Deadline: December 1, 2025
Applications are open for the Press On Freedomways Reporting Fellowship 2026. Over eight months, from March to October 2026, six reporters and storytellers from the South will receive support from experienced mentors and participate in a virtual program rooted in the principles of movement journalism.
Press On is a Southern media collective that catalyzes change and advances justice through the practice of movement journalism. As such, Press On aims to support fellows tackle one longform, investigative, or enterprise story, with preference given to journalists and storytellers interested in reporting on some of the most pressing issues facing the South, including environmental justice, reproductive justice, trans liberation, and migrant justice.
Applicants that identify from the categories below are strongly encouraged to apply:
- Community media: Those who work in or are affiliated with community, nonprofit, or rural media outlets, as well as those working in less traditional formats, including worker-owned publications/collectives and newsletters
- Storytellers: Experienced writers, essayists, and other creative nonfiction writers who see their work as a contribution to social justice movements
- Freelance journalists: Independent reporters who are looking to deepen their reporting on a local issue or community
- Mid-career journalists: Reporters transitioning from legacy news organizations to independent media with an interest in community-driven reporting
Benefits
- For their participation in Freedomways, fellows will receive mentorship, training, access to helpful investigative resources, and a monthly $1,000 stipend ($8,000 for the whole fellowship) with the ability to obtain additional funds for project-related expenses.
Eligibility
- This is a program focused on power-building in the South. They will prioritize applications based in: Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Puerto Rico.
- Those who do not currently live in the South can still apply if they are accountable to the South, meaning they previously lived in the region or they plan to report on the South due to a strong connection or relationships in the region.
- As part of Press On’s goal to strengthen journalism driven by people who are building power within marginalized and oppressed communities, they encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply, including BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrant, and disabled reporters and storytellers, as well as those living in rural communities.
Fellowship Requirements
- Develop a story pitch and reporting plan tailored to the needs of and critical issues facing local communities
- Attend recurring check-ins with their mentor, and the Freedomways coordinator
- Participate in a mix of mandatory and optional monthly trainings with leading journalists, storytellers, thinkers, researchers, artists, and other experts to advance their abilities in pitching stories, crafting narratives, and finding information for investigations, among other skills
- Develop an engagement plan to help deepen the impact of their reporting
- Receive assistance to pitch their story to local, regional, or national media partners that will publish their reporting
- Publish one longform, investigative, or enterprise story during the course of the fellowship
Application
For more information, visit Freedomways Reporting Fellowship.
