The Victor S. Navasky Internship Program
The Nation Fund for Independent Journalism’s editorial internship program offers two internship sessions per year. Editorial interns are placed at The Nation for the duration of their session and receive a comprehensive immersion into The Nation and TheNation.com’s editorial processes. Interns’ primary responsibilities include fact-checking for the magazine and website, providing research support to Nation writers and editors, and assisting with production on TheNation.com. Interns are not expected to arrive with fact-checking or digital media experience and will be extensively trained in those areas, though a familiarity with The Nation and the range of issues covered by the magazine is essential.
Founded by antislavery abolitionists in 1865, The Nation has chronicled the breadth and depth of political and cultural life from the debut of the telegraph to the rise of Twitter, serving as a critical, independent, and progressive voice in American journalism (read more about The Nation here). Historic contributors include W.E.B. Du Bois, Willa Cather, James Agee, Hannah Arendt, James Baldwin, Gore Vidal, Sylvia Plath, Martin Luther King Jr., Kurt Vonnegut, Edward Said, and Molly Ivins. The Nation’s contemporary writers include Naomi Klein, John Nichols, Eric Foner, Patricia Williams, Marilynne Robinson, Melissa Harris-Perry, Bill McKibben, Joan Walsh, Mychal Denzel Smith, Dave Zirin, Katrina vanden Heuvel, and Calvin Trillin.
Interns also participate in educational seminars with journalists, academics, and activists who come by our offices to speak to interns about their work. Recent guests have included Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Eric Foner, author Vivian Gornick, critic Emily Nussbaum, and writer/academic Melissa Harris-Perry. Interns are encouraged to suggest people they would like to come in and speak with the group.
The internship is full-time, five days a week. (Interns work 35 hours per week.) Interns for the summer/fall 2024 session will be expected to come into the office two days a week. While we will consider applications from candidates who prefer to work remotely, we will give preference to those able to be in New York metropolitan area during the internship. Upon acceptance, applicants may discuss their work options with the program director.
We do not accept applicants who will still be in school during the internship. Applicants that will still be enrolled in school during the internship will be automatically rejected; we encourage you to re-apply after graduating.
Compensation and Credit: Interns are paid $18 per hour, $630 per week.
Application Procedure
Applicants must submit the following:
- A cover letter that explains why you want this internship. Please mention Nation writers you follow and/or Nation pieces you’ve enjoyed.
- A resume.
- One letter of recommendation with contact information for the referee included. Letters may be emailed directly by recommenders to Samantha Schuyler at samantha@thenation.com, or may be uploaded with the rest of your application materials.
- Answers to the application questions.
All applications must be submitted via Submittable. Applications are now open. (Please create a free submittable account to submit your application.) Scroll down to apply. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Applications submitted through postal mail or email will not be considered. All application materials become the property of The Nation Fund for Independent Journalism. Please address all queries to samantha@thenation.com. No phone calls, please.
Deadlines and Duration of Program
Winter/Spring 2025:
Application deadline: November 24, 2024
Notification deadline: Week of December 11, 2024
Program duration: January 6 to June 27, 2025
Please note: Unfortunately, we are unable to offer a summer-only internship. The Nation Fund for Independent Journalism is an equal-opportunity employer. For more information on the internship program and the application process, please visit our website here.