Slate is looking for an intern for its Technology section, which encompasses science, health, tech, tech policy, and business, and includes the Future Tense vertical. The intern will be responsible for writing articles and assisting with editorial research. They must be organized, have a proven interest in journalism, and be familiar with Slate's style of analysis and opinion. They must also be able to work efficiently and without much supervision. This is not a podcasting position.
Experience in science, tech, and/or health reporting is very helpful but not a requirement. An interest in covering these topics is a must. The intern will work on a mix of assignments from editors but will be expected to generate their own ideas, too.
Candidates should be available to work between 20 and 40 hours per week. (We can schedule hours around classes.) Candidates may work from either Slate's D.C. or Brooklyn office, or work remotely. This internship is paid $15 per hour and runs for 90 days. This position would be a good fit for a current or recently graduated student who is considering a career in journalism.
The internship will run from January to April. The deadline to apply is Nov. 1.
Application requirements
· A brief cover letter that includes a few sentences about why you're interested in a science and technology writing internship at Slate. If you have a particular beat you'd like to spend time on within these broad coverage areas, please tell us about it! If you are a current student, please also explain how you'd fit interning at Slate into your academic workload.
· Links to three clips (preferably under 1,000 words each) included at the bottom of your cover letter.
· A short pitch-150 words max-for a Slate story. This pitch should be about science or technology. It can be newsy or evergreen, but it should feel in line with Slate's voice. For guidance on what makes a good Slate pitch, please consult this page.
Slate is committed to excellence through diversity, which involves attracting talented people from diverse backgrounds and traditions. We encourage everyone to apply. If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application and selection process, please let us know. We will do what we can to meet your needs.
Slate, founded in 1996, is a daily online magazine and podcast network that helped invent the voice of the web. Our strong editorial voice and witty take on current events & culture have been recognized with numerous awards, including the National Magazine Award for General Excellence Online. Our podcast network, established in 2005, produces more than 20 podcasts, including Slow Burn, What Next, Decoder Ring and more.
Slate is an affiliate of Graham Holdings. Read the Graham Holdings Company California Worker Privacy Statement here.
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How to hire an editorial internship
Editorial internship hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring editorial interns in the United States:
- There are a total of 14,100 editorial interns in the US, and there are currently 51,667 job openings in this field.
- The median cost to hire an editorial internship is $1,633.
- Small businesses spend $1,105 per editorial internship on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
- It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
- It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
- HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
- New York, NY, has the highest demand for editorial interns, with 8 job openings.
How to hire an editorial internship, step by step
To hire an editorial internship, you should clearly understand the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, and allocate a budget for the position. You will also need to post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire an editorial internship:
Here's a step-by-step editorial internship hiring guide:
- Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
- Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
- Step 3: Make a budget
- Step 4: Write an editorial internship job description
- Step 5: Post your job
- Step 6: Interview candidates
- Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new editorial internship
- Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist
What does an editorial internship do?
An editorial intern is responsible for assisting the editorial team in publishing digital and media content, writing articles, and managing readers' reviews. Editorial interns must have excellent knowledge of the industry they work for, suggesting the latest trends and featured topics, taking notes of the tenured employees' advice and observations, and actively joining brainstorming sessions. An editorial intern must be detail-oriented and take constructive feedback as an opportunity to learn. It is also crucial to have outstanding communication and proofreading skills and keep all the materials confidential until release.
Post an editorial internship job for free, promote it for a fee
Identify your hiring needs
Before you post your editorial internship job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find an editorial internship for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.
Determine employee vs contractor statusIs the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?An editorial internship's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, editorial interns from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.
Here's a comparison of editorial internship salaries for various roles:
Type of Editorial Internship Description Hourly rate Editorial Internship Editors plan, review, and revise content for publication. $12-18 Technical Writer And Editor A technical writer and editor is primarily responsible for producing written content that defines and explains technical concepts to inform and educate readers. As a writer, it is essential to research and fact-check details to ensure the material's accuracy and value... Show more $24-39 News Reporter News Reporters collect and analyze facts about newsworthy events through interview, investigation, or observation. They carry cameras and take photos and video footage of objects or places of potential significance. $12-30 Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:- Fact-Check
- Editorial Intern
- Web Content
- Press Releases
- SEO
- Administrative Tasks
- Content Management System
- Photo Shoots
- News Stories
- Writing Articles
- Editor-In-Chief
- Editorial Content
Responsibilities:- Manage content uploads onto corporate website for continuous relevancy and improve SEO rankings.
