California Humanities Emerging Journalist Fellowship Provides $150k in Support for Community College Journalists

California Humanities is pleased to announce the 2022 round of the Emerging Journalist Fellowship program. Presented in partnership with an expanded cohort of 10 California community colleges, this statewide initiative provides stipends, training, and mentorship for emerging student journalists as they conduct in-depth reporting projects on subjects and issues of importance to their campuses and communities.  

Through a competitive application process, California Humanities awarded $150,000 in fellowship funds to ten community colleges to support student journalists throughout the state. The participating campuses reflect the state's breadth of geography and diversity, ranging from Central Valley to Northern California to the southern US/Mexico border. The campuses awarded the 2022 Emerging Journalist Fellowships are:

First launched in 2018 under the name CA 2020: Democracy and the Informed Citizen in partnership with four campuses, the initiative is designed to engage a broad cross-section of Californians considering the vital connections between democracy and journalism. Participating fellows receive training in areas such as local and community-engaged journalism, podcasting, media literacy, and mentoring from professional journalists. As part of the fellowship, students will propose and conduct a focused reporting project on regional issues of importance that will be shared with statewide audiences through an online portal. Throughout, the initiative’s goals are to incorporate the insight and perspective of journalists and the context and inquiry of the humanities to develop critical journalism skills and encourage media literacy and civic engagement.

“Providing support for emerging voices is an integral part of California Humanities’ programs and vision,” according to President & CEO Julie Fry. “The work of our journalism fellows continues to shine new light on stories across the state that impact all of us and help us learn from each other.”   

In January 2022, the statewide cohort of fellows convened virtually for a kick-off media summit, and they will continue to meet regularly throughout the semester. These convenings offer opportunities for students to make connections with peers in different regions of the state, share their work, reflect on their role as journalists and mediamakers, and learn practical skills from professional journalists.

To learn more about the Emerging Journalist Fellowship program, click here.

About California Humanities: California Humanities, a nonprofit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, promotes the humanities—focused on ideas, conversation and learning—as relevant, meaningful ways to understand the human condition and connect people to each other in order to help strengthen California. California Humanities has provided grants and programs across the state since 1975. To learn more, visit calhum.org, or like and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.