Justice Fellow
Are you a budding journalist looking to develop your voice, tell stories about compelling people and communities, and work at a news shop that’s making a difference? Are you obsessed with justice for all? The Grist environmental justice fellowship may be the opportunity for you.
With the mentorship and support of Grist’s editorial staff, the justice fellow will report on the connections between social inequality and the environment. You will explore the ways in which the environmental movement can become more inclusive, especially in the current moment — and how communities of color are developing new ways to fight for cleaner air and water and safer neighborhoods. We’re especially interested in journalism that identifies communities and people working on home-grown solutions. You will be expected to write 2-3 news briefs a week, a couple 500-word(ish) reported stories a month, and one 1,200-word mini-feature a month. You will also identify a long-term special project to produce in collaboration with others on the team.
The justice fellow will be part of our larger fellowship program, a six-month career development program for early-career journalists. We will encourage full participation in staff discussions and meetings, seek input on issues large and small, and give you a custom emoji in Slack (it’s true!).
The justice fellow can elect to work out of Grist’s Seattle office or work remotely. If you work remotely, you will be encouraged to report on stories in your home community, and Grist will bring you out to Seattle once or twice during the six-month fellowship (so we can hang with you IRL). The fellowship pays $2,600 per month.
In special cases, the fellowship will be renewable once by mutual agreement between the fellow and Grist. Renewal candidates will be considered alongside the applicant pool for the next fellowship cycle.
THE APPLICATION
Applicants must submit the following in one PDF attachment:
- Resume and cover letter. We are looking for a succinct, thoughtful cover letter that displays your communication style and why you’re the right person for the justice beat.
- Write a news brief. Identify something that’s happening in the news and write a mock Briefly story for Grist. Please include any relevant links to news sources and background info. News briefs should be 200 words or less. Please include a link to an image or video that you would run with the story. (Note: We do not intend to publish this assignment, so don’t worry about whether you have the rights to the image or video.)
- Pitch a story about a community that’s doing model work. Pick a community that’s working on home-grown solutions and tell us how you would approach a story about this community. Pitch should be a brief paragraph.
- What’s your big idea? What aspect of the environmental justice story are you passionate about covering? How would you explore that passion in the form of a deep-dive story for Grist? Please specify how you would approach the story, including target sources, length and format, potential angle, multimedia aspects, etc. The pitch should be no longer than 300 words.
- Three samples of your work. Writing samples can be newspaper or magazine clips, blog posts, or unpublished pieces. We will gladly accept links to multimedia samples (video, illustration, infographic, podcast, etc.), but cannot review original files.
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
Applications should be emailed to fellowships@grist.org. Please include “Justice Fellow” in the subject line. Please include all materials in one PDF attachment. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
For fellowships that begin October 2017, please submit applications by July 31, 2017.
No phone calls, please and thank you.
Grist is an equal-opportunity employer.
Video Fellow
Are you a curious, self-motivated, hard-working individual who wants to grow as a multimedia journalist and storyteller? The Grist video fellowship may be the opportunity for you.
The video fellow will work alongside Grist’s award-worthy video team to produce explainer videos, shareable short videos, and longer-term projects. You will be expected to produce 1-2 explainer videos a month and 2-3 short-form videos a month, and to assist on the video team with weekly production. You will lead multimedia experiments, collaborate with our social media manager, and push Grist to innovate new ways to tell stories. You will also identify a special project to produce in collaboration with others on the team. We will encourage your full participation in staff discussions and meetings, seek your input on issues large and small, and suggest the occasional one-block stroll to the beautiful Seattle waterfront.
The video fellow works out of Grist’s Seattle office, full-time. Fellow must make a six-month commitment. The fellowship pays $2,600 per month. In special cases, the fellowship will be renewable once by mutual agreement between the fellow and Grist. Renewal candidates will be considered alongside the applicant pool for the next fellowship cycle.
We are looking for early-career producers, reporters, and personalities. Candidates are most likely college or j-school grads, with experience in video and journalism. Our primary subject areas are the climate, clean energy, sustainable food, livable cities, and environmental justice.
THE APPLICATION
Applicants must submit the following in one PDF attachment:
- Resume and cover letter. We are looking for a succinct, thoughtful cover letter that displays your qualifications, enthusiasm, and communication style.
- Show us your work. A demo reel or a few videos that demonstrate your ability to tell a visual story. We will gladly accept links to your work, but cannot review original files.
- Pitch two short-form video ideas. What would be the first couple videos that you would produce? One idea should be for a Facebook video that’s 90 seconds or less. The second idea should be for an explainer video that’s 3 minutes or less. Each idea should be a brief paragraph.
- Pitch a short documentary. What aspect of the environmental/sustainability story are you passionate about covering? How would you explore that passion in the form of a 5-15 minute mini-documentary for Grist? Please specify how you would produce the documentary, including target sources, length and format, potential angle, visual approach, etc. The pitch should be no longer than 300 words.
- Link us to your site. We want to see what other projects you’ve worked on. If you draw, we want to see your prints. If you are super into claymation, that’s cool too. If you have some background in audio storytelling, we’d love to check that out. Show us what else you can do.
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
Applications should be emailed to fellowships@grist.org. Please include “Video Fellow” in the subject line. Please include all materials in one PDF attachment. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
For fellowships that begin October 2017, please submit applications by July 31, 2017.
No phone calls, please and thank you.
Grist is an equal-opportunity employer.
