CA journalism fellowship with salary up to $80,000 application due February 25

CALIFORNIA — The California Local News Fellowship (CLNF) is accepting applications, due February 25, for its 2024 cohort.

The state-funded initiative to support local news reporting in California — with a focus on underserved communities, is offering reporting fellows a starting salary of $60,000 and video fellows $80,000 for the two year program.

News outlets across the country have laid off over 500 journalists since January as many organizations continue to struggle financially.

CLNF says in California alone, a quarter of news publications ceased operations between 2004 and 2019, as reported by the University of North Carolina Hussman School of Journalism and Media.

“Research indicates that the decline in local reporting results in reduced accountability, increased borrowing costs for municipalities, elevated government expenditures and deficits, fewer individuals pursuing public office, and diminished voter turnout, among other consequences,” said the CLNF website.

Fellows Program Eligibility

The CLNF program delivers direct reporting resources to local news outlets in communities throughout the state. Eligibility requirements include:

Early-career (no more than 5 years) digital, print, video, audio, photo and multimedia journalists;
Two-year, four-year or graduate level journalism students with newsroom experience;
Applicants with high school diploma or GED and at least three years of newsroom experience;
Ability to work full-time for two years.

Work Requirements

Accepted applicants will be placed in a participating newsroom. The majority of fellows will need to move to participate in the program and chances of being successfully placed in a newsroom will be limited if you are not able to relocate.

For more information about the California Local News Fellowship visit https://fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows/