New Scientist - USA (2020-07-18)

2 | New Scientist | 18 July 2020

I am pleased to share with you that

New Scientist is now seeking applications

for the second iteration of our Diversity

Internship Programme, a positive action

scheme for aspiring journalists from black,

Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

At New Scientist, we believe very strongly

that science is for everyone and that its power

to enrich and inform our lives is universal. But

science journalism – as with all journalism –

remains largely the preserve of the privileged

few, with many barriers preventing a diverse

range of voices from entering the newsroom.

The goal of our internship is to remove

some of these barriers. Money is one of those,

so we pay the London Living Wage. We also

don’t ask that applicants have had any formal

journalistic training, as this is a personal

expense that many can’t afford. The only

requirements for applicants are that they

have a science, technology or computing

degree and a demonstrable interest

in writing or journalism.

Our selection process is carefully

designed to remove bias and

choose on the basis of merit alone.

That is why we don’t ask applicants

to submit a CV, which can be a

source of unconscious bias during

the hiring process. Instead, we ask

for a short statement explaining an

applicant’s suitability for the programme, and for

a writing sample in the style of a New Scientist

article. To further eliminate bias, these are both

marked blind – with no names attached –

by two different people and according to a

rigid scoring system, allowing little room for

personal judgement. Further selection rounds

involve an anonymised reporting test, which is

also marked blind according to standard criteria.

It is a process that worked well last year.

Our first three interns enjoyed an intensive

six-month programme of on-the-job training

based on our news desk, with placements across

the company as a whole. From covering our live

events on social media and assisting in video

shoots to writing for all sections of the magazine,

they participated in every aspect of New Scientist.

Each intern left with a portfolio of published

work, and you will still see their names – Gege Li,

Layal Liverpool and Jason Arunn Murugesu –

regularly on our pages.

The deadline for applications for this second

roll-out of the scheme is 31 July, and more details

can be found online at newscientist.com/intern.

A note from

our news editor

Penny Sarchet

News editor

Elsewhere

on New Scientist

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“ A t New Scientist,

we believe science

is for everyone

and its power to

enrich our lives

is universal”