Every year, The Local welcomes four emerging journalists from communities underrepresented in the media to join our newsroom for the summer, learn the craft of community-driven feature writing, and build a network of mentors and industry connections.

The Local Journalism Fellowship, now in its fifth year, was born out of a recognition that the gaps and failures of the media stem in part from the lack of representation in newsrooms, leaving countless stories untold. As a core tenet of our Race, Representation and Equity Commitment, we want to help a diverse new generation of journalists carve out a space for themselves in the industry. This year, the fellowship is funded in part by Journalists for Human Rights.

Fellows will spend the next fifteen weeks crafting their own longform features, contributing to editorial production, and learning from industry mentors through regular seminars. From a field of dozens of talented candidates, we’re excited to announce Alice Boyle, Sam Rosati Martin, Matthew Molinaro, and Mzwandile Poncana as this year’s Local fellows!

Alice Boyle

Alice Boyle is a journalist based in Toronto. She recently completed her degree in English at the University of Toronto, where she served as features editor at The Varsity. She is interested in exploring systemic issues by listening to the stories of individuals.

This Fellowship is made possible through the generous support of Journalists for Human Rights’ BIPOC Youth Journalism Training Fellowship.

Sam Rosati Martin

Sam Rosati Martin is a writer from Toronto. Sam has a degree in Literature and Critical Theory and Philosophy from the University of Toronto, and is a proud alumnus of The Strand, Victoria College’s newspaper.

This Fellowship is made possible through the generous support of Maytree.

Matthew Molinaro

Matthew Molinaro is a journalist, cultural worker, and incoming graduate student at the University of Toronto. He holds a BA in English (First Class Honours) from McGill University, where he served as editor-in-chief of The Tribune, a student-run, anti-oppressive newspaper, and organized in the Black Students’ Network political portfolio. Matthew writes and reports on social movements, racial justice, and culture.

This Fellowship is made possible through the generous support of Journalists for Human Rights’ BIPOC Youth Journalism Training Fellowship. 

Mzwandile Poncana

Mzwandile Poncana is a Toronto-based journalist, writer, and graduate of Concordia University’s graduate journalism program. His work primarily covers social justice issues such as migrant and labour rights, decarceration and the intersection between marginalized identities and health. He’s passionate about using both investigative journalism and solutions reporting to tell these stories. His work has appeared in the Toronto Star, Ricochet, Xtra Magazine, and Broadview Magazine, among other places, and he was the Canadian Journalism Foundation’s Black Investigative Journalism fellow of 2023.

This Fellowship is made possible through the generous support of Journalists for Human Rights’ BIPOC Youth Journalism Training Fellowship.