California Local News Fellowship

Stories connect us.

Mariana Duran, a fellow at El Tecolote. Photo credit: Pablo Unzueta for El Tecolote

2024-2026 Fellows

A group of people stands two lines in front of trees.

The largest publicly-funded news fellowship in the nation is a lifeline.

When our democratic institutions are in peril, local journalism provides a lifeline — to accountability and integrity, to shared facts and shared community, to stories that move and connect us.

That’s why I am so inspired to tell you some good news: the largest publicly funded local journalism initiative in the country is thriving.

Our California Local News Fellowship program — launched with state funding in 2023 — is infusing local journalism with critical reporting resources across the state. Seventy-six fellows working in more than 70 newsrooms across California, producing thousands of stories a year, most of them focused on under-represented communities and under-reported stories.

Spearheaded by State Senator Steve Glazer, California invested $25 million over five years at UC Berkeley Journalism to develop and carry out the program — a transformational vision that is now being replicated by other states, including Washington, Oregon and New Mexico.

Our fellowship keeps growing — by design. The first cohort of 39 fellows launched in fall 2023. The second cohort of 37 fellows launched in fall 2024. The third and final — unless we're able to secure additional funding — cohort will launch in fall 2025.

They’re reporting from Humboldt to the Imperial Valley, and urban, suburban and rural communities in between, as they expand newsrooms, tell untold stories, and impact their communities.

Please take a minute to read, watch and listen to highlights of our pioneering fellowship program in our first Impact Report.

If you’re like me, you need some good news today.

— Christa Scharfenberg, Director, California Local News Fellowship

A road with ocean on one side and palm trees on the other.

Street scene in San Francisco, with Golden Gate Bridge peaking through city buildings.

View one a bay in the Central Valley of California.

Covering California

Fellows provide local news coverage in 34 of California's 58 counties, which are home to 91.6% of the state's population.

The 2023 cohort placed 39 fellows in 16 counties (highlighted in brown), and the 2024 cohort of 37 fellows included placement in 18 new counties (highlighted in green).

76 fellows currently reporting across California.

72 newsroom partners — including newspapers, digital news sites, ethnic media outlets and public radio stations.

100+ stories every week that otherwise would go unreported.

Map of California that is color coded in blue and brown for designations described in the caption.

Filling a gap.

The California Local News Fellowship directly addresses the crisis in local news unfolding nationwide. In California alone, a quarter of news publications ceased operations between 2004 and 2019; 18 counties have just one local news outlet and one county has none, according to the 2024 State of Local News report from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

Why does local news matter?

This weakened information ecosystem exposes Californians to disinformation, means less accountability for local spending and decision-making, and contributes to greater political polarization

Our fellows are on the frontlines of holding accountable the institutions that shape what matters most in our daily lives: from education to health care, the environment, social services, the criminal justice system, disaster preparedness and more. Their reporting often focuses on how these issues impact the most vulnerable in our communities.

Fellows are changing the face of journalism

Our fellows reflect the racial, ethnic, gender and educational diversity of the state, which enables them to infuse newsrooms and their reporting with inclusive perspectives that often are missing from mainstream media.

Daniela Rodriguez, fellow at Radio Bilingüe

Every fellow has a story.

Williamena Kwapo, Sacramento Observer

Fellow Williamena Kwapo says starting her career at the Black-owned Sacramento Observer means everything to her. "When I first thought about being a reporter, it was because I felt like Black stories, when they are told in the media, aren't told accurately or fairly." Williamena covers everything from Black history to arts to the economy.

Meet Williamena in this short video

Sacramento Screening Explores Challenges of Black Farmers

Sac State Leads the Way as Model for Black-Serving Institutions

Kori Suzuki, KPBS in San Diego

Fellow Kori Suzuki is a reporter and visual journalist for San Diego’s public radio station KPBS, covering the South Bay and Imperial County. His stories about communities like Niland, a town with about 600 residents with high poverty rates outside of San Diego, have illuminated the hardships faced by small and remote communities.

