ProPublica Investigative Editor Training Program (US)

ProPublica is dedicated to journalism that changes laws and lives and to advancing the careers of the people who produce it. The goal of this program is to address the industry’s critical need to diversify the ranks of investigative editors.

This program is funded through the generous support of the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, which supports organizations in journalism, film and the arts whose work is dedicated to social justice and strengthening democracy.

Benefit

• ProPublica will cover participants’ expenses for meals, travel and lodging during the boot camp.

What kind of experience can you expect?

• The program kicks off with a five-day intensive editing boot camp in New York, with courses and panel discussions led by ProPublica’s senior editors, veteran reporters and other newsroom leaders. The boot camp will include hands-on editing exercises and opportunities for participants to workshop projects underway in their own newsrooms.
• Afterward, participants will gather virtually every two months for seminars and career development discussions with their cohort and ProPublica journalists. Each of the participants will also be assigned a ProPublica senior editor as a mentor for advice on story and management challenges or on how to most effectively pursue their own professional aspirations.

What skills should you expect to learn?

• How to evaluate story ideas and determine the right scope, length and time for getting the work done.
• How to manage a reporter through a complicated accountability story and communicate feedback in ways that build trust and confidence?
• How to edit investigative drafts, spot holes in reporting logic, organize a narrative and guide the reporter through the fact-checking process.
• How to work collaboratively with research, data and multimedia teams to elevate an investigative project.

Who is eligible?

• The program is open to all, but they especially encourage people from traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities. As part of the application, participants will be asked how their inclusion in the program will help to diversify the editing ranks of investigative journalism.
• The program is open to all, but the goal is to improve the diversity of investigative editors in the United States.
• The ideal participants will have:
  • A minimum of five years of journalism experience, either as an editor or as a reporter primarily doing work with an investigative or accountability focus.
  • A strong grasp of the basics of editing, storytelling, structure and framing.
  • Experience managing a team of journalists or a complicated multipronged reporting project.
  • An accountability mindset: You don’t have to have been on the investigative team, but they are looking for people with an eye for watchdog reporting and editing.

For more information, visit ProPublica.