The Tahoe Daily Tribune has joined the second cohort of the California Local News Fellowship, a program based at Berkeley Journalism. Fellow Eli Ramos joined the Tribune team on Tuesday, Sept 10.

Beginning in September, the news fellows will live and work for two years in the communities where they are assigned, reporting on everything from breaking news to local government, the environment, education, economic disparities, the unhoused and more. The first cohort, which started in September 2023, will enter its second and final year. 

Ramos (they/them) is a science journalist with a love for local reporting. They began their journalism career in undergrad at the University of San Francisco as a biology/journalism student, writing for their school newspaper and working in labs.

Recently, they graduated with a Masters’ in Science Communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and have published with the Monterey Herald, Mercury News, Santa Cruz Local, The Independent News Group, Mongabay, Science, and Stanford. They write about education, environment, housing, and healthcare, with an eye for diversity and inclusion in their reporting.

Outside of journalism, Ramos still writes for fun, usually in science fiction and mystery. They produce a fiction podcast called Under the Electric Stars through their organization called Aster Podcasting Network. They also love playing guitar, looking at bugs, and running tabletop games.

In addition to using their background in science communication to cover environmental topics, they will be focused on covering the housing issues that touch all parts of Lake Tahoe life.

“We are beyond excited for Eli to join our team,” said Laney Griffo, Editor, Tahoe Daily Tribune. “Their experience will provide a great addition to the Tahoe Daily Tribune.”

“In a time when most local newspapers are financially struggling, Berkeley’s fellowship program is a great service to local communities and the industry as a whole,” added Griffo. “The Tribune is grateful to be chosen to participate in this program.”

The program will now support 75 early-career journalists working at small and large newspapers, public radio stations and community and ethnic media outlets across 35 California counties.

Based at Berkeley Journalism, the fellowship program was spearheaded by California State Senator Steve Glazer in 2022 with $25 million in state support to bolster beleaguered newsrooms. The funding is supporting three cohorts of fellows to work full-time for two years each. Glazer and Berkeley Journalism Dean Geeta Anand conceived of the innovative program as an antidote to newsroom layoffs and the shuttering of local newspapers nationwide. 

“The survival of local journalism is in the balance, and its survival is not optional,” said Berkeley Journalism Dean Geeta Anand. “Robust local reporting makes a difference for all that we hold dear: the education of our children, safety and dignity for vulnerable community members, the protection of our environment, and more.” 

The program, now in its second year, again drew hundreds of applications from newsrooms and early-career journalists who were selected through a competitive process involving the fellowship staff and advisory board, along with leaders from some California State University journalism departments.