- Contribute through blogging, copy editing, participating in weekly editorial meetings, and managing social channels
- Upload all content into the CMS and assume all editor responsibilities
- Upload, edit and maintain articles on the websites' CMS.
- Create 15-30 seconds teasers to post to social media, specifically Instagram and Facebook.
- Fix technical problems with uploading files to Lexis-Nexis through basic HTML coding and working with technicians over the phone.
Make a budget
Including a salary range in your editorial internship job description helps attract top candidates to the position. An editorial internship salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.
For example, the average salary for an editorial internship in Kansas may be lower than in California, and an entry-level editorial internship usually earns less than a senior-level editorial internship. Additionally, an editorial internship with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.
Average editorial internship salary
$15.56hourly
$32,356 yearlyEntry-level editorial internship salary$26,000 yearly salaryUpdated December 5, 2025Average editorial internship salary by state
Rank State Avg. salary Hourly rate 1 District of Columbia $45,933 $22 2 California $42,321 $20 3 Virginia $38,002 $18 4 New York $36,948 $18 5 Illinois $36,587 $18 6 Massachusetts $34,223 $16 7 Michigan $31,094 $15 8 Wisconsin $27,936 $13 9 North Carolina $27,059 $13 10 Texas $26,611 $13 11 Utah $25,203 $12 12 Florida $23,904 $11 13 Missouri $22,229 $11 Average editorial internship salary by company
Rank Company Average salary Hourly rate Job openings 1 Oxford University Press $37,968 $18.25 2 Institute for the Study of War $36,628 $17.61 3 Quad $36,146 $17.38 4 NexTier Oilfield Solutions $36,049 $17.33 5 Vox Media $35,806 $17.21 10 6 Hachette Book Group $35,799 $17.21 4 7 Penguin Random House $35,761 $17.19 1 8 IEEE Foundation $35,740 $17.18 2 9 Bertelsmann $35,125 $16.89 10 Crain Communications $35,041 $16.85 5 11 Access Intelligence $34,974 $16.81 12 National Audubon Society $34,886 $16.77 13 GW Systems $34,469 $16.57 1 14 Launch That $34,102 $16.40 15 Ballotpedia $33,658 $16.18 2 16 GoodRx $33,647 $16.18 17 Tribune Publishing $32,892 $15.81 4 18 Hallmark Services Corporation $32,206 $15.48 19 Hart Energy $31,837 $15.31 20 1871 $31,743 $15.26 Writing an editorial internship job description
A job description for an editorial internship role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an editorial internship job description:
Editorial internship job description example
Post your job
There are various strategies that you can use to find the right editorial internship for your business:
- Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
- Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
- Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
- Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.
Interview candidates
Your first interview with editorial internship candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.
You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Send a job offer and onboard your new editorial internship
Once you've selected the best editorial internship candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.
It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.
To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.
Go through the hiring process checklist
- Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
- Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
- Define job responsibilities and requirements
- Establish budget and timeline
- Determine hiring decision makers for the role
- Write job description
- Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
- Promote the job internally
- Process applications through applicant tracking system
- Review resumes and cover letters
- Shortlist candidates for screening
- Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
- Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
- Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
- Conduct background checks on top candidates
- Check references of top candidates
- Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
- Extend offer to top candidate(s)
- Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
- Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
- Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
- Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire an editorial internship?
Recruiting editorial interns involves both the one-time costs of hiring and the ongoing costs of adding a new employee to your team. Your spending during the hiring process will mostly be on things like promoting the job on job boards, reviewing and interviewing candidates, and onboarding the new hire. Ongoing costs will obviously involve the employee's salary, but also may include things like benefits.
You can expect to pay around $32,356 per year for an editorial internship, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for editorial interns in the US typically range between $12 and $18 an hour.
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Updated December 5, 2025