Media Release: June 8, 2026
New health fellowships to build on successful state-funded local news program in California
In a first-of-its-kind public-private journalism partnership, the California Health Care Foundation will support five two-year local health reporting fellowships beginning this September through the UC Berkeley-based California Local News Fellowship, bolstering coverage for communities often underserved by the media.
The $625,000 California Health Care Foundation investment builds on the state-funded California Local News Fellowship by adding a much-needed focus on deeply reported stories about health and disparities. Research shows that the decline in local health journalism results in a weakened information ecosystem, the potential weaponization of disinformation and a diminished voter turnout.
“Informed communities are healthier, more resilient communities, and strong local journalism is essential to that,” said Dr. Sandra Hernández, president and CEO of the California Health Care Foundation. “We’re proud to build on California’s pioneering public investment in the California Local News Fellowship. Together, we’ll deepen local health reporting and help Californians understand how their health systems work and what’s at stake in the policy decisions ahead.”
Fellows, selected through a competitive process, will serve California communities facing high rates of poverty and medical debt, along with aggressive anti-immigration policies, language challenges and ethnic and racial discrimination. These areas include California’s Central Valley and agricultural areas on the Central Coast, the Inland Empire and Imperial counties to the south and northern counties of Humboldt, Del Norte, Lake, Shasta, Siskiyou and Trinity.
The California Local News Fellowship was launched in 2023 with a $25 million state investment spearheaded by Steve Glazer, a former and longtime state lawmaker — enabling a new national model that has placed more than 110 journalists in newsrooms statewide.
“Some ten thousand stories and counting reported for underrepresented Californians would likely have gone uncovered without this groundbreaking public investment,” said Monica Campbell, director of the California Local News Fellowship. “It’s exciting to see this partnership leverage the state’s investment for even greater impact through deeply reported stories that helps residents better understand the issues affecting their everyday lives.”
The Fellowship, which requires a state allocation annually to continue, was championed last year by Senators Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas) and John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) and Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) and supported by budget leaders Senators Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymembers Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino) and David Alvarez (D-San Diego). The additional $15 million state investment in 2025 expanded the effort to include the Propel Initiative, which is led by the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education in collaboration with the California Black Media, Latino Media Collaborative and American Community Media.
California State Senator Ben Allen and Assemblymember Buffy Wicks are championing efforts to renew the program again this year.
The local health reporting fellows will join a new cohort of nearly 40 California Local News Fellows this fall, earning a UC Berkeley salary and benefits. They will also receive support from UC Berkeley Journalism Professor and public health expert Elena Conis and from the California Local News Fellowship team — including a dedicated editor experienced in health coverage.
“Our hope is that these fellowships will result in residents, policymakers, and health care practitioners who are better informed about the health conditions of their communities,” said Conis, who won a 2026 Guggenheim Fellowship to finish a book about the history of measles. “We also expect the fellowships will empower Californians with the information they need to make more thoughtful decisions about their health and that of their communities.”
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Media Contact: Andrea Lampros, Communications Director, UC Berkeley Journalism,
alampros@berkeley.edu or 510.847.4469