The Jefferson Fellowships program was launched in 1967 to enhance public understanding through the news media of cultures, issues and trends in the Asia Pacific region, broadly defined as Asia, the Pacific Islands and the United States. The long-range goal is to help news organizations build staff expertise about regional concerns and trends, so that their readers, viewers and listeners may be better informed.

The Fellowships provide the participating journalists with a wide range of perspectives through dialogue with professional colleagues, participation in seminars and meetings with business and government decision-makers, scholars and students, social activists, cultural analysts and others. These contacts, and a network of close to 500 former Jefferson Fellows, provide participants with resources on whom to call when they plan, assign, edit and produce news coverage involving or affecting the region.

The first week of the program consists of dialogue among the Fellows, including a short seminar led by each Fellow; lecture discussions with East-West Center researchers and other experts; and field visits. This will be followed by a study tour to cities in Asia and/or the United States.

Theme:  The 2008 U.S. Presidential Election

Program Dates:  October 18 - November 9, 2008

Study Tour Destinations:  Honolulu, Hawaii; Phoenix, Arizona; Erie, Pennsylvania; Cleveland, Ohio; and Washington, DC.

Funding:  All program and travel costs for participants funded by a grant from The Freeman Foundation, of Stowe, Vermont.

Who May Apply:  Working print, broadcast and on-line journalists with a minimum of five years of professional experience from the United States and the Asia Pacific region.

The Fall 2008 Jefferson Fellows are:

• Samantha BENNETT, Columnist and Web Editor, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Anubha BHONSLE, Senior Editor/Anchor, CNN-IBN, Noida, India
• Ling-Jia FAN, Deputy Section Chief, Politics Desk, United Daily News, Taipei, Taiwan
• Miriam Grace A. GO, Assistant Managing Editor, Newsbreak, Manila, Philippines
• Tony HOTLAND, Reporter, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Indonesia
• LI Xueying, Correspondent, The Straits Times, Singapore
• Muhammad NASIR, Assignment Editor/Reporter, Khyber News Television, Islamabad, Pakistan
• Timothy PANKHURST, Editor, The Dominion Post, Wellington, New Zealand
• Sung Wan PARK, Staff Reporter, The Korea Economic Daily, Seoul, Korea
• Jonathan PEARLMAN, Foreign Affairs and Defense Correspondent, The Sydney Morning Herald, Canberra, Australia
• Makiko TAKITA, International News Staff Writer, The Sankei Shimbun, Tokyo, Japan 
• WANG Tian, Commentary Section Chief, International News Department, People’s Daily, Beijing, China

Americans will go to the polls on November 4, 2008 to elect a new President and Vice President and to vote for a host of other national and local offices. For the first time since 1952, there is no incumbent President or Vice President seeking election, and for the first time ever, the primary field includes both an African American and a woman as front runners. The race for President will certainly be about personalities, character and experience. It also will turn on the candidates' positions on key issues that have a major impact on the lives of ordinary Americans as well other countries. This year, the war in Iraq, national security, the U.S. economy, globalization, trade, health care and immigration top the agenda. But as was seen in 2004, there are other factors that can sway the electorate: Will "values" voters again exert their influence? To what extent will a candidate's likeability play a role? And this year, what impact will gender or race have on the election?

This special Jefferson Fellowships program will provide journalists from Asia, the Pacific and the U.S. with an opportunity to explore the important issues in this 2008 election, learn about the U.S. political process, observe this historic election and finally, discuss the outcome with U.S. analysts and one another. The Fellows in this program will benefit from the rich opportunity to share among themselves the perspectives of journalists from across the region and the concerns of their governments and people.

After one week of discussion sessions with regional experts and one another at the East-West Center in Honolulu, participants will travel to various areas of the United States to discuss election issues and attitudes with policymakers, business leaders, community activists, and most importantly, voters from a range of important constituencies such as recent immigrants, retirees, blue collar workers, factory owners, religious groups, African American communities, young people and women. In Phoenix, Arizona, John McCain’s home state, Fellows will explore the complexities of health care and immigration. In Erie, Pennsylvania and Cleveland, Ohio, cities in America’s “rust-belt,” an area hard hit by globalization, the program will focus on attitudes toward the economy, trade, social values, and America’s future. Fellows will observe the election in Ohio, the state that determined the 2004 contest in favor of George Bush and which is predicted to serve as a bellwether again this year. They will then travel to Washington, DC for a discussion with analysts, policymakers, journalists and others on what the results mean for the United States and its relations with Asia, the Pacific and the rest of the world.

Ann Hartman
1601 East-West Road
Honolulu, Hawaii 96848-1601
Phone: (808) 944-7619; Fax: (808) 944-7600
Email: jefferson@eastwestcenter.org