An Inside Look at the Insider Fellowship Program: Molding the Next Generation of Journalists

I've been an assistant managing editor at Insider for just over a year, and my absolute favorite part of this job has been working with the next generation of journalists who make up our fellowship program.

Insider launched this program in March 2019 to allow early-career journalists to get a taste of what it’s like to work in a digital newsroom. Since then, the program has evolved into an opportunity for ambitious journalists to become vital parts of a team or “beat” (i.e., coverage area) of their choice — all while receiving the mentorship, training, and guidance needed to flourish in their careers.

Fellows at Insider  get to write breaking news stories, interview high-profile actors, produce riveting video pieces, hone their social media skills, and above all, work on a beat they’re passionate about. From healthcare to digital culture to web distribution, we offer fellowships for almost every part of a modern digital newsroom. 

We welcome fellows twice a year, with the first cohort joining in January and the second  in June and July. The entire fellowship lasts six months. These fellows are often recent college graduates, but there is no education requirement or age cutoff: We’re just looking for ambitious journalists ready to dive into the field. 

And as the new year approaches, we’re gearing up to recruit for our January 2022 class of fellows. Please consider applying if you are an aspiring journalist looking to make your industry debut.

Insider fellows work full time (about 40 hours a week) for six months. We recently increased our fellow wage from $18 an hour to $20 an hour. 

Fellows begin their first month in trainings that prepare them for the Insider newsroom. These include workshops on the basics of SEO,  giving and receiving feedback, copyediting tips, and much more. After that, they hit the ground running, pitching stories and project ideas that they then seeto fruition. The hope of the program is that top fellows eventually become indispensable assets to their team.

“There’s so much I’m learning through my fellowship that is allowing me to experience work in journalism in a new light,” said Yasmin Garaad, a current fellow on our Entertainment team. “Insider has been extremely instrumental in allowing me to bloom into a creative journalist that uses the art of storytelling to tell diverse stories.”

Jake Epstein is a breaking-news fellow who joined the company in August. He said the program has put him in the frontline of one of the most fast-paced newsrooms in the industry — and it’s given him a chance to “produce meaningful, impactful, and thoughtful work across every beat under the sun.”

Here, I'm surrounded by a group of talented editors and reporters who are constantly eager to share advice that help improve my reporting, make me feel welcomed to the newsroom, and give me a better understanding of our industry,” he added. 

Here’s how to apply:

• Submit applications through LinkedIn’s Talent Hub. 

• Applications must include a resume and cover letter. Individual fellowship positions may request additional details, such as a reel or published clips; make sure to provide those if prompted.

• You may apply for multiple fellowship positions, but please try to keep it to a maximum of three. Also, do submit a cover letter for each. Your cover letter should indicate why each particular position appeals to you and aligns with your previous experience. This cover letter should be attached to your resume and any relevant clips in a single PDF submitted through LinkedIn.