Internships and fellowships

High Country News is looking for informed and enthusiastic editorial interns and fellows to report on issues of impact for the Western United States. We cover the West through in-depth, inclusive and insightful journalism, reporting from its cities and suburbs to its rural and natural spaces. 

“I didn't go to journalism school. I never went to any graduate program in writing at all. If I was starting out now, I’d go to Colorado and work for High Country News. I’d try to get writing somewhere for somebody, get paid for it, and see what went on. My inclination would be to grow on the job, but not to the exclusion of these programs. Writing teaches writing. The doing of writing develops the writer, and the teacher coaches.” –John McPhee

Internships

Every year, High Country News offers up to six internship positions, each 24 weeks long, full-time and traditionally starting in July and January. We provide a $1,264.80 bi-weekly stipend, plus a work-from-home allowance of $46.15 every 2 weeks, for interns who will work remotely from within the Western United States. We offer an additional $500 one-time signing bonus to help with IT equipment.

Our interns are a key part of the HCN team, developing, reporting and writing stories that matter. As we continue to broaden our coverage of the West, we encourage emerging journalists from BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities to apply, to help us tell a more complex, complete story of the West. 

Our interns go on to become leaders in journalism and public life. They pursue careers as reporters, editors, educators, lawyers, policymakers and freelance writers. Above all, they learn to report with depth and nuance on the issues of critical importance to the Western U.S. and the national conversation.

The internship requires established reporting and writing skills and an interest in covering the modern West.

Upcoming start dates and application deadlines generally follow the pattern below. (We cannot guarantee that applications received outside of the posted application period will be processed.)

Summer/Fall
Starts mid-July
Ends mid-December
(Application period March - April)

Winter/Spring
Starts mid-January
Ends mid-June
(Application period September - October)

Applicants should send an email with attached cover letter, résumé and three writing samples (plus multimedia samples, if applicable) to: [email protected]. Please be sure to include “internship application” in the subject line.

If emailing an application is not an option, candidates may also mail their materials to:

Western Colorado University/ ATTN High Country News
Gretchen King
Kelley Hall
600 N. Adams Street
Gunnison, CO 81231

Please email [email protected] for further information.

Fellowships

Each year we hope to offer two fellowships for early career journalists to further their skills and build their clips. 

The Virginia Spencer Davis Fellowship
This one-year fellowship, named for longtime HCN reader Virginia (Ginny) Spencer Davis, supports early career journalists interested in covering rural communities, agriculture and land conservation in the West.

Working hours are flexible but fellows should expect to work between 30 and 35 hours each week. Fellows are paid a stipend on a bi-weekly basis of $1,332.50, as well as a work-from-home allowance of $100 per month and a signing bonus of $500 intended to help defray the cost of IT equipment.

Climate Justice Fellowship
Note: The Climate Justice Fellowship is on hold. We hope to offer this again. Please check back in fall 2023 to see if this opportunity is available.

Sponsored by the Society for Environmental Journalists, the Climate Justice Fellowship offers a new generation of journalists the opportunity to explore the disparate impacts of climate change and communities’ response to them. The one-year fellowship receives mentorship, real-world opportunities and networking, and adds missing rungs on the career ladder for early-career journalists interested in reporting on climate change and environmental justice. The fellowship is open to multimedia and visual journalists as well as writers.