J. The Jewish News of Northern California has been chosen as a newsroom partner in the California Local News Fellowship, allowing the publication to add an additional full-time reporter to its newsroom for the next two years.
Julia Métraux, currently an editorial fellow at Mother Jones news magazine, will join J. as its fellow on Sept. 9.
The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded program run through the UC Berkeley Graduate School for Journalism. It is designed to support and strengthen local news reporting throughout the state at a time when many newsrooms are struggling to stay open.
The program places dozens of early-career journalists at California news organizations for two-year, full-time positions. The fellowship is competitive, both for publications seeking to hire a fellow and for journalists who wish to be placed in one. J. editors interviewed several candidates who had indicated an interest in working with the publication.
Métraux was the natural choice, managing editor Sue Barnett said.
“Julia is bright and thoughtful, and is clearly committed to community journalism. She is well-versed in reporting on Jewish and disability communities and had some wonderful ideas for stories and coverage at J.,” she said.
In her application, Métraux, who has a master’s degree in journalism from UC Berkeley, noted her interest in writing about “healthcare, disability, chronic illness, mental health and aging.” She shared a personal story about a surprise diagnosis of a rare condition that spurred her interest in health reporting. Métraux has several awards for her reporting on health and disability, and a sizable following on X.
“I’m happy to say I’ll be joining @jewishsf as a California Local News fellow in September for two years,” she said in a post on X. “I’ll still be reporting on disability, mental health stuff and more, but within Jewish communities in NorCal.” She added that she was having some fun on J.’s Archives site, where she found an article about a relative of hers.
The first cohort of fellows began working last year. This year’s cohort of 39 new fellows will bring the total number serving newsrooms throughout California to 75. Publications accepted into the program include small and large newspapers, public radio stations and community and ethnic media outlets, from the Sacramento Bee and San Francisco Chronicle to El Timpano and Người Việt News.