GBONEWS: 5 Reporters Tapped as Continuing Fellows; GenX Retirement Guide; AP on Africa– Unready for Rapid Aging (from US, EU Cuts to Witchcraft); Senior Deaths Spike after Falls; Journalism Fellowships from Harvard to Stanford; Ageism Awareness Day, Oct. 9; & MORE

*** Stanford’s John S. Knight (JSK) Journalism Fellowships for Stanford University’s 2026-2027 academic year will accept submissions for U.S. applicants on Oct. 15 through Dec. 3, 2025. They’ll select about 20 journalists from around the world, “who are able to step away from their professional obligations to focus full time on being a fellow on campus, exploring and testing ideas for addressing a problem in journalism,” according to their website.

This 9-month fellowship at Stanford University includes “a living stipend” ($130,000 last year with the amount for 2026-27 to be posted soon, “plus supplements to help with cost-of-living expenses.

JSK provides an extra amounts for reporters wishing to bring families. And the program covers the cost of Stanford tuition and Stanford health insurance for fellows, spouses and children. JSK staff help fellows find rental housing near campus.” For details see JSK’s Become a fellow page. Follow @JSKstanford on Twitter for updates.

*** The Knight-Wallace Fellowships will accept applications for the 2026-2027 academic year at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, from October 2025 to February 1, 2026. Named for the late CBS broadcaster Mike Wallace and his wife Mary, along with the Knight Foundation, will select up to 20 fellows “from all facets of journalism.”

The 8-month program comes with an $85,000 stipend plus $5,000 for relocation expenses. Applicants may propose “immersive projects touching on a range of areas including education, public policy, sports, health and medicine, technology and news innovation, transportation and environment, and international reporting.” (Deadline for international journalists to apply for the 2026-2027 academic year is December 1, 2025.) 

*** Harvard University’s Nieman Foundation will selects up to 12 U.S. citizens and 12 international journalists for academic-year Nieman Fellowships. (“All prospective fellows must speak, read and write English fluently.”)

The deadlines are Dec. 1, 2025, for non-U.S. citizens and Jan. 25, 2026, for U.S. citizens. Fellows receive a stipend of $85,000 paid over a 9-month period to cover living costs, as well as health insurance and childcare expenses when appropriate. As with other major fellowships noted above, this one involves significant effort, with a required project proposal, personal essay, and obtaining of recommendations letters. So now’s the time to get started.

2. GEN BEATLES NEWS

Rob Weisman (un)retired from the Boston Globe last spring — after 25 years of writing and editing there. Except that, like a wet scrap of newsprint on a shoe, he’s continuing some editing and work on a “special project.”

In a post, Rob told “my fellow Globies . . . We did meaningful work and had a lot of fun.” Weisman, who previously punched keyboards (and maybe inked his quill) at the Seattle Times, Hartford Courant, New Haven Register and other papers.

Rob has volunteered to sit in at our Journalists in Aging Fellows Program and The Gerontological Society of America meeting in November, to offer well-seasons generations-beat perspective on story sources and approaches. And for fun, he’s leading small groups on walking tours around Boston. 

3. THE BOOKMOBILE

*** “Aging Matters” Columnist Ronnie Lovler of Gainesville, FL’s MainSt Daily News has a new tome coming out October 21, Cultural Sites of North Florida: A Backroads Guide to Small Museums and Other Local Treasures (University Press of Florida).

Along with coauthor, former museum director Dixie Neilson, the septuagenarian Lovler, a past CNN Latin American correspondent and former Journalists in Aging Fellow, mapped out 43 backroad sights and small museums. Locations (any alligators escaped from Alcatraz?) include such gems as the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders & Owners Association museum, featuring art and Kentucky Derby memorabilia; Morningside Nature Center’s six miles of trails; and the A. L. Lewis Museum at American Beach, honoring the African American resort community “established in 1935 in defiance of segregation and Jim Crow laws of that era.” 

GBONews readers who write travel stories may request review copies and a press kit from Rachel Doll, University Press of Florida: racheldoll@ufl.edu. 

And mazel tov to Lovler, who last Spring became a first-time grandmother. She announced, “Welcome to the world, Madelyn, my Chinese, Nicaraguan, Jewish, American girl.” 

*** “Retirement Bites: A Gen X Guide to Securing Your Financial Future” is the latest book on retirement work and financial opportunities by Yahoo Finance  senior columnist, Kerry Hannon and journalist Janna Herron.

By our count, Hannon, also a former New York Times “Retiring” column contributor, has reached an even dozen titles with this one, as author or co-author. If a tree fell in a forest, the result likely has space on Hannon’s shelves. Others (see her website) range from In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work to Great Pajama Jobs: Your Complete Guide to Working from Home. 

