Journalist Cover Letter: 7 Examples That Lead With Clips

Entry level: Student reporter, first newsroom job (140 words)

Dear Ms. Albrecht,

Last spring I spent six weeks reading city council budget amendments and found $240,000 moved from road repairs to a consultant contract nobody had voted on. The story ran on the front page of our student paper and was picked up by the local daily.

I am applying for the Reporting Fellow position at the Corrow Valley Courier. As news editor of the Brennock State Herald, I filed 40 stories in two semesters, managed a team of six reporters and edited every piece before it went online. I write fast, I check every number twice, and I know how to read a public budget.

My clips are at elenavoss.com, including the budget story and a profile of the county's last dairy farm. I would welcome the chance to talk about joining your metro team.

Sincerely, Elena Voss

Mid level: Local news reporter (132 words)

Dear Mr. Okonjo,

I am applying for the Courts and Public Safety Reporter position at the Tallis Point Tribune.

For three years I have covered city hall and police for a twice-weekly paper in a town of 40,000. I attend every council meeting, file public records requests weekly and keep a source list that includes the clerk, the union president and two retired officers. My series on slow 911 response times in the rural part of the county led to a funding change in the next budget.

Your paper's recent coverage of the county jail shows you are willing to stay on a story. I would bring the same habit and my records experience to your courts beat.

My clips are attached as links. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely, Daniel Ruiz

Mid level: Multimedia reporter for TV news (125 words)

Dear Ms. Hartley,

I am applying for the Multimedia Journalist position at your station.

For two years I have worked as a one-person reporter in a smaller market: I find the story, shoot it, edit it in Premiere, write the web version and go live at five. I file two packages a day and post every story to social with vertical cuts. My reel, linked below, includes a live shot from a flood evacuation and a two-part story on a school bus driver shortage.

I want to move to a market with a bigger investigative unit. Your station's work on utility shutoffs is the kind of reporting I want to do.

Reel and clips: marcusreid.com

Thank you for considering my application.

Best regards, Marcus Reid

Mid level: Freelance writer to staff reporter (109 words)

Dear Ms. Castellanos,

I am applying for the Staff Writer position on your features desk.

For four years I have freelanced for regional magazines and news sites, filing about 30 features a year on food, farming and small business. I pitch, report, write to length and meet the deadline, with no editor having to chase me. My piece on migrant orchard workers was the most-read story of the year for one of my editors.

I want a staff job so I can spend longer on fewer stories. Your features section runs exactly the long reported pieces I want to write.

I have included three clips below.

Sincerely, Amara Lindqvist

Mid level: Data reporter (111 words)

Dear Mr. Banerjee,

I am applying for the Data Reporter position on your investigations team.

For three years I have worked as a data reporter at a statewide nonprofit newsroom. I clean and analyze public datasets in Python and R, build simple interactive charts, and work with beat reporters to turn the numbers into stories. My analysis of school bus inspection records found that one contractor had failed inspections at three times the rate of the others, and the state reopened its contract review.

I would bring that pairing of analysis and reporting to your team.

My clips and code are linked below. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely, Priya Natarajan

Mid level: Business reporter (102 words)

Dear Ms. Whitaker,

I am applying for the Business Reporter position at the Kellsbrook Daily News.

I have covered business for two years at a city business weekly, writing about real estate, local banks and the region's largest employers. I read earnings reports and SEC filings, and I break news on openings and closures from planning documents before the press release. My story on a hospital merger's job cuts was cited by two state legislators.

Your readers want to know what the economy means for their street. I would write it that way.

Thank you for considering my application.

Best, Owen Gallagher

Senior: Investigative reporter (109 words)

Dear Mr. Delacroix,

I am applying for the Senior Investigative Reporter position.

For eleven years I have reported in newsrooms, the last six on an investigations team. My most recent project, a year-long investigation into nursing home inspection records, documented unreported falls at 14 facilities and led to new state reporting rules. I have built and protected sources inside two state agencies, filed hundreds of records requests and appeals, and worked with our lawyers on every pre-publication review.

I also mentor younger reporters through their first records request and their first hostile interview.

I would welcome the chance to discuss the investigations your team is planning.

Sincerely, Rebecca Stone