David Burnham-TRAC Data Reporting Fellowship

ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. 

ProPublica is looking for a motivated early-career investigative data journalist to join our editorial team as the David Burnham-TRAC Data Reporting Fellow, specifically focused on investigating the federal bureaucracy. This is a new fellowship, meant to provide up-and-coming data journalists the opportunity to learn from some of the best data and investigative reporters in the business and to give them the space to shed light on both the inner workings of the government and impacts of federal policy. 

The fellowship honors Burnham, an investigative journalist who reported on local, state and federal enforcement corruption for 50 years. He also helped found the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, TRAC, a data gathering, research and distribution organization at Syracuse University. 

ProPublica’s investigative journalism does more than expose wrongdoing and injustice; we intend for it to spark real-world change. You’ll be part of ProPublica’s award-winning data team, a group of nearly a dozen journalists who use data analysis to uncover scoops, stories and deep dives.

The David Burnham-TRAC Data Reporting Fellow will report to ProPublica’s senior editor for data and news applications and work with members of our data team to produce or support at least one major deep-dive investigative project related to the federal government for each year of the fellowship. 

What You’ll Do at ProPublica:

• Wrangle data, including requesting it, collecting it, analyzing it and preparing it for publication.
• Interrogate databases to find trends, patterns and outliers — the stories hidden in the noise.
• Develop accountability stories by combining data analysis, interviews and on-the-ground reporting with excellent storytelling.
• Collaborate with journalists across the newsroom to produce at least two major investigative projects focused on the federal government during the course of the fellowship. 
• Bulletproof and spot-check data work done by other journalists in the newsroom.
• Work with some of the best reporters on the planet on some of the biggest and most innovative projects in investigative and data journalism.

We’re Looking for Someone With:

• No more than seven years of professional journalism experience, who is eager to develop their investigative reporting skills.
• Experience with using or investigating government data. (This is a plus.) 
• A proven track record of insightful, skeptical data querying. Prior journalism experience is a definite plus, but it’s not a requirement. Most important is evidence of a curious, questioning mind.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, solid editorial judgment and the ability to write quickly, cleanly and accurately on deadline.
• Experience with scraping, cleaning and analyzing data in your favorite tool of choice, such as Python, SQL or R. 
• Experience with best practices in data analysis or data journalism, including a keen and careful eye for detail, documentation and version control. Your data work should be clean and reproducible.
• Perspectives and life experiences that point to unique stories and untapped potential for holding the powerful accountable.
• A desire to work collaboratively with colleagues across the newsroom.
• The ability to travel, as needed, for stories, team meetings and trainings. 

This fellowship begins no later than September 2025 and runs for two years from the date of hire. We have offices in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; Chicago; Austin, Texas; Phoenix; and Berkeley, California. We are open to candidates located remotely. Applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. 

The salary for this full-time position is $85,000 per year and includes benefits.

This is a good-faith estimate of what we expect to pay for this position. The final salary figure will take into account a person’s experience, accomplishment and location. ProPublica is committed to paying its staff equitably, and these ranges should not be considered career salary limits or caps.

The deadline for applications is Monday, June 16, at 9 a.m. Eastern time.

Questions? Send an email to talent@propublica.org. No phone calls, please.

We know there are great candidates who may not fit into what we’ve described above or who have important skills we haven’t thought of. If that’s you, don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself.

We are dedicated to improving our newsroom, in part by better reflecting the people we cover. (Here is a breakdown of our staff.) We are committed to diversity and building an inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and ages. And we are taking steps to meet that commitment. We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities. We are an equal opportunity employer and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age or any other status protected under applicable law.