Niland wants to know when its post office is coming back

Dozens of Imperial Beach renters face eviction. Will the city pass new tenant protections?

Imperial Valley advocates seek environmental and labor commitments from region's lithium industry

Victoria Ivie, Orange County Register

Victoria Ivie covers demographics and equity for the Orange County Register, reporting on communities that aren't consistently covered by local news outlets — the indigenous Tonga community in the San Gabriel Valley, for example. Tribal leader Baltazar Fedalizo said: "The article that Victoria wrote gave us gravitas. It gave us weight to our initiative."

Watch this interview with Victoria

Read Victoria's reflections on the fellowship

Deportation fears grip undocumented parents in Southern California

A win, win, win for California.

Impact Architects, an independent evaluation firm, conducted a survey of the first cohort of newsrooms and fellows after year one. These are the findings.

Fellows win.

After their first year, fellows say they are acquiring skills, knowledge, experience and networks as a result of the fellowship.

89.5% either “strongly agree” or “agree” that the fellowship has helped them grow as a journalist. They cite a diverse portfolio of work, new understanding of newsroom operations, topical and community knowledge, and the value of skill-building and training offered by the fellowship.

91.5% either “strongly agree” or “agree” that the fellowship has contributed to the growth of their professional networks.

83.3% either “strongly agree” or “agree” that the fellowship has contributed to their short-term financial stability.

80% either “strongly agree” or “agree” that the fellowship has made them more likely to remain a journalist.

"The fellowship has been a huge learning experience. The most valuable component has been getting to work continuously with the same colleagues and editors for two years as an early career journalist. So many starter positions for young professionals last for just one year or less. The California Local News Fellowship's two year-term has given me more time to develop professional skills and relationships at a lasting and sustainable pace."

— 2023 Fellow

Newsrooms win.

Newsrooms said the primary value of the fellowship is an increased ability to reach new communities and build connections with new audiences.

84.6% say that their fellow has been “very valuable.”

84.6% report greater trust with communities.

92.3% report that the relationship between their organization and the communities they serve is stronger because of their fellow.

"Our current fellow, Erik Adams, has had a significant impact on informing our community. Since his arrival last year, we’ve doubled the number of newscasts we air each weekday and our average number of story clicks has increased, as well as audio downloads on our website. We’ve also seen more engagement with our audience on social media, particularly around callouts for Erik’s stories."

—Sarah Bohannon, North State Public Radio

Communities win.

Ultimately, community impact — providing Californians with information to make informed decisions — is the most important aspect of the fellowship.

80.8% of newsroom respondents report that historically underserved communities have more access to local news because of their fellow.

77% of newsroom respondents report that public service journalism is a more important component of their organization's work as a result of the fellow.

66.7% of fellows either "strongly agree" or "agree" that they are more likely to continue working in California as a result of the fellowship.

"She has consistently gotten scoops by immersing herself in San Francisco’s Asian, and particularly Chinese, communities. She speaks both Cantonese and Mandarin, and has used her language skills and cultural fluency to develop a deep rapport with sources. Her work has spurred an audience reaction that I’ve never seen: When she published articles in English, sources contacted her to ask if Chinese-translated versions were coming. We obliged when we could."

— Lila LaHood, editor at San Francisco Public Press about Fellow Zhe Wu

Alyssah Hall, fellow at Black Voice News. Photo credit: Andrea Lampros.

Woman photographs the border between the U.S. and Mexico.

Emma Lorraine Garcia, fellow at Península 360 Press. Photo credit: Emma Lorraine Garcia

Baltazar Fedalizo, Founder of Powwow On Parade

Building skills and connections to help journalists stay in the field.

