Rebecca Martin

Newsroom cohort manager, California Local News Fellowship

Rebecca Martin joined the California Local News Fellowship in January 2026 as newsroom cohort manager, leading newsroom partnerships.

Rebecca brings more than 20 years of experience producing, editing and leading journalists across platforms. She spent more than two decades in editorial leadership roles at YR Media (formerly Youth Radio), an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization. Over its history, YR Media served as NPR’s youth desk, and Rebecca oversaw the mentoring and training of thousands of emerging journalists.

Rebecca’s teams have earned top honors in journalism, including Peabody, duPont and Murrow awards, and her partnerships ranged from The New York Times and Radiotopia to local radio stations. She has helped build networks connecting urban and rural communities from California’s Central Valley to Appalachia. She spent more than a decade helping develop and lead the California Youth Media Network.

Before YR Media, Rebecca worked at PRX’s The World, NPR and CNN. A UC Berkeley alumna, she began her journalism career as a student reporter and worked in the KALX newsroom as an undergraduate.