Fellow, Opinion Copy Editor

The New York Times Company; New York (NY); On-site; USD 74,000 - 91,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Variable pay

Medical, dental and vision benefits

401(k) plan

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

The New York Times Fellowship in New York invites you to join the Opinion section as a copy editor. You will edit headlines, captions and display copy, uphold style and standards, and advocate for readers while preserving a writer’s voice. The role emphasizes collaboration with story editors, fact-checkers, and podcast/video elements.

In-office position four days a week with potential remote flexibility; some nights, weekends, and holidays may be required. Finalists take an editing test.

Qualifications

• No more than five years of full-time, professional journalism experience, excluding internships.
• Experience editing articles, essays or scripts for publication.
• Experience working on firm deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Copy edit story text, headlines, captions and other display copy, elevating articles on the sentence level for clarity.
• Ensure accuracy and consistency across a range of content, including editorials, guest essays and columns.
• Polish, format and quality-check podcast transcripts, graphics and video elements.
• Respond to changing priorities and demands based on department needs and the news cycle.
• 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.

Skills

Copy editing

Editorial judgment

Deadline-driven

Collaboration

Tools

Content management systems

Transcription tools

Job description

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 2027 New York Times Fellowship class as a copy editor for the Opinion section in New York.

Copy editors are the last line of defense before publication of Opinion columnists, contributors and guest essayists. Basic duties include checking writers’ grammar, spelling and adherence to style and standards. An exceptional copy editor will also serve as an advocate for readers, ensuring that a story’s argument, logic, style and tone are sound. Opinion copy editors must balance enforcement of the standards of The Times with preserving a writer’s distinct viewpoint and voice.

You have experience with copy editing and making editorial judgment calls. You can work collaboratively with story editors and fact-checkers. You are experienced digitally and enthusiastic about Opinion’s daily report — and open to working on stories from all points of view. You are platform agnostic and interested in working on copy for any medium. You are comfortable raising potential problems concerning standards and taste, and have good radar for when to push back on edits made by more senior colleagues.

The Opinion department is separate from the newsroom. 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.

Finalists will be required to take an editing test.

Responsibilities:

• Copy edit story text, headlines, captions and other display copy, elevating articles on the sentence level for clarity
• Ensure accuracy and consistency across a range of content, including editorials, guest essays and columns
• Polish, format and quality-check podcast transcripts, graphics and video elements
• Respond to changing priorities and demands based on department needs and the news cycle
• Participate in training and social programs designed for the fellowship
• 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 editing articles, essays or scripts for publication
• Experience working on firm deadlines

Preferred Qualifications:

• Record of multiple journalism internships, or equivalent experience
• Comfort with a wide range of subject matter, from politics to science and culture
• Familiarity with content management systems and transcription tools

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 Opinion copy editor, 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. 20.

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 7, 2027, and end on May 26, 2028, subject to satisfactory performance. There is no guarantee of a full-time position upon completion of the program.

This position is represented by the NewsGuild of New York.

REQ-02077

Additional Compensation and Benefits:

• Variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock.
• Medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s), a company-matching 401(k) plan, employee stock purchase plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs.

For roles outside of the U.S., information on benefits will be provided during the interview process.

The annual base pay range for this role is between:

$82,414.80 - $82,414.80 USD

Candidate Use of GenAI Tools:

We’re excited to learn more about you and your experience. To keep our hiring process as fair and authentic as possible, we ask that you submit your own work and not use GenAI tools to generate substantive content during the application and interview process.

If you’re an engineering candidate, we’ll let you know what specific GenAI tools you are permitted to use for your technical assessment.

The New York Times Company is committed to being the world’s best source of independent, reliable and quality journalism. To do so, we embrace a diverse workforce that has a broad range of backgrounds and experiences across our ranks, at all levels of the organization. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s Know Your Rights Poster is available here.

The New York Times Company will provide reasonable accommodations as required by applicable federal, state, and/or local laws. Individuals seeking an accommodation for the application or interview process should email [e-mail]. Emails sent for unrelated issues, such as following up on an application, will not receive a response.

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in The New York Times’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.