InsideClimate News (ICN) will host an independent journalist to produce watchdog environmental journalism through a fellowship sponsored by the Fund for Investigative Journalism. The Will Sage Astorprogram aims to support investigative reporting by journalists from diverse backgrounds.

ICN will provide editing and mentoring for the fellow. The Marshall Project, focused on criminal justice, and the podcast Reveal, from the Center for Investigative Reporting, will also host fellows.

ICN will work with FIJ to select a journalist pursuing an investigative reporting project of national interest on climate change or environmental justice. ICN editors and FIJ board members will select the FIJ fellow this fall, after a call for proposals announced today. The deadline to apply is October 1. 

FIJ launched a drive in 2017 to increase diversity in the investigative journalism community. So far, 11 journalists have taken part in the program. The Ford Foundation, the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation and the Reva and David Logan Foundation have provided funds and support to FIJ fellows.

“We’re delighted to work with the Fund for Investigative Journalism on this important project and to bring an FIJ fellow into our newsroom and community,” said Stacy Feldman, ICN’s executive editor. “It’s crucial to have reporters from a broad range of perspectives and backgrounds and underrepresented communities to help us tell stories from different vantage points.”

For nearly half a century, FIJ has supported independent journalists who have lacked the resources to pursue their investigations. The late Philip M. Stern founded FIJ in 1969 to invest in the work of determined journalists in the fight against racism, poverty, corporate greed and governmental corruption. FIJ-supported projects have won a wide array of journalistic honors such as the Pulitzer Prize, the Peabody Award, the George Polk Award and the Sigma Delta Chi Award.

“It is critically important to support and train a new generation of investigative journalists,” said FIJ Board President Marcia Bullard. “We’re excited to offer diverse journalists the opportunity to work with these stellar journalism organizations.”

The non-profit Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting will offer additional training and support to the 2019 fellows. The IBWS is dedicated to increasing and retaining reporters and editors of color in the field of investigative reporting.

InsideClimate News is a Pulitzer Prize-winning nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization, providing essential reporting and analysis on climate change, energy and the environment. It serves as a watchdog on government, industry and advocacy groups. Started 11 years ago as a two-person blog, ICN has grown into one of the largest environmental newsrooms in the country.

ICN is committed to establishing a national reporting network, training the next generation of journalists and strengthening the practice of environmental journalism.