, the Haufler Fellowship is open to print, radio, TV, video, or online journalists. There are no restrictions on age, gender, or nationality; however, advanced English language skills are required. In its first year, the Haufler Fellowship received over 200 applications. A jury of US and German journalists and academics selected the inaugural cohort in mid-May. Applications for the 2025 Haufler Fellowship open in early Spring 2025.

The Haufler Fellowship is scheduled for October 2024 to coincide with the lead-up to critical US elections on November 5. Haufler Fellows will meet with leading US media figures, pollsters, academics, free speech experts, activists, politicians, historians, lobbyists, funders, members of the German press corps, podcasters, documentary filmmakers, AI experts, programs to elevate underrepresented voices (people of color, women, LGBTQ), fake news researchers, and think tanks. (The final agenda is contingent upon last-minute developments.)

Following the group program, Fellows will spend up to 10 days on individual reporting projects anywhere in the US (within financial reason). They may publish their work wherever they like and will also have it included in a publication titled “taz Panter Foundation, Daniel Haufler Fellowship: Exploring the 2024 US Media Landscape."

Profound interest in the United States

The Haufler Fellowship was established to honor the esteemed and beloved German journalist Daniel Haufler. Known for his keen understanding of politics and culture, Haufler made a name for himself as a radio and print reporter. An excellent writer, editor, and mentor, he later became the lead editor of the taz opinion page and then the opinion editor of the Berliner Zeitung and Frankfurter Rundschau. From 2017 to 2021, Haufler led the influential trade union debate magazine Gegenblende.

Haufler’s profound interest in the United States, ignited as a teen by his love of the country’s music and literature, deepened in 1999 when he was awarded a Duke Media Fellowship. This experience marked a turning point in his career, during which he gained a strong understanding of U.S. political and social systems, established significant contacts, and formed precious lifelong friendships with other Duke Fellows.

He realized his long-time dream of living in the United States when he was appointed social affairs officer at the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., in 2021. Tragically, Daniel Haufler passed away following a short battle with cancer in February 2023.

The Haufler Fellowship, which will run for three years (possibly longer), is funded through an endowment of the Haufler family and managed by a close circle of friends, including U.S. and German journalists, academics, and representatives of the taz Panter Foundation.

Dietlind Lerner will direct the trip in the US.