California Local News Fellowship, Editing - School of Journalism

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 early- to mid-career 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 Editing 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.

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. 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 and learning.

The fellowship program partners with newsrooms throughout the state that are seeking to meet their communities' information needs with original local news coverage. We prioritize news organizations operating in underserved communities, including for-profit, nonprofit, public media, and community and media outlets. Once newsrooms and fellows are selected into the program, they are paired through a matching process that seeks to meet the needs of individual newsrooms and interests of fellows.

Newsrooms and fellows are selected through an equitable and transparent process, with input from the fellowship program staff and fellowship advisory board, which represents journalism education and newsroom leaders from around the state.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Program: https://fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows/

School: https://journalism.berkeley.edu/

High school diploma or GED (or equivalent international degree)

Professional journalism experience may not exceed six months of full-time editing experience by the start of the program.

Applicants must meet one of the following criteria to be considered:

• High school diploma or GED (or equivalent international degree) plus at least 8 years newsroom experience, OR
• Two-year associate's degree (or equivalent international degree) plus at least 7 years of newsroom experience, OR
• BA or MA (or equivalent international degree) plus at least 5 years newsroom experience.

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.

• 3 required (contact information only)

Please share three references who can speak to your strengths, personality and work style. We are especially interested in hearing from anyone who has supervised your work in a newsroom, this can include a college newsroom.

Please alert them in advance to look for an email from the AP Recruit system with the subject line: "You have received a request from [Your Name]." They will have one week after the March 5 deadline to respond. Completion should take no more than 10 minutes.

UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in our public mission of research, teaching, and service, consistent with UC Regents Policy 4400 and University of California Academic Personnel policy (APM 210 1-d). These values are embedded in our Principles of Community, which reflect our passion for critical inquiry, debate, discovery and innovation, and our deep commitment to contributing to a better world. Every member of the UC Berkeley community has a role in sustaining a safe, caring and humane environment in which these values can thrive.

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity 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.

For more information, please refer to the University of California's Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment Policy and the University of California's Anti-Discrimination Policy.

In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality prior to submitting their letter.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

Unless stated otherwise, unambiguously, in the position description, this position does not include sponsorship of a new consular H-1B visa petition that would require payment of the $100,000 supplemental fee.

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

• "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
• APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment