Fellow, Audience

The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That means independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It’s why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It’s why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination. And it’s why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for.

Join the 2026 New York Times Fellowship class as a member of the Audience team in New York.

As an Audience fellow, you will get a comprehensive understanding of how The Times approaches off- and on-platform audience development and engagement. You should be willing to partner with colleagues across the newsroom and the strategy, product, data and marketing teams.

The fellowship will be divided into rotations with the departments that make up the Audience team:

• Search: You will help track trends, shape live coverage on breaking storylines, and optimize headlines and links
• Social: You will develop social strategy, visual, copy/framing and news-judgment skills
• Data and audience insights: You will gain an understanding of our analytics and our audience — whom we reach and whom we need to engage. You also will learn data-literacy skills and work to help desks optimize coverage. And you’ll work with our international audience team on strategies to reach and engage. readers outside the United States.
• Community: You will engage readers through on-site comments, contributing to our expanding community efforts on-platform

This is an in-office position and includes regular attendance in the office four days each week. There may be some flexibility to work remotely per your departmental guidance. You may be required to work some nights, weekends and holidays as needed.

Responsibilities:

• Attend news meetings and Audience team meetings
• Optimize stories for search, and identify trending topics and competitive trends
• Write social copy and help shape how we share our journalism on social, analyze our presence and strategy on existing platforms, and evaluate opportunities on new social platforms
• Interpret data and signals to shape how we present stories on and off our platforms
• Partner with the newsroom audience analytics team on deep and actionable analysis
• Work on projects to engage our commenters
• Participate in training and social programs designed for the fellowship
• Collaborate with colleagues across the newsroom
• Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world

Basic Qualifications:

• No more than five years of full-time, professional journalism experience, excluding internships
• Experience writing in an engaging, smart tone that feels native to social media and is consistent with the values of independent journalism
• Experience looking at and interpreting data

Preferred Qualifications:

• Record of multiple news internships or equivalent experience
• An understanding of all mainstream and some emerging social channels, and a willingness to learn about new platforms
• Knowledge of the search landscape and the ability to spot trends, with an eye for spotting misinformation
• Comfort with data and testing, and with iterating to find what resonates with different audiences

To apply, upload a résumé and cover letter. The application will prompt you when to upload materials. Applications that fail to include any of these materials or follow these instructions will not be considered.

You must be authorized to work in the United States. We will not sponsor work visas for the fellowship, but we will consider applicants with valid work authorization or a valid student visa that can be extended with Optional Practical Training.

You may apply to only one fellowship position per year. For instance, if you apply as an audience fellow, you should not apply for any other positions in the fellowship. Duplicate applications will be discarded.

The application deadline is 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Nov. 19.

The Times Fellowship generates a high level of interest, so we cannot acknowledge the status of applications upon receipt or during the vetting process, which can take eight weeks or more. We cannot accept applications that are mailed or emailed to us. We will contact you for interviews as needed.

The fellowship program will begin on or about June 1, 2026, and end on May 21, 2027, subject to satisfactory performance. There is no guarantee of a full-time position upon completion of the program.

For more information about the Times Fellowship, visit here.

This position is represented by the NewsGuild of New York.

The annual base pay range for this role is between:

$82,414.80 - $82,414.80 USD