Pearl Stewart became the first black woman editor of a major newspaper in 1992, when she took the helm of the Oakland Tribune in California.

This semester, instead of editing copy in a newsroom, she will be scouring Widener Library for information on women of color in executive newspaper positions.

"I was very pleased to be able to come here and have access to this huge...bottomless pit of information," Stewart said in an interview yesterday.

Stewart is among a group of six academics or practicing journalists and a public opinion analyst who are new fellows at the Kennedy School of Government's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy.

The fellows come from many areas of the media--newspapers, television, radio--and bring national and international experiences to the Shorenstein Center.

"The mix of talents and backgrounds is as impressive as the people themselves," said Marvin Kalb, director of the Shorenstein Center, in a statement released by the center.

The fellows will audit classes, explore Harvard and write a paper on their research topic.

For Paolo Mancini an associate professor of political science at the University of Perugia in Italy, the fellowship offers a chance to reflect.

"When you are...home, you don't have time to stop your business and to study, to think," said Mancini, who will examine models of journalism. "This is a wonderful opportunity to get out of your normal business and have some time to study and write."

Other fellows are Michael Delli Carpini, associate professor of political science at Barnard College, who will study the influence of presidential debates on voters and journalists; Barrie Dunsmore, diplomatic correspondent for ABC News, who will examine the policy implications and strategic effects of covering war "live" from the battlefield; Don Kellermann, founding director of the Times Mirror Center, who will study the impact of media and public opinion on policy formation; and Jacqueline Sharkey, professor of journalism at the University of Arizona, who will analyze the impact of international trade and investment policies on First Amendment traditions and practices of U.S.-based news media.

Fellows administrator Edie M. Holway invites members of the Harvard community to attend a presentation by the fellows on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 4:30 p.m. in Taubman 275 at the Kennedy School.