University of California Berkeley is hiring: California Local News Fellowship -

California Local News Fellowship - School of Journalism

Position overview

Position title: California Local News Fellow
Salary range: The UC academic salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and step at appointment. Fellow salaries will start at either $60,000 or $65,000 depending on work and educational experience. All fellows will receive benefits from the University of California.

Percent time: Full-time
Anticipated start: September 2025
Position duration: The fellowship will start in early September 2025 and will run for two years, ending in August 2027.

Application Window

Open date: January 9, 2025
Next review date: Friday, Jan 24, 2025 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Final date: Tuesday, Feb 11, 2025 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)

The California Local News Fellowship program is a multi-year, state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting in California. The fellowship is open to digital, print, audio, photo and multimedia journalists. We're looking for candidates with relevant experience as much as formal education. We welcome 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.

Qualifications

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:

1. High school diploma or GED (or equivalent international degree) plus at least 3 years newsroom experience, OR
2. 2-year associate's degree (or equivalent international degree) plus at least 1 year newsroom experience, OR
3. BA or MA (or equivalent international degree) in journalism with experience in student publications, summer internships or equivalent, OR
4. BA or MA (or equivalent international degree) in a subject other than journalism plus at least 1 year newsroom experience

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.

Application Requirements

Document requirements

1. Resume / CV - Please upload a PDF of your educational and work history, including your journalism experience.
2. Tell us about your journalism experience and fellowship preferences. - To complete your submission, you must also fill out the fellowship application. Once you've done so, upload a short word document here to confirm that you have completed the application.

Reference requirements
Please include your references in the supplemental application form.

Apply link: https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04741

Help contact: cafellows@berkeley.edu

About UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The excellence of the institution requires an environment in which the diverse community of faculty, students, and staff are welcome and included.

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status.

Job location
California (various locations)

To apply, visit https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04741