Sulzberger Executive Leadership Program

The program focuses on:

• Leadership and Building a Culture of Innovation
• Venture Design Innovation Process
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Audience and Trends
• Product and Marketing
• Business Models and Strategy
• Negotiations and Pitching

Each fellow is required to bring to the program an individual project of strategic importance to their news organization and of critical importance to their own role.

Innovation-Focused For executives in journalism navigating an industry facing constant disruption, traditional management training won’t suffice. Media industry leaders need to build cultures and create processes within their media companies that don’t just help them come up with “the next big thing,” but enables the organization to understand and anticipate the changing needs of their audiences, experiment with emerging technologies, and seek sustainable business models as the world rapidly changes beneath their feet. They need to proactively recognize opportunities for innovation and persuade their stakeholders for the resources to pursue them. The Sulzberger Program specifically focuses on building leaders who will thrive under these conditions.

Experiential Learning with Immediate Organizational Impact Leaders learn by doing. The Sulzberger Program, redesigned in 2020, maximizes personal growth, retention, and real-world applicability through active, experiential learning. Our unique venture design bootcamp is an immersive experience that has fundamentally transformed how executives approach building and leading their organizations. Our project focus means that participants create measurable outcomes throughout the term by working on regular assignments and checking in with faculty, ensuring that what they learn in the classroom translates to their newsroom.

Leverages Columbia, Industry, and Alumni Networks The Sulzberger Program leverages the assets of Columbia University, pulling instructors from the Columbia Journalism and Business Schools, drawing industry innovators working in one of the world’s great media capitals, and tapping into the powerful Columbia Journalism School and Sulzberger alumni networks. This community gives Sulzberger Fellows a broad perspective and powerful network as they take their place leading innovation in media and journalism.

Week 2: In the second week on the Columbia campus, the program moves from the bootcamp model into workshops, case studies, and guest speaker events that dive deeper into concepts introduced in the first week. Taught by faculty in Columbia's Journalism and Business Schools, topics covered this week include: Leadership, Trends, Audience, Product, Business Model, Marketing, Strategy, Negotiations, and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion.

Weeks 3-20: After two intensive weeks in New York, fellows return to their newsrooms and begin to apply the lessons learned. The fellows complete two-week sprints, in which they interrogate, test and apply learnings to their own projects, using the same set of topics that they used in their group work in Week One. Fellows have a weekly virtual meeting that rotates between getting feedback on their project deliverables and having intimate conversations with industry leaders. Fellows also have one-on-one coaching sessions with the Director.

Week 21: The final week brings the fellows back to New York City for reinforcement of the tools and approaches learned and final project presentations that prepare the fellows to seek support and resources from key stakeholders at their organizations.

While the program is primarily designed for one Fellow from each organization working as an individual on a project, increasingly we are seeing organizations send a cross-functional team of 1-3 fellows to work on the same project to great success. We encourage organizations interested in fostering multidisciplinary collaboration to consider sending a team, as this approach is a strong fit for the ethos of the program.

The Sulzberger Program is dedicated to creating and promoting a diverse, inclusive, and equitable environment within the program and in the journalism industry at large. That starts with the cohort we assemble. We strongly encourage applications from and nominations of rising leaders who self-identify as being from groups typically underrepresented in journalism. We are also actively seeking funders who want to financially sponsor Fellows from these underrepresented groups.

The Sulzberger Fellowship is open to any leader in journalism and media from anywhere in the world to apply to directly. Most fellows are sponsored directly by their employer or by a donor to their employer. Available scholarships are listed below, and new scholarships may become available throughout the application period. Individuals without a sponsoring organization or relevant scholarship may also choose to apply directly and self-fund. We encourage all interested individuals to apply directly to the program regardless of their current sponsorship status. 

Gordon Gray Jr. Fellowships (Local Media, USA)

Columbia Journalism School is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for two fellowships, made possible by Gordon Gray Jr., to the Sulzberger Executive Leadership Program in 2021. These two fellowships are available to media executives and managers from U.S. news organizations that focus on covering news in one geographic region of the United States, more than national or international stories. News organizations may be commercial or non-profit, and work may be published in any medium, on any platform. The fellowships fully cover tuition and fees to the course. Fellowship winners and their news organizations will be responsible for all other expenses associated with course participation, including airfare, hotel accommodations, and meals outside of program sessions.

The application is a simple TypeForm that consists of 4 sections:

1. Basic Information
    
2. Demographic Information
    
3. Application Questions
    
4. Financial Considerations
    

Before you begin the TypeForm, you will want to prepare paragraph-length answers in English to the following 5 questions:

1. Describe your current role and responsibilities in your organization.

(For context, please include who you lead and who you report to.)

