diff --git a/scripts/news_chunk_country_backfill.py b/scripts/news_chunk_country_backfill.py
index 39b8533..604a580 100644
--- a/scripts/news_chunk_country_backfill.py
+++ b/scripts/news_chunk_country_backfill.py
@@ -32,7 +32,11 @@ import sys
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from pathlib import Path
 
-sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / "app"))
+_repo_root = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+for _candidate in (_repo_root / "app", _repo_root):
+    if (_candidate / "core").is_dir() and str(_candidate) not in sys.path:
+        sys.path.insert(0, str(_candidate))
+        break
 
 from sqlalchemy import text
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession