Work With Us
Opportunities at the Reporters Committee include full-time positions, legal and policy fellowships, internships, and other openings as they are available. Please note application and deadline requirements for each position.
The Reporters Committee offers comprehensive benefits packages for full-time employees, including 18 weeks of paid parental leave and up to 24 weeks of leave after one year of service through our Child Leave Policy.
The Reporters Committee is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce, and we strongly encourage women, veterans, people with disabilities, people of color, people of all ages, and gender nonconforming candidates to apply.
RCFP is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind: RCFP is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at RCFP are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, age, religion or belief, family or parental status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. RCFP will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics.
If you are an attorney with practical experience in our issue areas, and you are looking for pro bono opportunities, please send an email to ProJourn Director Flavie Fuentes, ffuentes -at- rcfp.org. Please include your area of legal expertise, where you are admitted to practice, and whether you are with a firm, a solo practitioner or retired.
Full-Time Positions
Staff Attorney
The Reporters Committee is hiring a junior-to-mid-level litigation attorney to support the Reporters Committee’s Local Legal Initiative (LLI) and other legal programming. The staff attorney will work hand-in-hand with Reporters Committee LLI attorneys, including in Colorado, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee, to provide pro bono legal services to news organizations and individual journalists pursuing enterprise and investigative reporting at the state and local level. The staff attorney will participate in a full range of state and federal impact and defense litigation involving access to judicial records/proceedings, freedom of information, libel, and other newsgathering and First Amendment matters. The staff attorney also will contribute to the Reporters Committee’s vibrant amicus brief practice and will have the opportunity to advise independent and freelance journalists, including documentary filmmakers, on legal concerns in connection with the Reporters Committee’s pre-publication/vetting partnerships with organizations including the Fund for Investigative Journalism and the International Documentary Association. View the full job posting and apply.
Staff Attorney
The Reporters Committee is hiring a junior-to-mid-level attorney to take a lead role in the Reporters Committee’s vibrant amicus brief practice. The Staff Attorney also represents the Reporters Committee, news organizations, and individual journalists in impact and defense litigation involving access to judicial records/proceedings, freedom of information, libel, and other newsgathering and First Amendment matters, and will advise independent and freelance journalists, including documentary filmmakers, on legal concerns in connection with the Reporters Committee’s pre-publication/vetting partnerships with organizations including the Fund for Investigative Journalism and the International Documentary Association. This full-time position reports to the Legal Director. View the full job posting and apply.
Local Legal Initiative Attorney — Oklahoma
The Reporters Committee is hiring an Oklahoma Local Legal Initiative (LLI) Attorney. The Local Legal Initiative was launched by the Reporters Committee in 2020 to provide pro bono legal support to journalists and news outlets engaged in local enterprise and investigative journalism in their states. The Oklahoma LLI Attorney will advise and represent news organizations and individual journalists in Oklahoma in impact and defense matters involving access to judicial records/proceedings, freedom of information, and other newsgathering and First Amendment issues. The Oklahoma LLI attorney also will contribute to the Reporters Committee’s amicus and pre-publication/vetting practices for matters within Oklahoma; facilitate and conduct trainings for journalists and news organizations in their state; and work with stakeholders across Oklahoma to, among other things, increase the visibility of the LLI. This full-time position reports to the Deputy Legal Director. The Oklahoma LLI Attorney must be based in Oklahoma; Tulsa or Oklahoma City are preferred. Some travel throughout Oklahoma and to the Reporters Committee’s office in Washington, D.C. is required. View the full job posting and apply.
Paralegal
The Reporters Committee is hiring a paralegal to support the Reporters Committee’s litigation and other legal programming, including its Local Legal Initiative (LLI). The paralegal will be a key member of the Reporters Committee’s legal team, working hand-in-hand with the Reporters Committee’s Senior Paralegal and its attorneys in Washington, D.C., Colorado, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and elsewhere, to provide pro bono legal services to news organizations and individual journalists. This position reports to the Deputy Legal Director. View the full job posting and apply.
