Over a blue background, the logos for the Maynard Institute, the California Local News Fellowship, and the Propel Initiative. At right, a stock image of a laptop sitting next to paper marked with red pen where someone has been editing. Bottom center: a photo of Felecia D. Henderson, a Black woman with medium length hair wearing white and gesturing while speaking. At right: white text reads "Led by Felecia D. Henderson, Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives."

The California Local News Fellowship Editing Program

In partnership with the California Local News Fellowship program, the Maynard Institute will support five reporters or producers to move into editing roles. We will provide intensive skill-building training and mentoring before and during their newsroom terms, in the craft of editing but also the art of managing people.

The importance of training and mentorship

Historically, reporters have moved into editing roles with little to no training in either; we seek to provide a strong foundation for the fellows, setting them up to succeed as editors and managers and to dramatically increase the capacity of newsrooms to produce more reporting for their communities.

The Maynard Institute provides training and mentoring at the beginning and throughout the fellowship. Fellows will develop core editing skills, leadership, and equitable newsroom practices, with access to mentors and peer support.

Editors: the backbone of the newsroom

Central to the story of the decline of local news is the dramatic reduction in the number of reporters working in communities across the country. There is an equally concerning, yet less visible, decline in the number of editors working in newsrooms. Editors are a vital resource as they set the editorial scope and direction of a newsroom, guide the work of reporters and ensure accuracy and accountability.

Editors also play an essential role in shaping the next generation of journalists; early-career journalists benefit enormously from strong editors who provide on-the-job training, helping reporters to learn the ropes, get to know their beats, become more discerning about what makes a good or important story, and find their voice, among many other things.

Unfortunately, most newsrooms have had to cut their editing ranks just as severely as their reporting ranks, leaving newsrooms under-resourced to carry out their critical mission. To help address this gap, the California Local News Fellowship program is launching a pilot, one-year editing fellowship program in 2026.

A black and white photo. A young Asian woman sits closest to the camera wearing a loose collared blouse and writing on a notepad while listening intently to someone out of frame. Behind her, a man with dark hair, glasses, and a mustache also takes notes. He wears a striped shirt and a tie. Behind him several more people listen to the off-screen person. They sit in front of desks with a row of boxy computer monitors. From the computers, clothing, and hairstyles this photo appears to have been taken in the mid-1980s.

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