FOLLOW US
Call for The Pulitzer Center Launches the 2026-27 Rainforest Investigations Network Fellowship!!!
The Pulitzer Center is now accepting applications for the 2026-27 cohort of the Rainforest Investigations Network (RIN). This prestigious fellowship is designed to support investigative journalists who are committed to uncovering the complex and often hidden drivers of deforestation, illegal logging, and environmental crimes in the world’s most critical rainforest basins. In an era where climate change and biodiversity loss are global emergencies, this initiative provides the resources, network, and editorial support necessary to produce high-impact, data-driven storytelling that holds powerful interests accountable for the destruction of nature.
Get the Youth Opportunities iOS App here for the fully-funded opportunities.
The RIN fellowship is a year-long commitment that offers more than just financial support; it provides a collaborative ecosystem for journalists working on the front lines of environmental reporting. Fellows become part of a global network of peers, sharing data, investigative techniques, and cross-border leads to trace the global supply chains and financial flows that fuel rainforest destruction. The Pulitzer Center emphasizes “follow the money” reporting, encouraging applicants to look beyond local actors and investigate the international corporations and financial institutions that profit from environmental degradation. By bridging the gap between local reporting and global accountability, RIN ensures that vital environmental stories reach a worldwide audience and spark meaningful policy change.
Youth Opportunities invites you to join your preferred channel to get the latest updates directly to your Messenger inbox.
- Youth Opportunities: https://m.me/j/AbZTmgEzD1UchDte/
- Fully Funded Conferences: https://m.me/j/AbZTfhFTiPCnXf2D/
- Full Scholarships: https://m.me/j/AbbrjbkOMM6I68Cs/
- Paid Internships/Jobs: https://m.me/j/AbaAskb6jFFnRser/
- Circle: https://m.me/j/AbY0vVKSPJULUnE4/
This program is specifically tailored for veteran reporters and innovative storytellers who are ready to dedicate a significant portion of their year to a single, deep-dive investigation. Whether you are a staff reporter at a major newsroom or an independent freelancer with a proven track record, the RIN fellowship offers the professional freedom and technical infrastructure—including access to satellite imagery and data scientists—to bring your most ambitious investigative projects to life. This is a unique opportunity to join a world-class cohort of journalists dedicated to protecting the lungs of our planet through the power of truth and rigorous reporting.
Benefits
- Salary and Reporting Coverage: The fellowship provides financial support to cover the reporter’s salary, ensuring they can focus entirely on their investigation without routine newsroom pressures. Additional funding is also available to cover critical reporting-related expenses such as travel, research, and hiring specialized consultants. This comprehensive funding model allows for high-stakes investigative work that might otherwise be financially impossible for independent journalists or smaller newsrooms.
- Data and Satellite Access: Fellows receive specialized technical support, including access to high-resolution satellite imagery and advanced data sets for precise environmental monitoring. The program assists data scientists and researchers who help translate complex environmental data into compelling, evidence-based narratives. This technical infrastructure empowers journalists to use cutting-edge tools to verify deforestation and track environmental changes in real-time.
- Collaborative Network: Participants join an elite global community of investigative journalists, allowing them to share leads, cross-border data, and collaborative storytelling strategies. The program emphasizes the sharing of investigative techniques and financial investigation methods to uncover systemic drivers of forest destruction. This collaborative environment ensures that investigations have a global reach and are supported by a diverse group of experts working across three tropical basins.
- Editorial and Safety Support: Journalists benefit from high-level editorial guidance and mentorship from veteran investigative editors throughout the year-long project. The program also provides access to specialized resources and training focused on the physical and digital safety of journalists working in high-risk environments. Furthermore, fellows can leverage the Pulitzer Center’s vast network to ensure their finished investigations reach major international media outlets and key stakeholders.
- Technical Training: Beyond data access, fellows undergo advanced training sessions in satellite imagery analysis and specialized financial investigation techniques. These skills provide a professional edge, allowing journalists to produce sophisticated reports that link local environmental crimes to international financial flows.
Eligibilities
- Experienced investigative journalists with a proven track record covering the Amazon, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia regions.
- Reporters based in countries outside the three main tropical rainforest regions—Amazon, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia—may also apply but will need to focus their reporting during the fellowship on stories related to these regions.
- Staff or freelance journalists working on a wide range of platforms, including print, radio, video, and multimedia. Freelance reporters will need to have the support of a local or international newsroom that agrees to host them and publish the work they produce during the fellowship.
- Team players with the experience and/or ability to work collaboratively across newsrooms and borders.
- Reporters with a deep understanding of the scientific, environmental, social, legal, political, and commercial forces at play in deforestation and forest degradation around the world—and why this issue matters to our global well-being.
- Reporters willing to participate in outreach activities related to their investigations, such as meetings in communities and visits to schools and universities.
Application Process
- A statement of purpose within 500 words
- An investigative project proposal describing the most ambitious rainforest reporting you seek to pursue during your fellowship. It is expected that by the time you apply, you have already done pre-reporting to determine the scope, feasibility, and novelty of the project. If the investigation includes a cross-border approach, explain your collaboration plan and identify partners outside and within the network. (1,000 words)
- A plan for how your project will be published and distributed, which audiences you want to reach, and how you will engage them (500 words).
- Three examples (links) of your most impactful investigations published in the past three years.
- A letter of support from your media employer or a newsroom that has agreed to host you as a Rainforest Investigations Network Fellow and publish your work.
- Three professional references: These can be either contact information or letters of recommendation.
- A copy of your résumé or curriculum vitae.
- A reminder on the use of AI
- Applicants are assessed on their ability to articulate original ideas, editorial judgment, and journalistic voice. Proposals drafted using AI tools often result in generic prose, a lack of specificity, and factual errors that can weaken an application. While translation assistance and light proofreading are acceptable, generating the core substance of the proposal with AI is not permitted.