Foundation Relations Manager
The Reporters Committee is hiring a Foundation Relations Manager to support the fundraising and donor relations needs of a growing and vibrant nonprofit organization. The position will report to the Director of Development and support the organization’s restricted and unrestricted fundraising and donor relations needs. The Reporters Committee has significantly expanded in the past five years and maintains a growing portfolio of program-specific and general support funding relationships in the institutional philanthropy field. As the organization and its donor relations needs continue to evolve, the Foundation Relations Manager will track funder deadlines and tasks, draft grant proposals and reports under the supervision of the Director of Development, and use data systems and research skills to identify potential new funding sources. This position is well suited for a highly organized person with good writing and editing skills and the ability to effectively communicate the Reporters Committee’s mission and vision to funding partners. View the full job posting and apply.
Senior Data Specialist
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press seeks a Senior Data Specialist to support the data needs of a growing and vibrant nonprofit organization. The position will be a combination of data development, maintenance, reporting, and analysis, working with both fundraising and program teams. The Senior Data Specialist will be primarily responsible for ensuring timely system updates, managing data in line with best practices, general maintenance, assisting users with training opportunities, efficient handling of issues/support tickets, and project support as needed while proactively identifying opportunities for improvement. This organized, detail-oriented, and process-driven thinker will understand the value of timely, accurate, and easily accessible data, and will enjoy improving our systems and processes. The role provides a great opportunity for a motivated professional to help shape the Reporters Committee’s successful use of Salesforce and data, impacting the effectiveness of our staff and organizational learning. View the full job posting and apply.
Digital Communications Coordinator
The Digital Communications Coordinator at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is a creative, detail-oriented, and dependable person who implements our digital strategy and manages our online engagement across platforms. The Digital Communications Coordinator will handle the day-to-day development and delivery of content on digital platforms, including email, social media, digital marketing platforms (paid advertising), and website. This position involves writing regularly about the Reporters Committee’s legal work and impact, including content for the website, social media, and email. The Digital Communications Coordinator is an integral position within a vibrant communications team and has primary responsibility for online activities that support a range of communications goals. This position reports directly to the Communications Director. View the full job description and apply.
Fellowships
Each year, the Reporters Committee welcomes legal fellows to our Washington, D.C., office. They monitor significant developments in media law, assist staff attorneys responding to legal defense requests from reporters, assist staff attorneys in preparing legal memoranda, litigation materials and friend-of-the-court briefs, and handle other special projects. In addition, fellows write content for our website and for other publications. The work is challenging, but rewarding!
Visit our fellowships page for detailed information about each of our opportunities and to apply.
Summer Internships
Some interns may be enrolled in Washington semester study programs through their colleges or universities.
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Legal Internships
The RCFP legal team offers up to three full-time summer internships for current law students (1Ls and 2Ls). Legal interns have the opportunity to work with Reporters Committee attorneys on litigation and amicus-related projects, conduct legal research, and gain hands-on experience addressing a broad range of media law issues. Interns with an interest in emerging issues related to technology, national security, content-based regulations online, and the protection of reporter-source confidentiality will have the opportunity to work with the RCFP Technology and Press Freedom Project team.
Deadline: Applications should be submitted by January 1 for the summer term.
To apply: Submit a resume, cover letter, writing sample (preferably a legal writing sample) and a transcript (transcripts are only required for 2L applicants). A strong background or interest in journalism is preferred. NOTE: Please submit materials in one PDF file. Apply using this SmartRecruiters link.
Communications Internships
The Reporters Committee’s communications team offers full-time summer internships for college students and recent graduates. The Communications Intern will have the opportunity to collaborate with staff across the organization (legal, policy, development and operations) as they support the communications team in raising awareness of and engaging more people with the Reporters Committee’s mission and work.
Interns will write about media law issues for the Reporters Committee’s website, support content creation for our social media channels and monthly newsletter, contribute to ongoing research, and help maintain key resources. Interns will also have opportunities to interact with and learn about free press issues from journalists, media lawyers and policymakers through seminars, court hearings and congressional hearings.
Successful candidates will be detail-oriented, have a strong writing background and be interested in expanding their knowledge about U.S. press freedom and media law issues.
Deadline: Applications should be submitted by March 1 for the summer term.
To apply: Submit a resume, cover letter and writing samples (maximum of 3 clips OR a short research paper if you do not have clips) using this SmartRecruiters link. A strong background in journalism or marketing is preferred. NOTE: Please submit materials in one PDF file.