The American Left Eats Its Young
Okay, maybe not; but it doesn't hire them either. The American Prospect , the highly regarded liberal journal, has a prestigious and successful fellowship program. Former fellows include Ezra Klein and Matthew Yglesias.
But now, after having over 40 bright-eyed and bushy-tailed applicants jump through the hoops of its elaborate process -- details here (applicants must write up a 10-15 page critique of the magazine) -- the Prospect has decided not to take anyone .
From: [redacted]
Date: 26 April 2006
To: [redacted]
Subject: Your writing fellowship application
Dear Writing Fellow Applicant,
Many thanks for applying to The American Prospect writing fellowship. The quality of applicants this year was spectacular and any one of you would have made a fine addition to the staff. However, due to changing editorial priorities, we are not selecting a writing fellow for 2006.
I deeply apologize for not letting you know sooner--before you invested so much of your time in the application--but this was a very recent decision of ours. Best of luck in your future endeavors.
Many thanks,
[redacted]
The American Prospect
It's hard out there for an aspiring liberal journalist!
(Also: what's up with those "changing editorial priorities"? Is that just a euphemism for "no funding"? Or is the elimination of the fellowship program a permanent change?)