Deadline: November 16, 2020
Applications for the Grist Environmental Justice Fellowship Program 2021 are now open. Grist is seeking an Environmental Justice Fellow to join their Editorial team. This fellowship will run for six months, beginning in January 2021. The fellow will report to the Articles Editor.
As an environmental justice fellow at Grist, you will be a part of their larger fellowship program, which aims to provide a formative experience in a geographically distributed but tight-knit newsroom and professional development for early-career journalists. They will encourage full participation in staff discussions and meetings and seek input on issues large and small.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Identify and pitch ideas for stories that look at the effects of climate change and pollution on marginalized communities
- Write multiple stories — quick news or analysis pieces — each week
- Contribute to Grist’s daily newsletter The Beacon
- Other duties, like research and fact-checking, may be assigned from time to time
- Pitch and write one enterprise/feature story in the second half of your fellowship
- Contribute to larger editorial projects as needed
Benefits
- This fellowship is a paid, six-month opportunity ($3,334/month) for early-career journalists.
- Fellows are eligible for Grist health benefits coverage, including medical, vision, and dental.
- Fellows come away with six months of solid newsroom experience, a body of clips, and fluency in climate and environmental justice issues.
- Through the Newsroom Training Series, fellows are also trained on a range of crucial skills, from filing FOIA requests to audio/video script-writing.
- Fellows benefit from full integration into the workings of a busy and exciting nonprofit media organization.
Eligibility
- Applicants should have a four-year degree, or equivalent professional experience;
- Strong understanding of Grist’s brand;
- Demonstrated familiarity with environmental and climate justice;
- Ability to produce at least two stories per week;
- Ability to make a full-time, six-month commitment;
- Fellows can work remotely and be based anywhere in the United States.
Application
Applicants must submit the following in one PDF attachment:
- Resume and cover letter: They are looking for a succinct, thoughtful cover letter that explains what you think are the most important environmental justice topics and stories to follow in the next six months — and why you’re the right person to cover them for Grist.
- Three samples of your work: Writing samples can be newspaper or magazine clips, blog posts, or unpublished pieces. They will gladly accept links to multimedia samples (video, illustration, infographic, podcast, etc.) but cannot review original files.
- Write a short news post: Identify something that’s happening on the environmental justice beat and write a brief story for Grist. If possible, try to take a sharp angle on the news of the day or think up a smart way of making the news digestible. Please include any relevant links to news sources and background info. The brief should be about 300 words. Please include a link to an image or video that you would run with the story. (Note: They do not intend to publish this assignment, so don’t worry about whether you have the rights to the image or video.)
Application materials combined into one PDF attachment should be emailed to [email protected]. Please include “Environmental Justice Fellow” in the subject line. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
For more information, visit Grist Fellowship.
