The Hearst Fellowship for Newsroom AI Development is a one-year program focused on building tools for journalists and experiences for readers with the cutting-edge technology. The successful candidate will embed on the DevHub, Hearst’s San Francisco-based editorial innovation team, and they will work on AI-assisted projects, tools and news products with our core product and engineering teams and our top metro newsrooms: San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, Austin American-Statesman, San Antonio Express-News, (Albany) Times Union and our Hearst Connecticut newsrooms.
Fellows will receive training, mentorship and real-world experience alongside top journalist-programmers who build interactive experiences and automation tools focused on building connections to the local communities we cover.
Hearst Fellows are full-time employees with competitive salary and benefits, including health insurance, relocation allowance and a housing stipend.
What the DevHub does
The Hearst DevHub is a team of editorial engineers, AI developers, data journalists, interactive designers and content strategists who collaborate with local newsrooms to create best-in-class digital experiences. We make things like election results pages, AI tools, searchable databases, severe weather trackers, elegantly designed alternative story forms and whatever else you can dream up. You can learn more about the DevHub here.
What this fellowship could mean for your future
Our goal for the program is for Fellows to earn full-time employment at the end of the yearlong term. We want to train our next builders, and then continue supporting them as they grow into our future leaders.
While participation in the program is not a guarantee of future employment, our goal is to recruit candidates who eventually will join our full-time professional staff. All of us here have an investment in your future and in the future of Hearst Newspapers.
What the successful candidate will do on the DevHub
- Create AI tools for newsrooms and experiences for readers that adhere to our strict editorial standards and company policies.
- Work with newsrooms on best practices for AI usage.
- Enrich existing tools and interactives with fresh approaches to workflows, data analysis and visualization.
- Innovate with new technology to benefit journalists and the communities we cover.
Hearst Fellowships jump-start great journalism careers
The experience you gain as a Hearst Fellow is the start of a strong foundation for your journalism career. Our objective is to recruit, train and retain journalists who have experience with AI, data journalism and programming. Candidates should be college graduates with interest, experience or background in journalism and AI.
How Fellows are selected
Hearst DevHub team members will conduct multiple interviews and test the top candidates.
If you are offered and accept a position, you will be assigned a mentor, and we’ll help you develop relationships with seasoned professionals throughout Hearst Newspapers and beyond.
Requirements and Information
Please see our Fellows website at https://hearstfellowships.com. In addition, candidates must be willing to relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area and work a hybrid in-office schedule.
To be considered you must submit in all required documents in PDF format:
- One-page resume that includes past journalistic experience, academic major and minor, date or expected date of graduation, permanent and current addresses, email, website, and social media addresses (if applicable).
- Reference page that includes three work references including titles, email addresses and phone numbers.
- Page with links to portfolio or digital work samples.
Deadline to apply for the Fellowship program is Jan. 4, 2027.
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Skills Required
- College graduate
- Interest, experience, or background in journalism and AI
- Willingness to relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area
- Willingness to work a hybrid in-office schedule
- One-page resume in PDF format including specified academic, professional, contact, and social media information
- Reference page with three work references, including titles, email addresses, and phone numbers
- Portfolio or digital work sample links
Hearst Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Hearst and has not been reviewed or approved by Hearst.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as comprehensive, including medical plan choice, full in-network preventive coverage, dental and vision, telemedicine, prescription coverage, and fertility resources. Mental-health resources and other wellbeing services (e.g., therapy sessions, crisis support, virtual physical therapy, and chronic-condition programs) further strengthen the health offering.
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Retirement Support — Retirement support is positioned as meaningful through a 401(k) plan with company matching and Hearst covering plan administration fees. Performance bonuses are also noted as available in some roles, adding an additional rewards component beyond base pay.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off benefits include paid holidays, paid sick days, and vacation time with a commonly cited annual range, alongside paid parental leave and family medical leave. A remote work program and flexibility signals are also included as part of the overall rewards experience.
Hearst Insights
What We Do
Hearst is a leading global, diversified media, information and services company with more than 360 businesses. Its major interests include ownership in cable television networks such as A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime and ESPN; global financial services leader Fitch Group; Hearst Health, a group of medical information and services businesses; transportation assets including CAMP Systems International, a major provider of software-as-a-service solutions for managing maintenance of jets and helicopters; 33 television stations such as WCVB-TV in Boston and KCRA-TV in Sacramento, California, which reach a combined 19 percent of U.S. viewers; newspapers such as the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle and Times Union (Albany, New York); more than 300 magazines around the world, including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Men's Health and Car and Driver, and digital services businesses such as iCrossing and KUBRA; and investments in emerging digital entertainment companies such as Complex Networks.
