Climate Change and Press Freedom Fellow

Job Title: Climate Change and Press Freedom Fellow

Department: Advocacy

Job Band: Researchers & Associates I

Salary: USD$75,400 (or market equivalent if based outside of the US)

Office Location: New York City or Global - Remote (within 6 hours of US Eastern timezone)

Workspace Designation: Hybrid-Optional or Remote

Reports to Title: Chief Global Affairs Officer

FLSA Status: Exempt

Union Represented: Yes, if hired within the United States

Position Length: 12 months

Closing Date: April 12, 2026

Organization Overview:

Founded in 1981, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an independent, non-profit organization defending journalists worldwide without regard to their political ideology. Through its work to safeguard journalists, CPJ protects the rights of all people to have access to diverse and independent sources of information. For over four decades, CPJ has helped win the early release of imprisoned journalists, secure convictions in journalist murders, and enable legal reform in countries where free expression has deteriorated. CPJ’s widely cited database and reports have raised global awareness of attacks on press freedom. Learn more about CPJ’s fight to defend freedom of the press here http://cpj.org.

At CPJ, we are dedicated to upholding values of equity and free expression in both our internal operations and external endeavors. As a global organization headquartered in the United States, we aspire to build a diverse workplace and foster an inclusive and welcoming environment. We strive for our people to be representative of the global community on which we report and to equip them with the opportunities and resources they need to learn and succeed.

Job Summary:

Across the world, environmental journalists pursue stories on corporate interests, organized crime networks, political corruption, and human rights violations. They narrate the human cost of wildfires and the landslides drowning cities, and document vanishing livelihoods, climate-induced migration, and the brewing conflicts over water. As a result, journalists face legal harassment, physical threats and violence, and in the most extreme cases, death. It is increasingly clear as climate change and its effects intersect with virtually every issue that everyone is a climate reporter now - and the crisis is urgent.

In response to this new reality, the Committee to Protect Journalists launched its Climate Crisis Journalist Protection Initiative to ensure that journalists reporting on climate issues are able to do so freely and safely. The Climate Change and Press Freedom Fellowship is a crucial program to power this work.

CPJ’s Global Advocacy team is seeking a Climate Change and Press Freedom Fellow to engage in rigorous research and analysis work that can inform the organization’s strategy to address how the climate crisis is impacting media freedom and individual journalists’ ability to report freely and safely. The Fellow will play a vital role in defining CPJ’s agenda on advocacy and safety responses to the threats and reprisals faced by journalists reporting on climate change and other environmental issues.

During the year-long engagement, the Fellow would produce a series of outputs, including in-depth research, a landscape analysis as well as internal and external briefing materials, talking points and/or articles. The Fellowship is an opportunity to make a substantial contribution to developing CPJ’s work to support the freedom and safety of journalists reporting on climate change and other environmental issues.

If hired within the United States, this position will be part of a collective bargaining unit represented by the Writers Guild of America, East.

Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities:

The Fellow’s duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Develop and execute original research and policy analysis to assess the nexus between climate change issues and media freedom and identify the most salient areas that would benefit from advocacy and safety interventions.
• Conduct a landscape analysis anchored in a cross-regional assessment of CPJ’s 30+ years of data on journalists threatened due to their work on climate related stories as well as other existing research; develop a set of recommended approaches for CPJ.
• Conduct a global survey with local environmental journalists in key communities in order to document and classify threats they face, including digital ones, and their safety needs; identify thru-lines to areas with high levels of corruption and the presence of industries or non-state actors or other salient issues that may benefit from structural responses.
• Identify potential partnerships or opportunities for CPJ advocacy and engagement on climate change and press freedom issues.
• Convene roundtables and regional meetings with civil society, local newsrooms, journalists, and support networks to explore advocacy and/or protective strategies.
• Draft/produce public materials; help to organize and support events (public or private) to advance CPJ’s positioning on climate change related issues.
• Contribute to CPJ’s knowledge base and capacity building in the area of climate change and press freedom.

Qualifications & Competencies:

Required:

• A deep, demonstrated interest in and knowledge of press freedom, journalism and climate change; familiarity with corruption, corporate accountability mechanisms and local reporting dynamics is desirable.
• Demonstrated experience working on climate change/environmental issues.
• Critical thinker with exceptional research and writing; meticulous attention to accuracy and detail.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively across teams, including with remote management and staff across time zones.
• Fluency in English and, ideally, another language such as Spanish or French.
• Proficient in Google Workspace

Physical Requirements:

This position’s physical demands reflect work in a typical office setting. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Work Location:

This position is classified as remote or hybrid-optional. Global, remote candidates should be based within 6 hours of US Eastern time in order to work collaboratively and attend virtual meetings with staff working in the US Eastern time zone.

We promote a flexible working environment with hybrid and flexible work schedule opportunities. Our office is located in New York City in midtown Manhattan, and was designed to be a place where we can work effectively and collaboratively, bringing energy, inspiration, commitment, and deep learning to our mission. Staff hired in the commutable NYC area are welcome and encouraged to use the CPJ office.

Benefits (subject to change):

Benefits and compensation are commensurate with location. Candidates hired within the United States will be eligible for CPJ’s standard US benefits package. Benefit offerings for internationally-based hires will be determined based on local requirements and practices.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

CPJ provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), political affiliation, military service, or other non-merit-based factors.