Nonprofit news is now one of the dominant models in American journalism. Local news nonprofits, investigative outlets, public radio and TV stations, and documentary organizations all depend heavily on foundation funding to operate. Which means they all eventually need to hire a grant writer, and most of them find it harder than expected.
The problem isn’t that grant writers are scarce. It’s that grant writers who understand journalism are scarce. Someone with a nonprofit development background can learn funder relationships and proposal structure, but translating editorial vision into compelling funder language, without losing what makes the journalism worth funding, is a specific skill. Most candidates have one side of it, not both.
Here’s what to know before you start your search.
Who’s actually hiring grant writers in media
The nonprofit news sector has grown significantly over the past decade. Organizations like ProPublica, The Marshall Project, The Texas Tribune, and The 19th have built serious development operations with dedicated grant-writing staff. But the larger opportunity is at the local level, where hundreds of nonprofit news startups have launched since 2010 and most are still figuring out how to build sustainable funding infrastructure.
Beyond pure news organizations, public radio and TV stations (NPR affiliates, PBS member stations) have long relied on grant funding alongside membership revenue. Documentary production companies with nonprofit status, journalism schools with publishing arms, and international media development organizations round out the field.
If your organization falls into any of these categories, you’re not looking for a generic grant writer. You’re looking for someone who has worked in or around media and understands what funders like Knight Foundation, MacArthur, Ford, Hewlett, the American Journalism Project, and the Google News Initiative are actually looking for.
What to look for in a candidate
Start with a track record of funded proposals. Ask for a win rate and specific examples. Anyone can list grant writing on a resume. Fewer can show you a Letter of Inquiry that converted or walk you through how they shaped a proposal around a funder’s strategic priorities.
Beyond the writing itself, look for:
- Familiarity with journalism and public media funders specifically
- Experience managing grant reporting and compliance requirements
- Ability to work closely with editors and reporters to extract the right narrative from an editorial project
- Comfort managing multiple deadlines independently
One firm rule: grant writers should not work on commission. If a candidate proposes a percentage of awarded funds as compensation, that’s a red flag and is prohibited by many funders outright.
Full-time, part-time, or freelance
Smaller newsrooms often start with a freelance or part-time grant writer rather than a full-time hire. That’s a reasonable approach, especially if your grants portfolio is still being built. There’s a real talent pool of freelance grant writers who specialize in journalism and public media and work with multiple organizations simultaneously.
If you go the freelance route, expect to pay $2,000 to $5,000 per proposal, depending on complexity, or negotiate a monthly retainer if the workload is consistent. Full-time grant writers at media organizations typically earn between $55,000 and $85,000, with senior development staff at larger outlets earning more.
Where to post the job
General job boards will get you applicants, but most won’t have journalism or public media experience. To find candidates who understand the industry, you need to post where media professionals actually look.
Mediabistro is the media industry job board that journalism, broadcasting, digital media, and communications professionals have relied on for over 25 years. When you post jobs for media companies on a niche job board built specifically for the industry, you get a smaller but far more relevant applicant pool than you’d get from a general platform.
It’s also the right place to post adjacent roles as your organization grows. Communications director jobs, audience development jobs, newsletter editor jobs, staff writer jobs, and podcast producer jobs all perform well on a platform where the audience is made up of working media professionals.
Beyond Mediabistro, consider:
- Journalism organization communities like ONA, SPJ, IRE, and NABJ
- The Institute for Nonprofit News job board, which reaches nonprofit newsroom professionals directly
- Your own network, particularly if you have relationships with journalism schools or public media outlets
Writing a posting that attracts the right candidates
Be specific about the context. A grant writer coming from healthcare or higher education will need significant ramp-up time to understand journalism funders and editorial culture. Your posting should signal clearly that this is a media organization and that journalism experience or a genuine interest in journalism is expected.
Include:
- Your current funders and the types of grants you pursue
- Annual grant revenue or portfolio size if you can share it
- Whether the role includes reporting and compliance or focuses primarily on prospecting and proposals
- Salary range (candidates will skip postings without it)
- Remote, hybrid, or on-site expectations
Ready to find your next grant writer?
Mediabistro reaches media professionals across journalism, public media, digital publishing, broadcasting, PR, and communications.
If you’re ready to hire a grant writer or post any role at your media organization, get started here with Mediabistro’s job posting plans.
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