The Jewish Telegraphic Agency has announced the next application round of its journalism fellowship for high school-age Jewish teenagers.
New York area teens: Learn about the New York Jewish Week fellowship here.
Applications are invited from young people (15-18 years old) who are interested in reporting the news of their community through a Jewish teen lens.
“We are defining ‘community’ loosely here – school, neighborhood, identity, culture, hobbies,” the announcement states. “We want to hear how these parts of your life intersect with your Judaism and age-group.
“You provide the story idea and we’ll provide the training and support required to help you produce a 750-1000 article.”
The fellowship is remote. Teens are expected to work independently and be on the hunt for the news in their communities and the world around them, the announcement states, and are expected to produce at least one piece during the course of the fellowship. Teens will be paid for work that is published.
Teens of all backgrounds, identities, genders, cultures and connections to Judaism are encouraged to apply.
Eligibility Requirements
-
- 15-18 years old
- Self-identified Jewish
- Interest in news media (online, audio, video)
- U.S.-based
- Journalism experience isn’t required
Fellowship Schedule
The fellowship will run Jan.-May 2026. We will hold three virtual meetings – in the beginning, middle and end. All reporting, writing, revising will be done independently during the fellowship. Fellows’ deadlines and meetings will be determined on a story-by-story basis.
Before You Apply
This is not an activist or advocacy opportunity. Our newsroom’s goal is to report facts without bias and without making assumptions about what our readers believe or experience. Teen writers will be asked to do the same.
Read through these stories the past fellows produced. These will give you a sense of the type of articles we are interested in publishing. Keep this in mind as you fill out the application.
Watch this video about what we are looking for in a good story idea. Your story idea can make or break your application and we want to make sure you understand how to make sure your idea is newsworthy.
Payment
Fellows will be paid a $100 gift card for each story that JTA publishes.
Application
*Apply to the JTA Teen Journalism Fellowship today! Fill out the application here.*
DEADLINE:Â We are accepting applications through Sun. Jan. 18, 2026.
Questions?
Email [email protected]
About the Editor
The program is led by Katina Paron, MJE, who also runs the New York Jewish Week Teen Fellowship. For 30 years she’s helped create byline opportunities for young reporters and training for journalism teachers. She is the author of the comic book-style textbook, “A NewsHound’s Guide to Student Journalism” (McFarland) and was the senior project editor on The Trace’s award-winning national youth media gun violence reporting project, “Since Parkland.” She’s written about youth journalism for The New York Times, The Daily News, WNYC SchoolBook and more. You can find her on Instagram.
This fellowship is made possible through the generous support of the Norman E. Alexander Family G Foundation.
*Apply to the JTA Teen Journalism Fellowship today! Fill out the application here.*
