Tablet Magazine Journalism Program for Spring 2021

While it will be impossible to top the inaugural class of Tablet fellows, who worked with us from October to December, we are excited to announce that we are accepting applications for the second class, who will work with us February through April. Accepted applicants will work 15-18 hours a week, remotely. The program resembles an internship program in that fellows are 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 is administered by Mark Oppenheimer—Tablet senior editor, Unorthodox podcast host, and 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 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 January 4, 2021, 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 250 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.)