Twenty-four journalists will comprise Harvard University's 61st class of Nieman Fellows for the 1998-99 academic year, the Nieman Foundation announced on Tuesday.

The foundation awards working journalists with an academic year of study in any department or field in the University. Fellows include reporters, photographers, editors and producers from newspapers and television stations across the globe.

The fellowship was established in 1938 in memory of Lucius Nieman, founder and publisher of the Milwaukee Journal, by his widow Agnes Wahl Nieman. Since then, the fellowship program has enabled more than 1,000 American and international journalists to study at Harvard.

Past Nieman fellows give the program very high marks. Terry Tang, a 1992 Nieman fellow and editorial writer for the Seattle Times, said he considers it "the most precious commodity in a busy career--time to read books missed in college and to consider how better to do my job," according to the foundation's worldwideWeb site.

New fellows say they anticipate an equally fruitful experience. Bill Graves, an education writer at The Oregonian of Portland and a Nieman fellow for the 1998-99 academic year, said he is "thrilled to be involved in the program."

John F. Kelly, another new Nieman fellow and a weekend section editor for the Washington Post, said he applied for the fellowship in part because of its extraordinary prestige.

"At the [Washington] Post, past Nieman fellows who worked here are posted right under past Pulitzer Prize winners. I thought to myself, `It would be great to be a part of this,'" Kelly said.

Kelly is on of the 10 editors to receive fellowships. Others include Fannie Flono of The Charlotte Observer; Rhef Beyoung-Gyu of The Hankook Ilbo in Seoul, Korea; Pippa Green of The Sunday Independent in Johannesburg, South Africa; Martin Holguin of El Imparcial in Hermosillo, Mexico; Malou Mangahas of The Manila Times; Ilka Piepgras of the Berliner Zeitung; Masaru Soma of The Sankei Shimbum in Sendai, Japan; Dan Stoica of Radio Romana in Bucharest, and Sun Yu of China Environment News in Beijing.

New Nieman fellows who work as writers, reporters or correspondents include Bill Graves of The Oregonian; Sandra King of New Jersey Public Television; Christopher Marquis of The Washington Herald; Suzanne Sataline of The Philadelphia Inquirer; Lily Galili of Ha'aretz in Jerusalem; Dimitri Mitropolous of To Vima in Athens; Frans Roennovof the Berlingske Tidende in Copenhagen, Denmark;Gonzalo Quijandria of Andina de Radiodifusion inLima, Peru and freelance writer Susan E. Reed.

Fellows Beatriz Terrazas of The Dallas MorningNews and Steven Rubin are photographers.

Journalistic producers and bureau chiefs whoreceived the award this year include Mary WilliamsWalsh of the Los Angeles Times, Chris Hedges ofThe New York Times and Michael D. McAlpin ofWTTW-TV, The Chicago Production Center