Murrow News Fellowship

Newsrooms are expected to provide editing, guidance, and professional support for the fellows in collaboration with the program manager. The Murrow News Fellowship offers early-career journalists the opportunity to report on civic affairs in underserved communities, both rural and urban. The state-funded initiative will pair eight fellows with Washington newsrooms for two-year, full-time reporting positions beginning in early 2024. A new cohort of eight fellows will join the program each year, bringing the fellowship program to 16 fellows total.

Fellows will be employed by Washington State University but assigned to work with partner newsrooms. The fellowship program is open to recent graduates of two-year, four-year, or graduate programs in Washington state. Half of participants will be Murrow College graduates, the other half will be graduates of other universities or colleges. Fellows must have completed their education within five years of the program’s start date. The fellowship is open to journalists committed to careers in writing, digital, video, audio, photo and/or multimedia. Murrow fellows will receive $55,000 annually with benefits as employees of Washington State University. The fellows will also receive stipends for travel and equipment.

The program is open to all news outlets in Washington state, regardless of the media platform. Newsrooms should articulate a plan for how the fellow will expand coverage of civic affairs to new audiences in Washington state, including citizens in rural and underserved populations.

News outlets may partner to submit an application for a fellow. In such cases, the application should clearly identify a primary point of contact for the fellow, as well as clearly delineate information needs and news priorities for the fellow.

The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University will provide ongoing training for fellows resulting in a certificate in digital media. Fellows will be required to complete the training and participate in discussions with leaders in journalism, media law, ethics, digital security, misinformation, civic information, community engagement, public information access, and related topics.

The Murrow College, in consultation with industry leaders, will produce an annual report on the fellowship program and the state of the media in Washington state. An advisory board will provide feedback to the program manager, the Murrow College, state officials, and the state’s officials as needed.