Tarbell Fellowship

The Tarbell Fellowship is the flagship program of the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2022 by Cillian Crosson after he participated in Charity Entrepreneurship, a competitive nonprofit incubator. Named after Ida Tarbell, the pioneering investigative journalist who helped break up Standard Oil, the fellowship aims to build a global community of expert journalists covering artificial intelligence with the scrutiny it deserves. The fellowship is a one-year, full-time program structured around three core components. First, fellows complete a 10-week AI Journalism Fundamentals course that covers technical AI concepts and journalism skills through a custom curriculum, guest lectures, and graded assignments. Second, fellows attend a weeklong summit in the San Francisco Bay Area featuring workshops, guest speakers, and networking events, with all travel and accommodation costs fully covered. Third, and most substantially, fellows are fully embedded as reporters within a major newsroom for nine months, primarily covering AI on the tech or politics desk. The program has placed fellows at some of the world's most prestigious news organizations. Past and current placement outlets include Bloomberg, The Guardian, NBC News, TIME Magazine, The Verge, MIT Technology Review, the Los Angeles Times, South China Morning Post, The Information, Platformer, The Dispatch, Euractiv, Lawfare, ChinaTalk, and UnderstandingAI. Fellows receive substantial financial support: $60,000 to $80,000 stipends for early-career journalists, and $90,000 to $110,000 for Senior Fellows with five or more years of experience in journalism or AI. The inaugural 2023 cohort selected 5-7 fellows from over 950 applicants and placed them at outlets including TIME and the New Yorker. The program has grown significantly since then, with approximately 15-16 fellows in the 2025 cohort and 20 fellows selected from over 1,600 applicants for the 2026 cohort. The program plans to scale further to 30 or more fellows annually. The fellowship is open to rising journalism talent from around the globe. Ideal applicants demonstrate commitment to building journalism careers and express concern regarding advanced AI risks. Prior experience in AI governance, technical research, or journalism is advantageous but not mandatory. Some placements require the right to work in the U.K. or the U.S., and in some cases the program can support fellows in acquiring visas. The Tarbell Fellowship operates under the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism, Inc., which is an independent 501(c)(3) public charity registered in Claymont, Delaware with EIN 33-3721895. The organization is funded by Open Philanthropy, the EA Infrastructure Fund, the Future of Life Institute, and the Survival and Flourishing Fund. The center maintains strict editorial independence from all funders, with fellows and their host newsrooms possessing total autonomy over coverage, assignments, and angles.

Endorsements support Tarbell Center for AI Journalism.

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