The application period opens on Tuesday, September 1, 2015 and closes at 5:00 PM Eastern on Friday, October 16, 2015.  Applications must be completed online by this deadline; any DVD’s or other supporting materials must also be postmarked by this date, addressed to Next Generation Leadership, ATTN: Judith Vecchione, WGBH Educational Foundation, One Guest Street, Boston, MA 02135.

Please note that sending the request form for recommendations is part of the application, and must be sent to the recommender by the October 16 deadline.  Recommendations will be accepted back by NGL for two weeks after the application deadline, and are due by 5:00 PM Eastern on Friday, October 30, 2015. 

NGL is open to both public media stations’ staff producers and to independent producers who are involved with or committed to working within public media.  We are also interested in producers transitioning to public media.

We are seeking producers from diverse communities who have produced, written, edited, and/or directed locally or nationally, in all genres of programming.  We accept candidates who work in video, film, radio, and interactive media, in studio-based as well as field production.  These producers must be interested in and ready to move to senior or executive producer-level work, as leaders of production units, series, or other higher-level production management.

NGL has been designed as advanced training, to hone and upgrade skills at a relatively high level so that the participants can apply these skills to works in progress or in future public media production.

NGL is open to both public media stations’ staff producers and to independent producers who are involved with or committed to working within public media.  We are also interested in producers transitioning to public media.

We are seeking producers from diverse communities who have produced, written, edited, and/or directed locally or nationally, in all genres of programming.  We accept candidates who work in video, film, radio, and interactive media, in studio-based as well as field production.  These producers must be interested in and ready to move to senior or executive producer-level work, as leaders of production units, series, or other higher-level production management.

NGL has been designed as advanced training, to hone and upgrade skills at a relatively high level so that the participants can apply these skills to works in progress or in future public media production.

The qualifications for NGL include: 

• diversity in a wide sense, including under-represented groups that are identified by race, ethnicity, geographical location, socio-economic background, physical ability, and other factors
• experience and skills in radio, film, television, and digital media production  
• leadership readiness, as assessed through recommendations, prior leadership training, and mid- to-high-level positions at stations or other media organizations  
• commitment to public media, as judged by candidates’ work, the recommendation they include, and their statements of goals

No.  NGL is limited to 8 people, so we can only accept individual applications.

This program is designed for producers who wish to work in executive programming positions within US public media.  Producers who live and work in other countries are not eligible, although we will consider applicants who are working abroad for a U.S. project.  If you currently work in the United States, regardless of your nationality, you may apply.   

Yes, we will review works online.  Please make sure to include all working links and current passwords (as applicable) in the online application, due at 5:00 pm Eastern on Friday, October 16, 2015.  We will also accept DVD samples, which must be postmarked by the same application deadline, and sent to Next Generation Leadership, ATTN: Judith Vecchione, WGBH Educational Foundation, One Guest Street, Boston, MA 02135.

We recommend sending full, completed programs or works-in-progress that show your work and your readiness to take on senior editorial leadership positions.  Please indicate your title and the role you played on the project.  A clips reel or other media that shows your work or experience may also be sent.

No, we require that applicants use the form on this website.  All elements of the application (form, resume, short essays, recommendation) must be submitted through the site to be considered for the program.  If an applicant has problems with the site, he/she should contact Judith Vecchione at WGBH.

The letter of recommendation must be written by someone from the public media station where you work or, if you are a maker working outside of public media, from a partnering public media station or organization.  This is called the candidate’s “sending” station or organization.  It's advisable that the recommendation come from someone who can attest to the quality of your work and your interest in and readiness to take on higher leadership positions. 

The sending station or organization provides a letter of recommendation for a candidate, discussing his/her achievements and suitability for the NGL program.  During the training year, the sending station/organization provides an opportunity for the Fellow to conduct seminars and informal sessions (brown bag lunches, in-station presentations, etc.) where they apply their new experiences and brief their colleagues on new programming and production approaches. Sending stations/organizations will also receive a free management workshop, presented by The Partnership and WGBH executives, to assist their in-house management teams create and sustain a climate where diverse professionals can thrive and all staff can excel.

At the end of the program, sending stations/organizations will have helped create executive programming candidates who are leadership-ready and nationally networked. 

Some offset for expenses is available for sending stations/organizations.

We recommend, if possible, that independent candidates for NGL partner with a public media station or organization that they have worked with in the past (as presenting station, commissioning station, etc.)  This does not need to be your local station or organization, as we know that many stations and organizations work with independents from around the country.  During the training year, you will share your training experiences with the sending station/organization and participate in the management workshops held at your sending station/organization. 

If candidates have further questions about how and where to partner, they can contact Judith Vecchione at WGBH.

No, the recommendation letter is sent directly to NGL.  Candidates will be notified, however, when their recommendation is received.  If you have not been notified and the final recommendation deadline of October 30, 2015, is approaching, please re-contact the person providing your recommendation to remind him/her to complete their letter.

If your recommending person cannot complete the letter or you have other concerns about recommendations, please contact Judith Vecchione at WGBH.

Completed applications must be posted online by 5:00 pm Eastern on Friday, October 16, 2015.  We may accept late submissions, with permission, but those applicants may not be in as strong a position as those who submitted on time.

Recommendations must be received by 5:00 pm Eastern on Friday, October 30.  If you have not been notified that your recommendation was received and the final recommendation deadline of October 30 is approaching, please re-contact the person providing your recommendation to remind him/her to complete the letter.

No, space is limited to the eight selected producers.

NGL will pay the travel and living expenses for the 8 Fellows when they attend training sessions away from their home cities and towns, including for the four “embed” weeks.  No salary stipend is included, although “sending” stations may apply for a small fee to cover costs of lost employee wages and other real expenses involved in participating in NGL.

NGL cannot guarantee job placements in public media after the training period, but we expect that many of the Fellows will be able to use their NGL networking experiences – their “embed” weeks, their meetings with public media leaders at conferences and in training sessions, etc. – to create job opportunities for themselves.

NGL's secure application site will include questions about your background and interests, as explained in the Program Overview/Applications page.  Your information will be aggregated with other applications to examine the NGL application process (how many candidates applied, how many from stations and how many independents, from which states, etc.) and, of course, it will be used to evaluate your candidacy.  It will not be used in any other way.