What are the responsibilities and job description for the Reporting Fellow position at Advance Local?
Reporting Fellow
This is a hybrid work opportunity located within the Birmingham, AL area.
As part of our ongoing commitment to building talented newsrooms that understand the communities we serve, Advance Local Media is offering an unique opportunity to pursue a paid online Master’s of Journalism with one of the top journalism schools - the Syracuse University Newhouse School of Communications.
Through this fellowship program, you will receive real-life experience working with the Alabama Media Group and AL.com while earning your master’s degree. The program features a flexible work start date to coincide with Syracuse University’s online academic term, beginning in May 2026.
A successful candidate will be able to cover General Assignment news in-person, including videos and live interviews for streaming on social media. The Reporting Fellow will work a Tuesday – Saturday schedule.
Alabama Media Group is one of the country's most innovative local media companies -- and operates AL.com, the Alabama Education Lab, This is Alabama, the Birmingham News, Huntsville Times and Mobile Press-Register daily digital editions. In addition, the company runs a digital marketing business which serves advertising clients throughout the Southeast, a film production group Advance Originals, and the national brand It's a Southern Thing. In the past 7 years, AL.com journalists have been awarded four Pulitzer Prize awards and been a finalist for another, won more than 20 regional Emmys for documentary work, an Edward R. Murrow award for podcasting and a Webby Award for short-form comedy, and most recently won an Investigative Reporters and Editors award for coverage of the state parole system.
As an Advance Local Reporting Fellow with Alabama Media Group, you will be part of a dynamic and inclusive newsroom team focused on local journalism for one of the country’s largest privately owned media companies. Your success will come from producing news stories for various platforms while meeting audience demand for immediacy, depth, and engagement. You’ll be supported by our leadership team, your colleagues, and our commitment to provide resources for your successful journalism career.
The base salary range is $42,000 to $48,000 per year.
In your role during the academic program, you will:
- Help us tell stories through written text and video that go beyond the who and what, to give the how and why that help us bring change to our communities
- Gather information and write journalistically sound news items that are: balanced and factual; timely and topical; and, well-sourced and contextually correct
- Interact on social media platforms, sharing articles, answering questions, promoting your topic and the newsroom’s initiatives
- Bring your unique mindset and your voracious consumption of news about Alabama
- Pitch stories about news, trends and conversations about what’s happening in the community.
For this position we’re looking for candidates with:
- Degree in journalism, communications or other field, with demonstrated communication, writing and organizational skills
- Ability to work independently and remotely, under deadline pressure while prioritizing tasks
- Understanding of news writing, journalistic ethics, and story structure
- Experience with search engine optimization practices and social media to source and promote content
- Understanding of the methods and tools used to deliver content across a variety of platforms
- Understanding imperatives of multiple platforms – print, mobile, digital, etc.
- Relevant internships
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
This job requires reliable transportation to meet with sources or cover events.
When applying for this role, in the resume section, please add the following items to the “Additional Documents” section:
- Work samples showcasing your skills (links are fine)
- Cover letter including a description of how you overcame a hurdle or burden, whether it be geographic residency, financial means and/or socioeconomic status, family background, and/or parental education level or other, has affected or inspired your life.
Application Deadline
Final deadline for applications is February 16, 2026.
Salary : $42,000 - $48,000