The California Local News Fellowship program is a multi-year, state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting in California.
Donor Name: California Local News Fellowship
State: California
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Fellowship
Deadline: 02/21/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
The fellowship is open to digital, print, audio, photo and multimedia journalists. California Local News Fellowship is looking for candidates with relevant experience as much as formal education. California Local News Fellowship welcomes applications from graduates of two-year, four-year and graduate-level journalism programs as well as people who have not attended journalism education programs but have a high school diploma or GED and at least three years of newsroom experience. Successful applicants will demonstrate core reporting skills, a commitment to a career in journalism, and interest in accountability reporting in underserved communities. The program will place approximately 40 fellows in partner newsrooms throughout the state for two-year, full-time reporting positions beginning in September 2025. Fellows will receive robust training and mentoring from the program to augment their newsroom experience.
Fellows are employees of the University of California and receive a starting salary, based on experience, of $60,000 or $65,000 with full benefits.
Eligibility Criteria
- Basic qualifications (required at time of application)
- High school diploma or GED (or equivalent international degree)
- Additional qualifications (required at time of start)
- Applicants must meet one of the following criteria to be considered:
- High school diploma or GED (or equivalent international degree) plus at least 3 years newsroom experience, OR
- 2-year associate’s degree (or equivalent international degree) plus at least 1 year newsroom experience, OR
- BA or MA (or equivalent international degree) in journalism with experience in student publications, summer internships or equivalent, OR
- BA or MA (or equivalent international degree) in a subject other than journalism plus at least 1 year newsroom experience
- Applicants must meet one of the following criteria to be considered:
- Fellows should have five or fewer years of professional journalism experience before joining the program.
Preferred Qualifications
Ideal candidates will have experience working in local news, either professionally or through a journalism education program, and will submit clips that illustrate a variety of reporting genres and skills. In certain cases, when matching fellows with newsrooms, the ability to report in a language other than English and/or proficiency in specialized journalistic skills (audio, video, data, etc.) will be preferred. California residents will be given preference and international candidates with authorization to work in the US are eligible to participate.
For more information, visit California Local News Fellowship.
