With funding from our readers and the Facebook Journalism Accelerator, Peterborough Currents will be hosting multiple editorial fellowships in fall 2021.
These fellowships are an opportunity for local journalists (or aspiring journalists!) to work alongside co-publishers Ayesha and Will in the production of our editorial content, including our regular email newsletters and website articles. Depending on fellows’ skills and interests, projects in other media are also possible.
Editorial fellows will be expected to work between 10 and 15 hours per week for a four-month period. Fellows will receive a stipend of $6,000 in recognition of their work, plus a $500 equipment budget.
During the four-month period, fellows will:
- Attend our weekly story meetings to discuss editorial priorities and future content
- Write at least two issues of our newsletter
- Produce at least two social-first stories to post on our social media channels
- Complete a major editorial project, as proposed in their fellowship work plan (see below)
- Execute other editorial projects as their capacity allows and their interests dictate
Qualifications
We’re looking for people with well-developed writing skills and a deep investment in the Peterborough community. Journalism experience would be an asset but is not essential.
Strong applicants will bring a combination of the following:
- Strong writing skills and experience writing for a general audience
- A commitment to fostering a more informed, empathetic and connected community
- Familiarity with local news in Peterborough
- Creativity, and a well-formed vision for a journalism project they’d like to undertake during their fellowship
Application instructions
Please submit your applications by email to [email protected]. The deadline for submissions has been extended to September 20, 2021. We expect fellows to start their work with us in early fall, 2021.
Here are the four things to include in your application:
A cover letter (Maximum one page)
In your cover letter, please introduce yourself, your connection to Peterborough and why you want to be an editorial fellow with Peterborough Currents.
A resume or CV (Maximum three pages)
We know… resumes aren’t always a great way to demonstrate aptitude and potential. We’re just looking to learn a bit more about your past experiences. If you haven’t had a traditional education or career path — that is okay! (And it might even be a strength.)
Work samples (At least two. No more than five.)
Samples of your previous work, preferably in the medium that you propose to work in during your fellowship. We expect most of these will be writing samples, but if you’re proposing to work in audio, video or on social media, you can submit work samples in those media.
A fellowship work plan (Maximum one page)
Your fellowship work plan will outline what journalism you’d like to produce during your fellowship. It should also describe how your work will help foster a more informed, connected and empathetic community in Peterborough.
Guide to creating your fellowship work plan
The fellowship work plan is the most important part of your application. In it, you’ll tell us what you want to accomplish during the fellowship — what you want to learn and what you want to produce for our audience.
Your work plan should include a concrete outline of a journalism project that you’d like to undertake during the fellowship. A strong work plan will demonstrate that you are capable of executing the project that you are proposing.
Your project might be one major feature story, or a series of smaller stories focussing on a common topic. It might be a piece of writing, or it might be a podcast or photo series. Your project might be published on our website, or it might live entirely on our social media channels. It’s flexible.
We are looking for projects that will diversify the kinds of stories Peterborough Currents publishes. To that end, we encourage you to familiarize yourself with what we’ve published in the last year and ask, “What’s missing?” and, “How could Peterborough Currents serve its audience better?”
We’re leaving the work plan open-ended, because we want to give applicants the chance to shape their fellowship experience for themselves. But we also believe Peterborough Currents needs more creative ideas from community members to shape our coverage going forward. So… help us to grow and improve!
We highly recommend discussing your fellowship work plan with either Ayesha or Will before submitting your application. We’ll give you feedback and help you refine your idea. Email [email protected] to set up a conversation on the phone. This conversation will not factor into our decision making, so don’t fret about it. We are just really excited to hear from you!