Retirement Bites, officially released on Sept. 30, is so new, this editor hasn’t had a chance to scroll through the whole text, yet, but it’s especially notable so far for addressing the late career needs and interests of the media’s all-but-forgotten GenXers, my daughter’s cohort. The retirement primer promises to serve up essential advice on small-plate chapters, such as “Designing Your Retirement Vision,” “Nuts and Bolts of Retirement Accounts” and “Planning for a Longer Work Life.” 

In their introduction, the authors observe, “Despite being tagged as slackers growing up, that’s not why many of us are behind on retirement readiness. Actually, there were some pretty big forces working against us—namely vanishing company pensions and the slow evolution of the 401(k) into the retirement savings vehicle. We’re not entirely to blame.” 

GBONewsies can request a press kit and review copy from Jenny Lee: jenny.lee@hbgusa.com, (202) 812-6666.

4. THE STORYBOARD

*** “Aging Africa: A Wave of Longevity is Sweeping Across the Continent. It Isn’t Ready,” The Associated Press: The Reporting: This Associated Press heart-breaking story of elder neglect, subsistence and resilience hit the wire, Sept. 7, 2025, with incisive reporting by Matt Sedensky, the AP’s long-time generations-beat reporter, and photojournalist, David Goldman, with video production by Allen Breed. 

Sedensky emailed GBONews.org, saying that he “traveled to Africa at the end of last year and finished up putting the stories together in January.” (He was able to include an update with a section on the Trump administration’s slashing of foreign aid.) 

He added, “I did a lot of phone reporting in countries all over Africa but ultimately decided to focus on Uganda. Would have loved to travel more widely, but the on-the-ground logistics get really tough the more places you visit, not to mention the issues of time and expense.” 

The Reporter’s Notes: Sedensky recalled, “So many moments remain vivid in my mind. Three old women who were living in a pretty drab group home but who were clearly a sign of aging’s joys — with huge smiles and jokes and laughter; a woman confined to her mud hut because routine mobility issues were unaddressed; the older women who struggled to care for a disabled adult child or the grandchildren that were left in their care.” Among numerous heart-sinking encounters, Sedensky also reflected on “the man who was living in the saddest of circumstances, who had survived HIV but now faced old age.”

Cuts to USAID, Eu, & Superstition Deepen Elder Privation

In a Nutshell: “Across Africa, a stunning success story has quietly taken hold: Decades of progress have begun delivering a wave of longevity that promises to reshape the demographics of the continent. But as lifespans lengthen and villages begin to fill with the old, pensions and social safety nets are minimal, medical care is lacking, and routine problems of age are so commonly unaddressed that cataracts turn to blindness and minor infections end in death.”

The Reporting: “Scores of interviews across a dozen African countries and a review of research and data make clear how few resources await those who reach old age and how much festering poverty disrupts their final years.”

The Stats: “In just 15 years, the number of people 60 and older has ballooned by an estimated 50 percent in sub-Saharan Africa, to about 67 million people. Even more dramatic growth awaits, with the World Health Organization projecting 163 million older people in the region by 2050.” 

Some Key Story Segments: 

“The shift underway across the continent is striking. Advances in nutrition, sanitation and clean water; robust responses to HIV and malaria; and dramatic declines in infant mortality have combined to bring longer lives.”

“From 2000 through 2020, all of the top 20 life expectancy gains across the globe were posted by African countries. . . Gains in life expectancy have fueled growing populations of older people virtually everywhere in the world. But the speed at which it is happening in Africa is unprecedented.”

Trump’s Cuts: “In Uganda, like elsewhere in Africa, there has been little government investment in pensions, health care and caregiving support for the country’s oldest. Little U.S. aid goes directly to groups focused on the aging population, but the destruction of the USAID program under President Donald Trump has nonetheless made things worse.”

Europe, Too: “Paired with cutbacks by some European countries, the loss in aid has translated to the demise of antipoverty programs, food distribution operations and AIDS clinics, all of which benefit the elderly.”

Dementia: “A surge of new cases of dementia is expected across Africa in the coming years as the demographic shift continues. . . .  The United Nations’ chief voice on the rights of older people, Claudia Mahler, issued a report in 2022 warning of elders being locked in their rooms and tied to trees in their yards.”

Witchcraft: “Hungry and desperate, the villagers sought someone to blame. . . A gray-haired, slightly stooped 81-year-old woman, . . .said she was beaten by neighbors who believed she was a witch and responsible for the drought.”

HEALTH CARE: “Across Africa, a shortage of care marks the end of life. . . As more and more Africans reach old age, economic realities are clashing with the needs of late life. . . .”

* These Stories, Too:

*** “Why Are More Older People Dying After Falls?” by Paula Span, New York Times “New Old Age” column, Sept. 9, 2025: The Dek—“Some researchers suspect that rising prescription-drug use may explain a disturbing trend.” 

