Journalist Cover Letter Example & Format
Tell one story you reported: how you found it, how you checked it and what happened after.
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Journalist cover letter examples
Both letters are illustrative: the writers, employers and every figure are made up.
Olivia Grant
Chicago, IL · olivia.grant@example.com
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am applying for the Trainee Reporter position on your Pune city desk. I finished my MA in Journalism at Savitribai Phule Pune University this year, and I have spent the last two years reporting on the city I would cover for you.
As a reporting intern at Pune City Express I filed 28 stories on civic works, traffic and water supply. The one I am proudest of started with an RTI application about road repairs: the reply showed that 43% of the money set aside that year had not been spent, while ward offices were telling residents there were no funds. I checked the numbers against the corporation's budget book, spoke to four ward officers and two contractors, and the story ran with the documents. Two regional dailies followed it up the next week.
I also interned on the Marathi news desk of a regional TV channel, where I wrote 12 packages and more than 60 ticker lines and cut footage for field stories. I report and write in English and Marathi and can translate between them quickly.
My clips are at tanvireports.example.com. I can join immediately, and I would be happy to take a reporting test on any city story you choose.
Sincerely,
Olivia Grant
Andrew Collins
New York, NY · andrew.collins@example.com
Dear Hiring Manager,
I would like to apply for the Assistant Editor, Business role at Mint Street Media. I have spent five years on the startups and banking beat, first at Deccan Business Daily and now as a senior correspondent at The Ledger Line in Bengaluru.
I have filed more than 600 stories and break an average of three exclusives a quarter, mostly on funding rounds and layoffs, from sources I have built by being accurate about the small stories as well as the big ones. Two years ago I noticed readers kept searching for who had raised money that week, so I built a weekly funding tracker from filings and company statements. It now brings 12% of the site's traffic and has become a source for other newsrooms. I also host our fortnightly startup podcast.
At Deccan Business Daily I covered banking and the RBI to print deadlines, and my investigation into an NBFC's lending practices won the newsroom's story of the year.
Your advert asks for someone to grow the business desk's digital audience while keeping its reporting sharp. I would like to talk about how the tracker model could work on your desk. My notice period is 30 days.
Sincerely,
Andrew Collins
Copy either letter, then change every detail to your own: the company, the job title, your numbers. Pair it with a matching journalist resume. The layout, header and greeting are the same for every job: see how to write a cover letter.
Related cover letter examples
How to open the letter
Name the job, where you saw it and your strongest fact in the first two lines. Two openings that work:
- I break three business exclusives a quarter and built a funding tracker that brings 12% of my newsroom's traffic, and I am applying for your Assistant Editor, Business role.
- My RTI-based story showing 43% of Pune's road repair funds unspent was followed up by two dailies, and I would like to join your city desk as a Trainee Reporter.
What to write in the body
One or two paragraphs that prove you can do the job the advert describes. For a journalist, the body should also:
- Give output and impact numbers: stories a week, exclusives, traffic, subscribers, follow-ups.
- Match the desk and medium in the advert, and name your languages.
How to close the letter
Editors hire on clips and pitches. End with your portfolio link and two or three story ideas for their desk in one line each, or an offer to take a reporting test. Add your notice period. A specific pitch is the best close a journalist can write.
Writing it with no experience
- Use college newspaper, internship or freelance bylines, with links and one story that had impact.
- Show reporting skills: an RTI, a data set you analysed, an interview you got.
- Pitch two story ideas for the desk to prove you know its audience.
Mistakes to avoid
- Writing about loving to write instead of describing a story you reported.
- No clips link.
- Errors in names or facts in the letter itself; editors notice immediately.
How do I write a journalism cover letter?
Name the role and desk, describe one story you reported and its impact, give output numbers, list languages and tools, and close with clips and two pitches.
How do I write a journalism cover letter with no experience?
Use college or freelance bylines, an internship, an RTI or data story, and pitch ideas for the desk. Link your clips.
Should a journalist cover letter include story pitches?
Yes, briefly. One line each for two or three ideas shows you know the publication and its readers.
How long should a journalist cover letter be?
About 300 to 400 words. Editors judge your writing from it, so make every sentence count.