The California Local News Fellowship program is excited to announce a new opportunity in 2026: A one-year editing fellowship.
Editing Fellows
Central to the story of the decline of local news is the dramatic reduction in the number of reporters working in communities across the country. There is an equally concerning, yet less visible, decline in the number of editors working in newsrooms. Editors are a vital and critical resource, as they set the editorial scope and direction of a newsroom, guide the work of reporters, provide training and mentoring and ensure accuracy and accountability. Editors also play an essential role in shaping the next generation of journalists; early-career journalists benefit enormously from strong editors who provide on-the-job training, helping reporters to learn the ropes, get to know their beats, become more discerning about what makes a good or important story, and find their voice, among many other things.
Unfortunately, most newsrooms have had to cut their editing ranks just as severely as their reporting ranks, leaving newsrooms under-resourced to carry out their critical mission. To help address this gap, the California Local News Fellowship program is launching a pilot, one-year editing fellowship program in 2026. In partnership with the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, we will support five reporters or producers to move into editing roles. We will provide intensive skill-building training and mentoring before and during their newsroom terms, in the craft of editing but also the art of managing people. Historically, reporters have moved into editing roles with little to no training in either; we seek to provide a strong foundation for the fellows, setting them up to succeed as editors and managers and to dramatically increase the capacity of newsrooms to produce more reporting for their communities. The Maynard Institute provides training and mentoring at the beginning and throughout the fellowship. Fellows will develop core editing skills, leadership, and equitable newsroom practices, with access to mentors and peer support.
Editing fellows will be expected to have at least five years of journalism experience and a strong desire to move into a newsroom leadership position. Applicants full-time editing experience must not exceed six months. Applicants should not currently be an editor. Outgoing fellows from the reporting program are not eligible for the editing fellowship; a two-year gap between fellowships is required to ensure equitable opportunities and broaden access to state-funded training.
Criteria for newsrooms to host an editing reporting fellow will include evaluation of the newsroom’s proposed role for the editor and ability to support their growth, learning and leadership development. Current newsroom employees may apply as long as their newsroom agrees that the fellow will not replace or displace existing staff.