In a Nutshell: “Public health experts have warned of the perils of falls for older people for decades. In 2023, the most recent year of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 41,000 Americans over 65 died from falls, an opinion article in JAMA Health Forum pointed out last month. 

“More startling than that figure, though, was another statistic: Fall-related mortality among older adults has been climbing sharply. The author, Dr. Thomas Farley, an epidemiologist, reported that death rates from fall injuries among Americans over 65 had more than tripled over the past 30 years. Among those over 85, the cohort at highest risk, death rates from falls jumped to 339 per 100,000 in 2023, from 92 per 100,000 in 1990. The culprit, in his view, is Americans’ reliance on prescription drugs.”

*** “Listening to Reddit,” by Mark Swartz, Editor, Aging in America News (Sept. 9, 2025): The Dek: “You can learn a lot from Reddit about the stress and anxiety of caregiving in America today. These lightly edited snippets from the Caregiver Support and Eldercare communities display the financial, interpersonal, and psychological toll of these underpaid and unpaid jobs.”

Some Voices: Frankly, GBONews friends, I haven’t been dipping into online groups and such to “hear” the raw voices of family caregivers and seniors. Swartz offers a good reminder to reporters that this and similar sources are available as a kind of public reality check. For instance, his piece (anonymously) quotes:

“I’ll be going home to the constant worries of my mom struggling to do things on her own and getting even sicker. I don’t have the time, energy, or bandwidth to have a baby until my mom is gone.”

Another (in part): “I am caring for my husband. He had surgery, then serious complications. I am a retired nurse, so I feel extra responsible. I do a lot, handle husband’s meds, his hygiene, ambulation. The problem is he is so grouchy . . . .”

Long and Short: Swartz edit includes short and long entries that show the intergeneration range of caregiving. Worth a look.

* “Crunching the Nursing Home Data,” also from Aging in America News (Sept. 16, 2025): The Deck: “Eric Goldwein, MPH, of 320 Consulting has developed a new tool to track nursing home staff data.

On Friday, October 3, Steve Gurney of Positive Aging Community and Robert Blancato of Matz Blancato discuss the Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) with Goldwein, who will demonstrate the tool and answer your questions. (Register here.) Here, he sketches the basics.” 

The Stats: “Nursing home data touches a lot of parties, from the residents themselves to their family members, to the U.S. taxpayer, to those working in the nursing homes. These are data that affect people at the ground level and impact the $191 billion that goes into the nursing home or Continuing Care Retirement Community system each year.” 

GBONews Editor’s Note: This one may sound business-jargonish, but Blancato and company have worked with nonprofits and government agencies on aging for decades, such as Meals on Wheels and the Elder Justice Coalition, and are a valuable source to check out.”

5. A GOOD SOURCE

*** Ageism Awareness Day, Oct. 9, Resources Online: How many GBONews readers have heard of (or experienced) a doctor talking about an elder’s condition to his or her adult offspring, as if the patient weren’t there? One friend I know challenged a physician, saying, “My Mom can hear perfectly well, doctor. She ran her own accounting firm and now heads a gourmet baking business. Talk to her!” 

Ageism comes in many forms, personal and systematic, but to write stories about age bias begs the question of where to begin. The American Society on Aging (ASA) offers a helpful website for Ageism Awareness Day, which arrives next month. It includes crisp, non-nonsense definitions and sections on concerns such as “Ageism in Health Care,” “How Ageism Shows Up,” and “How Ageism Impacts Us”. For instance, “A 2020 poll found that 82% of adults ages 50 to 80 experience ageism daily.”

ASA is hosting a free webinar on Oct. 9, at 12-1 p.m. Pacific / 3-4 p.m. Eastern, titled “Keys to Age-Inclusion: Collaboration & Belonging”.  On hand will be five leading experts from around the nation. They will address how communities can make policies presenting a “realistic view of what aging looks like across varied life experiences.” 

Oh, yeah, DEInclusion: A program like this could provide reporters framing to apply in localizing to show why it’s important to develop ageism awareness across demographics and in settings from housing to the workplace – how to spot the problem and where to find solutions.

This guide also proffers a “Social Media Toolkit” to aid organizations and agencies in aging to reach their communities. It renders simplified bullet points on the basic of setting up and effective web presence. Sections also range from an “Age-Friendly Communications Guide” to “Breaking Barriers Between Age Groups.”

* Also, the National Center to Reframe Aging, at the Gerontological Society of America, offers the website, “Countering Ageism By Changing How We Talk About Aging.”

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The Journalists Network on Generations (JNG), founded in 1993, publishes Generations Beat Online News (GBONews.org). JNG provides information and networking opportunities for journalists covering generational issues, but not those representing services, products or lobbying agendas. Copyright 2025 Paul Kleyman. For more information contact GBO Editor Paul Kleyman. 

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