Mother Jones Hires 7 News Fellows, Promotes 1 to Cover Disability Issues

Reporter Dedicated to Covering People with Disabilities Distinguishes Mother Jones as One of Handful in News Industry

The nonprofit investigative news organization Mother Jones is growing its newsroom, following the hiring of seven editorial fellows and the promotion of another to Senior Fellow. The Senior Fellow, Julia Métraux, will continue focusing on writing about people with disabilities, distinguishing her as one of the few journalists in the industry dedicated to such a beat, and the fellows will fact-check articles and report their own stories over the next 12 months.

“As we gear up for the elections and all the demands that come with it, we’re excited to expand our newsroom with such a talented group of people,” said Mother Jones Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery. “Our fellows play an integral role in producing outstanding journalism week in and week out, and we’re proud of how the program has launched many successful journalism careers, including several of our own staff members.”

The newly hired fellows are:

• Melvis Acosta, a reporter based in Brooklyn, who plans to write about the Hispanic community and criminal justice. He served as a podcast production intern at The Journal, and as a fact-checker on the books Everybody Lies and Don’t Trust Your Gut.
• Siri Chilukuri, a reporter based in Chicago, who plans to cover environmental justice and the intersection of climate change and labor. She previously worked as an environmental justice fellow at Grist, and was a reporting fellow at City Bureau.
• Artis Curiskis, who is based in New York, will cover climate change and the 2024 election. Previously, he was an executive producer and reporter on Reveal’s COVID Tracking Project; a team lead of The COVID Tracking Project at the Atlantic; a podcasting artist-in-residence for UnionDocs Center for Documentary Art; and a Thomas J. Watson fellow.
• Sophie Hurwitz, a reporter based in Brooklyn and St. Louis, who plans to cover politics and social movements. They are an alum of the Nation’s editorial internship program, and previously wrote for the St. Louis American, Teen Vogue, NY Focus, and Verge.
• Serena Lin, who is based in Austin, Texas, will cover labor issues and the criminal justice system. She most recently worked for the Austin American-Statesman, covering law enforcement and the courts, and previously was a fellow at the Arizona Republic, and a researcher on Michael Luo’s upcoming book, Strangers in the Land.
• Alex Nguyen, who is based in New Jersey, will write about politics and media. He most recently worked as a breaking news intern at the Daily Beast, where he covered politics, world news, media, business, technology, crime, and entertainment.
• Sarah Szilagy, a reporter based in Columbus, Ohio, who plans to cover politics, the criminal justice system, and the mental health industry. They previously covered state politics and elections as a digital reporter for the NBC affiliate in Columbus, and served as a reporting intern at the Columbus Dispatch, where they covered health-related legislation and education.

Mother Jones’ editorial fellowship is supported by grants from the Helen and Will Webster Foundation, and the generosity of individual contributors. The program began in 1980 and has nurtured more than 700 young journalists, including 15 current staff members at Mother Jones. It is named after the late Ben Bagdikian, a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, media critic, and former dean of the UC-Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Learn more at www.motherjones.com/jobs/fellowships.