Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the two American journalists detained in North Korea, will be indicted and tried on charges of perpetrating "hostile acts" against the Communist state, a crime punishable by years in a labor camp. Ling and Lee, both reporters for Current TV, were arrested March 17.  Read the New York Times article about the reporters. Sign the IWMF petition for their release.

The International Women's Media Foundation and Reporters Without Borders have jointly launched a petition for the immediate and unconditional release of reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who have now been held in North Korea for an entire week.

“Laura Ling and Euna Lee were taken into custody on the Chinese-North Korean border while reporting on the fate of North Korean refugees, and, more specifically, on the practice of trafficking in women. Pyongyang authorities have no reason to hold them or to accuse them of illegal activities. They should be freed at once,” the two organizations urged.

Add your name to petitions for their immediate release.

• IWMF petition
• RSF petition

The International Women's Media Foundation and Reporters Without Borders have jointly launched a petition for the immediate and unconditional release ...

Courage supporter Cheryl Saban has published a new book intended to empower women. Entitled What is Your Self-Worth? A Woman's Guide to Validation, the book addresses the status of women in the U.S. and around the world, their cultural value and their self-worth. The book includes insights from women such as publisher Arianna Huffington and actress Jamie Lee Curtis. Read about Saban and her book.

J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism and the McCormick Foundation are seeking to fund individuals or teams who have original ideas to create new Web sites, mobile news services or other entrepreneurial initiatives that offer interactive opportunities to engage, inspire and improve news and information in a geographic community or a community of interest. Application deadline is March 31. Visit the NMWE Web site for details or to apply.

The International Reporting Project invites working journalists to apply for a gatekeeper editors trip to Kenya May 31-June 12. Up to 12 senior editors and producers will be selected to take part in an intensive fact-finding trip. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or working for a U.S.-based news organization. Application Deadline is April 1. Visit the IRP Web site for details or to apply.

The Committee of Concerned Journalists is now accepting applications for its new program, Journalists in Residence. The program was created as part of CCJ's commitment to share the best of American journalism practices with reporters around the globe. It will allow overseas journalists the opportunity to conduct on-the- ground reporting from the United States and gain a perspective on American politics, business, culture and media. For more information or to apply, visit the CCJ Web site.

The International Center for Journalists is now accepting nominations for the Knight International Journalism Fellowship Program. Professional journalists, media managers, citizen journalists and digital news innovators are eligible for nomination. Deadline is April 13. Visit the ICFJ Web site for details.

The International Reporting Project is offering a specialized reporting fellowship for journalists interested in pursuing an international project focusing on loose nuclear materials. Application deadline is April 1. For more information and an application, visit the IRP Web site.

The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism provide stipends to journalists to report on topics related to mental health or mental illnesses. The fellowship program seeks to increase accurate reporting on mental health issues and reduce incorrect, stereotypical information. The program annually awards six U.S. fellows stipends of $10,000 each to complete a mental health project of their choosing. Deadline is April 20. Visit the Web site for details.

To honor new visions for the future of journalism, the Knight Foundation has created the Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism. This $16,000 awards program spotlights emerging models of journalism that most creatively use new information ideas and technologies to engage and educate people about important public issues in compelling new ways. Entries must consist of journalism content created by a news-producing initiative. Deadline for entries is June 9. Visit the J-Lab Web site for details.

Two U.S. women journalists have been detained by North Korean soldiers on the China-North Korea border. Laura Ling, a Chinese-American, and Euna Lee, a Korean-American, both of whom work for the California-based online media outlet Current TV, were arrested on March 17. The journalists had apparently ignored warnings to stop filming in the area, the BBC reported. Read the BBC article.

Three current or former IWMF award winners will participate in Women, Action & the Media 2009, an annual conference--sponsored by the Center for New Words in Boston--to share ideas about contemporary media, develop skills and build collaborations. Speakers include: Huda Ahmed, a 2007 Courage in Journalism awardee who is also a former IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship recipient; Peta Thornycroft, a journalist in Zimbabwe who won the 2007 IWMF Lifetime Achievement Award; and Jenny Manrique Cortes, a Columbian journalist who is the 2008-09 IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow. Read more about WAM 2009.

Campbell Brown, co-chair of the IWMF board of directors and anchor of CNN's No Bias, No Bull, will receive a Matrix Award from Women in Communications in April. The award honors extraordinary achievements of outstanding women in the communications industry. Read more on the NYWICI Web site.

Alifiya Khan, a senior correspondent at The Hindustan Times in Mumbai, was named the third winner of the Anupama Jayaraman Memorial Award for young women journalists. Khan, 24, received the award from the Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI). Read more on the NWMI Web site.