1. a) Paste a link to a project or work sample that you are proud to have significantly contributed to:

   b) Tell us more about the link you just provided. Why are you proud of it? What was your role?
    

2. Why do you want to be a Sulzberger Fellow?
    
3. Describe your proposed Sulzberger Project.

(What problem are you trying to solve and why? What team, resources, and internal support for this project do you currently have? How much time can you spend on this project as part of your current job?)

1. If your first choice of project were not to work out, what would you choose as an alternative project?

Once your application is reviewed, promising applicants will be selected for a virtual interview with Director Corey Ford.

When should I plan to be in New York?

Classes at Columbia are held in August (ten class days) and January (five class days) for the 2021 cohort. The dates are August 2-13, 2021 and January 3-7, 2022.

For the 2022 cohort, the classes will be held at Columbia in January and April, 2022.

What if COVID-19 makes travel and/or in-person instruction unsafe?

While the Sulzberger Program normally runs from January through April, we shifted the 2021 Sulzberger Program to the summer in order to maximize the chances of having safe, in-person learning at Columbia. If, as we near the start of the program, conditions appear to be unsafe due to COVID-19, we will switch to online learning until it is safe to gather in-person again.

I am concerned about privacy surrounding my work and my news organization. How do you address this?

We understand that the topics that this course takes on—revenue models, product development, resource allocation, teams building—speak directly to news organizations’ most serious concerns, and we respect a desire to keep this private. We have found that one of the most fruitful and rewarding elements of the program is what Fellows learn from their peers, and so we have a strict norm of respect, discretion, and confidentiality within the cohort.

I am unsure whether I have the "right" project for the program. Can I talk it over with you?

Don't worry about getting the project exactly right as part of your application. The iterative and feedback-driven nature of the program means that your project will evolve through the course of the program. The rapidly changing nature of the industry and the world means you may need to shift strategic focus along the way. That's what innovative leaders do. Do your best to come up with a primary project focus and a back-up project focus and articulate those in your application. As part of the interview process, you will talk through your project with the Program Director and get feedback on how to adjust it for the program. All projects should be strategically important to your organization and should be part of your day-to-day work during the course of your program. We are not interested in doing projects as an academic exercise.

My company is not currently sponsoring a fellowship. Can I still apply?

Yes. If you are interested in the program, you should apply directly, regardless of whether your company is currently sponsoring a fellow. If your application looks promising, we may be able to work with you to discuss this opportunity with your employer. We may also have additional scholarship opportunities that present themselves. Just make clear in your application whether you already have a financial sponsor and, if you are not able to obtain one, whether you are able to self-fund.

How much time will the Program Director be able to devote to my work?

All Fellows will have significant time with the Program Director. The Program Director will be teaching and/or facilitating every experience in the course and giving detailed feedback on each fellow's project. During the 18 weeks between program sessions, the Program Director will facilitate and/or teach each weekly virtual session. The Program Director will also hold one-on-one coaching sessions with each Fellow.

The program is begins in the summer. Will I still be able to take a summer vacation?

Yes. All fellows are required to participate in the three intensive in-person weeks without exception. During the 18 weeks of weekly virtual classes, we expect that Fellows may miss one or two sessions due to vacations. Fellows should proactively communicate any potential scheduling conflicts in advance.

Where will I stay when in New York? Is there housing?

There is no housing associated with the course. Columbia University has relationships with many area hotels, many of which offer a preferential rate to those studying at the Journalism School. You can download a list of some of these options here. This list is not an endorsement.

I have food allergies and/or sensitivities. How will you handle this?

Breakfast and lunch are both catered daily, and there is one group dinner each session week. If you have dietary restrictions or sensitivities, please notify Director of Professional Programs, Kate Kennedy, regarding their nature before the program start date.

What type of diploma will I receive?

This is a non-degree program. You will receive a statement of attendance upon completion of the program.

Why is this called the Sulzberger Program?

In 2005, the sisters of the legendary New York Times publisher Arthur Ochs (“Punch”) Sulzberger honored their brother by investing in a program they hoped would encourage innovation and sustainability in the news business. In collaboration with Columbia Journalism School, they envisioned a program that would focus on solutions and would provide the leaders of the industry with the tools they need for sustained success. The Sulzberger Program launched its first class of Fellows in 2007.

With whom may I speak about the logistics of the program?

Please contact Kate Kennedy, Director, Professional Programs, at krk16@columbia.edu