Working in journalism, and especially in local news, is hard. Organizations are under-resourced and reporters are expected to independently produce what entire teams would have been assigned to in the past. And they often are facing significant distrust — and even attacks — from the public. The fellowship program augments the newsroom experience with extensive support, training and mentoring to ease the load on newsroom leaders and ensure the fellows are prepared and building their skills.

Cohort managers provide ongoing, one-on-one support to the fellows and plan all the mentoring and training the fellowship provides.

Weekly trainings cover journalism skills and bring in experts to provide deep-dives into relevant topics, like immigration, health care and housing.

Language tutoring is provided to fellows working in a second language, such Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese and other languages.

Small group mentoring with experienced journalists focuses on career development.

Editors are on call to support fellows if they need extra help or are taking on a new reporting challenge.

"I've attended almost every UC Fellowship training session, which has provided a lot of personal support and guidance on how to accomplish both daily reporting and develop multimedia investigations. This training has, in turn, benefited the newsroom as a whole."

—2023 Fellow

Meet our fellows at their orientations.

Christa Scharfenberg in a polka dot skirt holds a mic and gestures while talking to a colleague who is seated. A fellow in the program looks on.

Project Director Christa Scharfenberg talks at the fellowship orientation in August 2024. Ekene "E" Okobi looks on.

A group of people pose for the camera in slightly silly ways.

L-R: Victoria Ivie, Susana Barrón, Andrés Cediel, Constanza Eliana Chinea, Gladys Vargas

A woman in brown coveralls and a pink shirt speaks into the camera with one hand raised.

Ekene "E" Okobi, cohort manager, speaks to new fellows at the fall orientation.

Expanding the reach of local newsrooms.

Voces: Latino Vote 2024
In the lead-up to the 2024 election, some of our fellows teamed up with filmmakers making a national documentary about the Latino vote and produced a series of video shorts. Watch this video about the Latino youth vote in Santa Ana and this one about Jerry Reyes, a first-time voter who shares his support for Donald Trump.

Conéctate Napa County
Highway 29 Media/Napa Valley News Group in Napa County has launched the area's first newsletter specifically for the Latino community, dispatched weekly with help from California Local News Fellow Elsa Cavazos. "Elsa's reporting has been invaluable to the newsletter! A few weeks ago, we featured her coverage of Napa County firefighters deployed to battle the devastating Los Angeles fires. Just last week, she was tipped off about false ICE raid reports circulating on Facebook in Calistoga. She then attended a city meeting with local leaders, confirmed the information was false and helped ensure accurate reporting reached the community," said editor Mariel Gomez.

Serving 'news deserts'
In an effort to serve counties that have little to no local news, some of our newsroom partners are tapping their fellow to expand coverage into neighboring "news deserts." For example, the Sacramento Bee has placed a fellow in nearby Sutter County. The Bay Area News Group's fellow is reporting in Gilroy and Watsonville. And KPBS and inewsource, both based in San Diego, have deployed their fellows to cover the Imperial Valley.

From the inside out.

Steve Brooks, former editor-in-chief of the award-winning San Quentin News, currently serving a term at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, is reporting from inside for the nonprofit newsroom Bay City News. He covers issues of incarceration, criminal justice and human rights.

When an earthquake in the Pacific Ocean sent fears of a tsunami along the West Coast, public warnings sent residents throughout the San Francisco Bay Area to high ground. From inside San Quentin, Brooks reported on what few others could: incarcerated people were only told after-the-fact, when an "all clear" for the tsunami had already been issued. In his widely circulated article, Brooks wrote: "For some incarcerated individuals, one of their biggest fears is to be trapped in their cells during a natural disaster like an earthquake, fire or flood."

As many Californians fled potential tsunami, San Quentin inmates weren’t able to prepare

Steve Brooks, fellow at Bay City News

Steve Brooks, fellow at Bay City News

“Being involved in journalism makes me feel like I serve a real purpose in life, something I’ve never felt before. I like being a voice for the voiceless and helping change the narrative about incarcerated people.”

— Steve Brooks, Fellow