City Bureau editors answered some of our most-asked questions about the program during a July webinar.
by Linze Rice
City Bureau fellows spend four months in an intensive learning program focused on community-centered reporting. [City Bureau]
As City Bureau’s longest-running program, the Civic Reporting Fellowship has gone through a host of changes over its nearly 10 years. In its current format, the four-month fellowship offers four participants per cycle an intensive training in community-centered journalism focused around a beat topic and culminating in feature reporting projects.
Each year, we get a lot of questions from potential applicants, asking if they would be a good fit for the program or if we have any tips on applying. This month, we hosted an informational webinar to address these questions and more. Participants wondered if they were required to live in Chicago (no, but you should be able to commute to the city for fellowship sessions and reporting), and whether fellows can also be Chicago Documenters (absolutely!).
Interested in applying? Applications can be submitted on a rolling basis, but those interested in our Fall 2025 cycle must apply by 11:59 p.m. Monday, July 21. Dates for the 2026 fellowship cycles will be announced this fall.
For those who might have missed the session, we picked three of the most-asked questions. Have another question not mentioned here? Check out the recorded webinar below, or email us at fellowship@citybureau.org.
What should story pitches look like in the application?
While we ask you to provide two story pitches in the application, they are not necessarily pitches for the article you would write as a fellow. Instead, we are looking to gauge your understanding of what makes a good news article and your ability to concisely convey it.
A great pitch is one that pinpoints a timely problem, shows you have done some research on the topic — including seeing what has already been written about it — and spells out how you would tackle the story, potentially outlining who you would interview and why. It’s specific, short (A couple of paragraphs is plenty!) and isn’t a repeat of an article that has already been written. If it is a topic that has previously been covered, show us how your story differs from past articles. What is it about the angle you’re taking that will make your article unique? Why does this story matter now?
What if I have a job, am a student or plan on traveling during the fellowship?
The fellowship requires about 15 hours per week and will include assignments, research and attending events, including in-person interviews and weekly team meetings and learning sessions. Some of these meetings are virtual, and some take place at our Bronzeville office, 3619 S. State St.
Fellows are expected to attend the virtual and in-person meetings, as well as spend time reporting in person. They should have reliable transportation and live close enough to make it to these sessions, events and interviews. Fellows can miss a total of four sessions over their four months; however, we encourage them to miss as few as possible, since each session is designed to support their growth as a reporter.
We caution that full-time students would unlikely have the bandwidth to complete fellowship assignments in addition to homework, classes and studying. If you’re a part-time student, it will depend on your schedule, class and coursework, and how much time you will have available.
For similar reasons, those with full-time jobs with a lot of overtime or work outside of regular business hours could find the fellowship to be too much of a strain. City Bureau editors will discuss workload and availability with applicants who advance to the interview phase to better figure out work-related capacity.
Those with plans to travel during the fellowship will still need to adhere to the fellowship schedule and cannot miss more than four sessions. If it’s extensive travel that conflicts repeatedly with the schedule, then it may be best to wait until the next fellowship cycle. If it’s a one-time trip, that is usually workable.
If we already applied, can we get feedback? What if we have a question during the application process? Can we apply again if we aren’t accepted?
Yes! If you have already applied, you can absolutely get feedback on your application. Just reach out to fellowship@citybureau.org, and we will respond to your questions.
If you have a question during the application process, you can watch the webinar video below to see if your question has been answered by City Bureau staff, or reach out to fellowship@citybureau.org and someone from the fellowship program will get back to you.
If you aren’t accepted this cycle, don’t get discouraged — you can always reapply. We typically receive about ten times as many applications as we have spots. Sometimes it takes a schedule change, a move, an update in life circumstances or a better understanding of the fellowship before it all aligns.
We have had fellows who have applied several times and ultimately landed a spot. If you’re really interested, keep trying. And in the meantime, don’t hesitate to get feedback to see where a future application could be improved upon.
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