Up to $20,000 for original reporting on artificial intelligence and its impacts.

Tarbell offers grants of $1,000–$20,000 to support original reporting published in established outlets, whether from freelancers or staff. We primarily focus on written journalism, but we also fund journalism in other formats.

Applications for this round closed July 12.

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Applications for this round closed July 12.

Subscribe to be notified of new rounds

Overview
Who are grants for?
Judging Panel
Supported stories
FAQ
Apply

Overview

As artificial intelligence grows more influential, the companies building it and the policymakers regulating it warrant the kind of scrutiny that journalism exists to provide. We believe rigorous, independent reporting serves the public interest—demystifying technical developments, following the money, and documenting what happens when these systems enter the real world.

Tarbell offers grants of $1,000–$20,000 to support original reporting on AI published in established outlets, whether from freelancers or staff. We primarily fund written journalism but are open to supporting other formats.

Editorial Independence

Editorial independence is a core value for Tarbell and our grantees maintain complete autonomy over their reporting. Applications are judged by an independent panel of experienced journalists. When the recommendations of judges differ, final funding decisions are made by Tarbell Grants staff. Our donors have no involvement, and staff never see, shape, or approve a grantee’s story content before publication. Read Tarbell’s full Editorial Independence policy here.

Who are grants for?

We welcome submissions from all experienced journalists and media creators: both staff writers/editors/producers and freelancers are welcome to apply. Journalists with an investigative background are particularly encouraged to apply. A background in reporting on AI and/or technology is desirable, but not mandatory.

You do not need to have an outlet secured before applying, although we encourage it. If you can’t secure a letter of interest from an editor before your application, we’ll ask you to obtain one before we distribute any funding (see template). Your publication or distribution platform of choice must be able to accept grant funding for stories.

When evaluating applications, we look for:
‎

Potential for Impact

We care about stories that make a difference. We want the reporting we enable to help society navigate the challenges ushered in by increasingly capable and widespread AI systems, whether that be by raising awareness of an underdiscussed harm or catalyzing policy change.

Reach

We hope grantees’ stories will be read, heard, or viewed widely, and by people with decision-making power. We prefer to fund stories that are likely to be published in established and influential outlets.

Journalistic experience

We look to fund journalists with a track record of impressive reporting. We tend to only fund journalists who have written at least one piece like the original journalism they’re proposing, whether that’s an ambitious investigation or a captivating explainer.

Feasibility

We look for pitches and budgets that demonstrate a realistic plan for how to pull off the proposed story.

If you have any questions about the application process, please contact grants@tarbellcenter.org.

Apply now

Judging Panel

Scott Rosenberg

Scott is the managing editor of technology at Axios. He was previously an editor at Wired (Backchannel) and the co-founder of Salon. He is also the author of Dreaming in Code and Say Everything.

Casey Newton

Casey is the co-founder of Machine Gods, a successor show to the New York Times's Hard Fork podcast, and founder of Platformer, a newsletter about the intersection of tech and democracy. He previously spent a decade covering Silicon Valley for The Verge and CNET and co-hosted New York Times’ Hard Fork podcast . (Tarbell awarded Machine Gods a grant via its institutional grants program, which is separate from his role as a reviewer for the reporting grants program.)

Timothy B. Lee

Timothy has written about technology, economics, and public policy for more than a decade. He is the editor of Understanding AI, a leading AI newsletter. He previously wrote for the Washington Post, Vox, and Ars Technica.

Shakeel Hashim

Shakeel writes and edits Transformer, an AI policy newsletter. He also supports Tarbell programs, like grants and the fellowship. Previously, he was a News Editor at The Economist.

Sharon Weinberger

Sharon Weinberger is the national security and foreign policy editor at The Wall Street Journal. Before that, she was the Washington, D.C., bureau chief for Yahoo News and the executive editor for news at Foreign Policy magazine. She is the author of The Imagineers of War.

Scott Rosenberg

Scott is the managing editor of technology at Axios. He was previously an editor at Wired (Backchannel) and the co-founder of Salon. He is also the author of Dreaming in Code and Say Everything.

Casey Newton

Timothy B. Lee

Shakeel Hashim

Shakeel writes and edits Transformer, an AI policy newsletter. He also supports Tarbell programs, like grants and the fellowship. Previously, he was a News Editor at The Economist.

Sharon Weinberger

Scott Rosenberg

Scott is the managing editor of technology at Axios. He was previously an editor at Wired (Backchannel) and the co-founder of Salon. He is also the author of Dreaming in Code and Say Everything.

Casey Newton

Timothy B. Lee

Shakeel Hashim

Shakeel writes and edits Transformer, an AI policy newsletter. He also supports Tarbell programs, like grants and the fellowship. Previously, he was a News Editor at The Economist.

Sharon Weinberger

Explore stories we’ve funded

Frequently asked questions

Apply

When will I hear back about my application?

We aim to evaluate all applications within 4 weeks of the application deadline. If your story is time-sensitive, you can ask request that we expedite the evaluation process, although we may not always be able to do that.

Do you consider formats other than written articles?

While our primary focus is on written journalism at established publications, we do consider exceptional proposals in other formats like podcasts, newsletters, and short documentaries. Content in such formats should still be “in the spirit of journalism”: it should adhere to journalistic standards like truth-seeking, independence, and fairness. We also need to see how such content will reach a large or important audience.

What can I use the money for?

Your grant money can be used for any costs incurred in producing the story, including the costs of your time and labor. This is true for both freelancers and staff reporters. You can also use the money for other reporting expenses, such as travel, API usage, or purchasing data sources.

Can teams apply?

Yes, teams of journalists are very welcome to apply. Please submit a single application, and in the “about you” section provide information for each team member.

Do I need to be worried about reviewers scooping my idea?

No. Everyone who reads your application is bound by our Pitch  Integrity  Commitment, which bars them from using or sharing non‑public information in your application until your piece is published or 12 months have passed, unless you explicitly waive the embargo. This safeguard lets you include enough detail for us to fairly judge originality and feasibility without worrying about being scooped.

Can I submit multiple applications?

Yes, you can submit multiple pitches (up to 3).

Do I need to have a publication venue finalized?

We encourage applicants to apply with a letter showing interest from the editor of their publication-of-choice, but this is not strictly required (see template letter). If we want to support your piece but you don’t have a letter of interest, we’ll ask you to secure a letter of interest from a fitting outlet before we disburse funds. We also sometimes award “seed grants” to enable exceptional freelancers to do more digging and sourcing before approaching outlets.

Funding

Who funded this grants round?

This round of Tarbell Grants is generously supported by our donors. Our donors have no involvement in the grant selection process. If you’re interested in supporting the next round, you can donate here or get in touch.

Do you fund reporting from outside the US, Europe, and China?

Yes, we welcome applications from journalists anywhere. Some focus areas (like AI in governments and militaries, or accountability reporting on frontier companies) are global by nature. Others, like AI policy and politics, skew toward jurisdictions where frontier AI companies are headquartered. But we’ve funded reporting from India, Taiwan, Brazil, and Kenya and remain interested in strong reporting from anywhere.

How do we need to disclose funding?

We ask that all stories published as part of a Tarbell-funded reporting project include the following line: “This story was supported by a grant from the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism.” If you share your Tarbell-funded story with other outlets for co-publication, please request that they also include this disclosure. Let us know if this is an issue.

Can I apply for a series of stories?

Yes. We welcome applications for a reporting series, rather than just a one-off piece.

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