CFA: THI Undergraduate Public Fellowship with The American Prospect, Winter 2024
Deadline: Monday, November 27th, 2023
The Humanities Institute (THI) is pleased to present this Undergraduate Public Fellowship opportunity for Humanities students at UC Santa Cruz to work with The American Prospect. THI’s Public Fellowships provide undergraduate students with hands-on training and professional experience and are available to students who are declared majors and/or minors of a department in the Humanities Division at UCSC.
About the Project:
The American Prospect (TAP) magazine and website is devoted to promoting informed discourse on public-policy matters from a progressive perspective, through a narrative interpretation of complex issues. TAP’s value lies in explaining the power dynamics at work behind the story, and how that power might be shifted to the public’s benefit. American Prospect, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation headquartered in Washington, D.C.
The Prospect is committed to nurturing new talent, through its writing fellowship and internship programs. TAP’s alumni list speaks to their success: leading off with UC Santa Cruz alumnus Ezra Klein who founded Vox with TAP alumnus Matt Yglesias. Other notable TAP alumni are Jamelle Bouie of The New York Times; Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo; Adam Serwer (The Atlantic); Tara Zahra, a 2015 MacArthur award winner; Dana Goldstein and Nick Confessore (both, The New York Times); Kate Sheppard (HuffPost); Nathalie Baptiste (Mother Jones); Richard Just (Washington Post Magazine); Annabelle Williams (The New York Times Fellow), Shera S. Avi-Yonah (Rhodes Scholarship); Alex Rouhandeh (Newsweek); Amelia Pollard (Bloomberg); and dozens more journalists currently at the top of the field.
The THI-TAP Public Fellow will join one of three TAP classes of interns to coincide with UCSC’s winter quarter, from January to March.
Position Description: Editorial Intern
Editorial interns assist with research, fact-checking, social media, data entry and library services for both the print magazine and the daily website. Interns are encouraged to contribute editorially, writing briefs and articles as assigned, and participating in generating story ideas, as well as pursuing their own projects under the guidance of Prospect staff.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND EXPECTATIONS
- Fact-checking is your top responsibility. On a daily basis, you will assist with research and fact-checking for content for both the print magazine and the daily website. (30%)
- Social media posting and monitoring social channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, and more). (25%)
- Editorial contributions include writing articles and briefs as assigned. (30%)
- Data entry and library services assignments; marketing and event related projects; and participation in staff meetings and on Slack chats to share information on current assignments and generate story ideas. (15%)
Fellows are expected to complete assignments in a timely and efficient manner, work 20 hours per week, post findings regularly to shared online documents or the project’s research database, meet all assignment-specific deadlines, and contribute in other ways as required.
When: Fellowship term is January 8th to March 15th, 2024
Working Hours: Fellows will work 20 hours/week remotely – all work will be conducted online. Fellows will be expected to virtually attend weekly meetings and do some synchronous work during working hours 10am-6pm ET.
Supervision: The UCSC fellow will be supervised by a TAP senior editor and UCSC journalism professor Jody K. Biehl, who will also provide additional journalism mentorship. The fellow will also be supported by the Humanities Division Experiential Learning Coordinator. The fellow will be expected to check in with their UCSC supervisor at least 3 times throughout the quarter.
Compensation: The THI-TAP Public Fellow will be paid $20/hour and work 20 hours per week during Winter Quarter 2024.
Who are you?
- You are in good academic standing and a declared major or minor in a department in the Humanities Division (required).
- You are a self-starter who is able to work both independently and collaboratively (required).
- You have satisfied the UC Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements (required).
- You have excellent writing skills (required).
- You have taken or are currently enrolled in LIT 160F – How to Write like a Journalist or have previous journalism experience (bonus).
- You are passionate about political issues and you consistently check the news.
- You have strong attention to detail and a commitment to accuracy.
- You’re highly organized, ready to work in a professional office, and able to meet deadlines.
- You have experience with social media and/or an interest in learning new platforms.
Once the application closes on Monday, November 27th, there will be a virtual interview.
Students should apply via Handshake using job number 8289822.
Please email any questions to Kylie Rachwalski, Experiential Learning Coordinator in the Humanities Division, at hum-experiential-learning@ucsc.edu.
Thanks to the generosity of Michael Stern, TAP Board Member and UC Santa Cruz volunteer, The Humanities Institute (THI) is able to offer this annual fellowship.