Learn more about: Dr. Sylvia M. Bugg Creative Voices Initiative | Ignite Filmmakers Program

ACCELERATOR FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS OPEN MID-NOVEMBER 2026

PBS provides a service to all Americans by presenting programs that share a wide variety of perspectives. We also remain committed to opening doors for talented individuals from a range of backgrounds to innovate and deliver on our mission. 

The Dr. Sylvia M. Bugg Creative Voices Initiative supports filmmakers, producers, journalists, and other media professionals who have experienced barriers to entering the media industry.

The Accelerator Fellowship puts this commitment into practice by placing mid-career professionals in paid employment roles for one year with third-party productions working on PBS shows. The Fellowship supports each fellow’s professional growth and brings new voices into key editorial roles in the production process.

The Fellow is hired by a PBS production partner to work within its team with an opportunity to make substantial contributions to programming, observe leadership in action, learn practical skills, and build a network across the public media system. The Fellow earns a production credit and is a full-time contract employee of the production company where they are placed, with a competitive salary and benefits. Candidates selected for interviews will receive more information about the production company.

To complement their job experience, Fellows become members of the PBS fellowship cohort, which offers monthly sessions, one-on-one mentorship with prominent leaders in public media, access to industry events, and networking opportunities with PBS senior leadership and partners. 

To be eligible, applicants must meet the following criteria:  

 -Have five (5) to eight (8) years of professional experience as a producer, journalist, editor, or media executive. Freelance and contract work counts toward this total.

-Have experienced barriers to entering the media industry and can share how the barriers encountered have affected their access to professional opportunities or career development, as well as steps taken to navigate or overcome them.

-Be available for the full one-year length of the Fellowship.

Apply: Applications open mid-November 2026
Deadline: December 8, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time
Notification Date: Late March 2027 
Fellowship Dates: May 2027 - April 2028 (one year)

ACCELERATOR FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM OFFERINGS

MENTORING: Fellows meet one-on-one with their mentor every month. The matching is deliberate: PBS uses detailed profiles from both sides to pair each fellow with an accomplished public media professional whose background and skills line up with what that fellow is building. Mentors bring years of practice and answer the questions that are hard to ask elsewhere. Over the course of the fellowship, those conversations become a steady place to think out loud, get specific guidance on fellowship assignments, and map what comes next.

NETWORKING: PBS provides meaningful opportunities for fellows to connect with senior leaders and executives across public media through both virtual and in-person gatherings. These conversations are designed to be approachable and candid, offering participants a chance to learn from lived experience, ask questions, and build genuine relationships that can open doors and support their next steps.

COHORT SUPPORT: Fellows take part in twice-monthly, virtual, facilitated cohort meetings designed to foster connection, shared learning, and collective growth. These gatherings create space for peer exchange, reflection, and encouragement, allowing participants to learn from one another’s experiences while building a supportive professional community that extends beyond the fellowship.

IN-PERSON GATHERING:  The Accelerator Fellowship convenes at the PBS Annual Meeting, alongside more than 1000 public media professional. In additional to general sessions, the fellows, participate in receive closed meetings with PBS leadership and staff, an itinerary built for the cohort, and networking mixer. Roundtrip travel and accommodation are provided by PBS. The year-long fellowship wraps up with a Closing Assembly at PBS headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, where fellows take part in workshops, additional networking opportunities, and share about their fellowship experience.

MEET THE 2025 - 2026 FELLOWS

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Accelerator fellows reflect on their roles and the experience that shaped them.

MEET THE 2023 - 2024 FELLOWS

PAST PRODUCTION PARTNERS

Accelerator Fellows from previous rounds were placed on the following PBS programs.

THE IMPACT

Through hours of production work, Accelerator fellows helped shape PBS programming and bring it to the audiences public media serves.

INDEPENDENT EVALUATION

PBS engaged the independent evaluation firm Brighter Strategies to assess the impact and effectiveness of the Initiative. From the outset, the firm collaborated closely with PBS to design a comprehensive evaluation protocol that captured both qualitative and quantitative insights. This included multiple rounds of confidential, one-on-one interviews with participants and in-depth discussions with production partners. All participant feedback remained anonymous to PBS, ensuring candor and credibility. The resulting 20-page report offered a thorough analysis and a set of evidence-based conclusions that continue to inform and strengthen the Accelerator Fellowship’s ongoing work.

Takeaways

I'm benefiting from the program more than I expected. In my job, I carry a lot of responsibilities and truly feel depended on and valued. The results of my work can be measured, something that I could carry with me to my next role.​

Accelerator Fellow

She [fellow] took the lead in writing the direct-to-camera interactions. She provided everything needed to film, including scripts and directorial notes. One episode has at least a million views, performing stronger than average. ​

PBS Production Partner