Deadline: December 15, 2025

Applications are open for the California Local News Fellowship 2026 – 2028. The California Local News Fellowship is a multi-year, state-funded initiative to strengthen local reporting across California. Since 2023, the program has placed more than 100 early-career journalists in newsrooms throughout the state for two-year reporting fellowships.

This year, they are excited to offer opportunities to host two different types of fellows:


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  • Reporting fellows: They will place 25-30 general reporting fellows in newsrooms around the state. These slots are open to newsrooms that have never hosted a California Local News Fellow as well as returning newsrooms whose fellows have completed their term by September 2026.
  • Editing fellows: They are piloting a new, one-year editing fellowship in partnership with the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education to help train and support the next generation of editors in California. This pilot cohort will include five editing fellows and is open to all newsrooms, including those currently hosting a reporting fellow.

Eligibility

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The fellowship program seeks newsroom applicants from throughout the state that:

  • Have a strong track record of producing original local news coverage for their communities. 
  • Understand and seek to meet their audiences’ information needs.
  • Adhere to professional journalistic ethics.
  • Support diversity and inclusion in their organizations. 
  • Have a clear proposal for the fellow’s role and how they will support them.

Application

The newsroom application period runs from November 18 to December 15, 2025. Newsrooms will be selected in January 2026, followed by the fellow application opening in early 2026. Fellows will be selected by early spring and matched with newsrooms by late spring 2026.

Click here to apply


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For more information, see FAQ and visit California Local News Fellowship.

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