Grist - Fellowship Program (2026-2027)

The Grist Fellowship Program is a paid opportunity to hone your skills at a national news outlet and deepen your understanding of environmental issues. The experience is designed to give early-career journalists with a demonstrated interest in environmental issues the experience to succeed in climate and environmental media. We offer real-world experience at a fast-paced news site, training in a variety of skills key to a journalism career, and exposure to the leading sustainability thinkers and theories of our time.

After a year of working full-time at Grist and gaining key skills in environmental journalism, fellows have gone on to outlets including The Atlantic, Capital B, Politico, Investigate Midwest, The Verge, Wirecutter, Outside, Atlas Obscura, Greentech Media, and of course, Grist. 

What kind of work will I do during the fellowship? 

Typically, fellows are asked to write a few short-form stories or pieces of news analysis each week, contribute regularly to Grist’s newsletter products, and also have the opportunity over the course of their fellowship to work on an enterprise or feature story. They may also be asked to assist with other reporting duties, including research, production, fact-checking, and copy-editing as needed.

What concrete skills will I walk away with after completing the Grist fellowship? 

Our biggest priority is to immerse fellows in the topics of climate, justice, and solutions while building their skills as journalists. Fellows will become fluent in the environmental news of the day; solutions being developed by governments, the private sector, and communities; and the critical role of equity in all environmental issues and potential solutions. Fellows learn how to work in a busy, distributed newsroom, and by being paired with a main editor and ancillary editors, get exposure to different editing styles. Fellows also have the opportunity to participate in weekly journalism trainings on a range of journalism skill areas, from filing FOIA requests to data visualization to cultivating relationships with sources.

About us

Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Our goal is to use the power of storytelling to illuminate the way toward a better world, inspire millions of people to walk that path with us, and show that the time for action is now.

Since 1999, we have used the power of journalism to engage the public about the perils of the most existential threat we face. Now that three-quarters of Americans recognize that climate change is happening, we’ve shifted our focus to show that a just and sustainable future is within reach. Fix — our Solutions Lab — builds on our journalism by connecting and elevating the people who make change happen through storytelling, events, and network-building.

At Grist we engage our audience to ensure that as progress is made — and we assure you, it’s being made — no one is left behind. We have until roughly 2030 to dramatically slash our carbon emissions to lessen the greatest impacts of climate change — and we need to innovate and adapt to a future that is quickly becoming a reality. We’re committed to the stories, the people, and the ideas that will make this possible. We count on the generosity of foundations, major donors, corporate and nonprofit partners, and a growing community of members. Climate change is the most important story of our time.