Aspiring and early-career journalists have the unique opportunity to be awarded an internship with The Wall Street Journal’s editorial team thanks to a special partnership between The Fund for American Studies (TFAS), The Journal and the family of the late journalist, Joseph Rago.
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Journalists with less than five years experience are invited to apply for the third annual Joseph Rago Memorial Fellowship for Excellence in Journalism, which includes a nine-month internship with The Wall Street Journal’s editorial team, a salary of approximately $5,000 per month from TFAS and participation in the extensive network of TFAS Journalism Fellows and events. The application deadline is Feb. 10, 2020.
Rago Fellows participate fully as members of the Journal’s editorial team, providing Fellows with in-depth editorial experience including editing op-eds, writing stories under one’s own byline, writing as part of the Editorial Board, working with outside contributors, composing headlines and other story components, fact-checking, research and more.
Our 2019 Rago Fellow Matthew Taylor King, Rago ’19, was amazed at the opportunities set before him.
“The Wall Street Journal opinion pages are a righteous bully pulpit for freedom. They’re also one of the world’s great proving grounds for young journalists, and the Joseph Rago Memorial Fellowship invites you to take part in the action from your very first day,” said King. “The Rago Fellow writes, edits, and grills guests who visit the editorial board just like any other member of the team.”
Earlier this year, the Rago Fellowship’s inaugural recipient, Elliot Kaufman, Rago ’18, was hired on full-time as an assistant editorial features editor at The Journal after the completion of his Fellowship. “There simply are no other opportunities like this one,” said Kaufman.
The Fellowship was established in honor and memory of Joseph Rago, a Pulitzer Prize-winning member of The Wall Street Journal editorial board who passed away in 2017 at the young age of 34. Joe’s family and The Journal established the fellowship to help continue the legacy of their son and colleague. Joe’s father, Paul Rago, said, “We hope this fellowship will serve as a permanent remembrance of Joe’s contributions, his unrealized potential and as a celebration of the ideals he embraced.”
One Rago Fellow is selected each year through an application process that is judged by senior editors at The Journal, senior leaders at The Fund for American Studies and the family of Joseph Rago. A recipient is announced each year at the TFAS Journalism Awards Dinner in New York City. More than 200 prominent journalists and guests attend this annual event to celebrate the best in American journalism, and proceeds support the Joseph Rago Memorial Fellowship and the Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship programs.
Learn more about the Rago Fellowship and apply online at TFAS.org/Rago.
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Applications for the 2020 Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship Awards will open in February. Please visit TFAS.org/Novak for details.