Climate 2026-27 News Fellow

Colorado Public Radio is seeking a Climate & Environment News Fellow for a full-time, paid position from September 2026 to August 2027. The fellowship focuses on developing climate journalism skills, including reporting, interviewing, and interpreting scientific research. The role offers newsroom experience and mentorship, culminating in a portfolio of published work. This position requires in-person work at the Denver newsroom and is not remote.
Who We Are:


Colorado Public Radio is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that produces meaningful news, music, and cultural experiences to everyone in Colorado using the power of the human voice in all its forms. 100 percent of CPR’s funds come from the private support of listeners, businesses and foundations. For more information, visit www.cpr.org.



CPR News delivers in-depth, insightful and impartial news and information from around the world, across the nation and throughout Colorado, examining its relevance to our state and connecting it to our community.
CPR Classical takes listeners on an in-depth exploration of thoughtfully curated music – with an emphasis on Colorado’s classical community – providing context to a broad range of meaningful and compelling works from past to present.
Indie 102.3 takes listeners inside the world of new and independent music – exposing them to up-and-coming artists and highlighting Colorado’s local music scene.
Denverite is an online news source dedicated to Denver's curious and concerned.
KRCC is a public radio station in Colorado Springs, Colorado, serving Southern Colorado. KRCC is operated by Colorado Public Radio in partnership with Colorado College.

Our values inspire, inform and guide our everyday actions. They serve as a set of expectations and a promise we make to ourselves, our partners and audiences.


• Creative • Curious • Ethical • Inclusive • Respectful


At Colorado Public Radio we are committed to cultivating and sustaining a diverse and inclusive workplace that helps us represent the voices of the communities within Colorado. We highly encourage individuals with unique contributions such as ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity, nation of origin, age, language, veteran status, color, religion, disability and sexual orientation to apply to our openings. CPR is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes everyone to our team.


Colorado Public Radio (CPR) is hiring a Climate & Environment News Fellow.


About the Position:


Climate journalism is a rapidly growing field, characterized by a recent significant increase in specialized coverage, dedicated desks at major media outlets, such as NPR, the Washington Post, and the New York Times, and a surge in non-profit, collaborative reporting models.


This fellowship is designed to immerse you in climate and environment reporting while strengthening your skills in crafting clear and compelling journalism. You’ll learn how to build a beat, develop sources, conduct interviews, interpret complex scientific research and policy, and present this information in ways that inform and engage a broad audience. You will gain newsroom experience and mentorship that hones your beat reporting skills and prepares you to produce strong journalism across audio and digital formats. By the end of the fellowship, you will have climate reporting experience, a portfolio of published work, and a stronger sense of whether you’d like to pursue climate and environment reporting.


This is not a remote position. This role is expected to work from our newsroom in downtown Denver upon starting. The fellowship is a full-time, paid opportunity and runs from September 2026 to August 2027.


Key learning objectives for this experience include:



Building climate reporting skills by interpreting scientific research, translating complex science and policy for general audiences, and understanding the national and state landscape of climate science and policy.
Strengthening writing and journalism skills for multiple platforms, with an emphasis on digital and audio formats. This includes, but is not limited to, developing interviewing skills, understanding the audience, source identification, writing in AP style, learning how to write for broadcast, and exercising news judgement.
Producing stories across a range of formats and styles including newscasts, radio features, debriefs and 2-way interviews, short radio segments and audience-focused digital stories — all while meeting standards for clarity, structure, accuracy and storytelling.
Gathering in-field audio and using audio editing software to prepare it for delivery on the radio and online.
Developing the knowledge and skills to produce journalism ethically and responsibly.
Understanding the key skills and experiences needed to pursue a career in climate journalism.

About You:


You are a recent graduate or early career journalist who is looking to further develop your skills in climate journalism. Or you might be newer to journalism, but want to pivot into a career on this beat because you already have translatable writing skills and an understanding of the core ethics and principles of journalism, or possess a deep knowledge of climate issues. You're self-motivated, creative, curious, and interested in supporting journalism’s role in shaping democracy and educating communities. You know how to distill information from a variety of sources, and are looking for an opportunity to grow and develop your talents in the world of public radio.


Minimum Qualifications:



Less than 2 years of professional journalism experience.
Knowledge of the fundamentals of fair and accurate reporting.
Strong writing skills including grammar, spelling, and constructing clear and concise sentences. Experience using research, data and interviews to construct fair and factual writing.
Experience with Google Suite or similar technology including word processing software, spreadsheets, email and messaging systems.
Experience with using search engines, and an understanding of how to utilize tools such as social media to promote content.
Experience collaborating with others on projects and a demonstrated ability to work effectively with a diverse group of people across many areas of interest and platforms.
A commitment to telling stories that reflect diverse human experiences, build trust with sources, and highlight issues impacting underserved communities.
A valid driver’s license and clean driving record is required as this role needs access to reliable transportation to respond with urgency to news events. Newsroom vehicles may sometimes be available for your use.

Education Equivalency:



A degree is not necessary. The fellowship is designed to support recent graduates, early career journalists with less than 2 years of experience, or those looking to pivot into the field of journalism. If you have 2+ years of professional journalism experience, we encourage you to apply to other full-time CPR positions.

Don't meet every single requirement? Research has shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Colorado Public Radio, we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive, equitable and authentic workplace. If you're excited about this role, but your past experience doesn't perfectly align with every qualification in the job posting, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles with us.


Benefits:


Colorado Public Radio is proud to offer a comprehensive benefits package that reflects our culture of caring. Our employees have access to: 100 percent employer paid individual health, life, and disability coverage; an outstanding paid family medical leave policy plus paid holidays and a very generous sick, vacation, and personal time off plan; voluntary offerings such as dental and vision; flexible schedules; engagement and development opportunities; and a casual atmosphere.


Position Information:


Position Type: Full-Time, Temporary


Anticipated Start: September 8, 2026 to August 27, 2027


Hiring Range: $21.59 hourly (budgeted for 40 hours per week)


Application Requirements:


. Please upload a resume and respond to the application questions.


Incomplete Applications will not be considered.


Deadline: This position was posted on March 30th, 2026. We recommend you apply as soon as possible as the posting may close before April 19th if we have a strong candidate pool.


At Colorado Public Radio we are committed to cultivating and sustaining a diverse and inclusive workplace that helps us represent the voices of the communities within Colorado. We highly encourage candidates with unique contributions such as ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity, nation of origin, age, language, veteran status, color, religion, disability and sexual orientation to apply to our openings. CPR is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes everyone to our team. If you need reasonable accommodation at any point in the application or interview process, please let us know.