Tablet Magazine Journalism Program for Fall 2020

For many young people, fall 2020 feels like the worst of times—a political, cultural and economic landscape that demands understanding and participation while simultaneously limiting the opportunities to do either.

This is why we are very happy to be able to announce a journalism program to run 12 weeks, from October to December 2020—not just an internship for two or three select candidates, but a full-scale program for 10 fellows.

Accepted applicants will work 15-18 hours a week, remotely, from October to December. It will resemble an internship program in that they will be paid ($3,000 for the three-month program), but it will share many traits with journalism school: strong mentorship, a cohort or “class,” frequent group exercises, and guest speakers drawn from the top ranks of journalism.

The program will be administered by Mark Oppenheimer—Tablet senior editor and the coordinator of the Yale Journalism Initiative. Participants will be included in all aspects of the Tablet editorial process, including weekly editorial meetings, where they will be allowed to pitch articles, which in some cases could be assigned to them. There will also be additional weekly sessions run by Mark, with and without guest speakers, where the cohort will discuss aspects of journalism including ethics, the First Amendment, and the history and state of the journalism industry. In addition, each participant will also be paired with a specific writer or editor in a suitable department, such as news, arts, culture, podcasting, marketing, or social media. Responsibilities may include interviewing, fact-checking, web research, data research, reading and summarizing articles and books, and data entry.

Candidates may be from any ethnic or religious background, but must have a strong interest in Tablet’s editorial mission, which is to cover Jewish news, religion, and culture. We welcome participants no matter their political leanings, so long as they believe in fair, skeptical journalism.

If interested, send by Sept. 10, to [email protected], a resume; three favorite writing samples (journalism clips if you have them, but they’re not necessary); a cover letter, indicating what kind of work you are most interested in; and answers, of no more than 300 words each, to the questions “What does ‘free speech’ mean to you?,” “What is good journalism?,” and “What Tablet article from the last month could have been vastly improved, and how?” (Tip: in the cover letter, tell us who you really are, not what you think we want to hear.)