Sir Samuel Brittan Fellowship – Financial Times

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The Role

This six-month fellowship, set up to honour the memory of Sir Samuel, is aimed at aspiring economic journalists or early career applicants with expertise and interest in economic themes and thinking.

As the FT’s economics commentator for almost half a century, Sir Samuel’s columns and articles shaped the political life and economic debate in the UK and beyond. As the FT wrote in his obituary, “the central theme of much of Brittan’s writing was his belief in free markets. He believed in the connection between economic, personal and political freedom. He sought to persuade the open-minded reader that the right kind of market economy could be an instrument of human freedom”. He died in October 2020, aged 86.

The Fellowship:

• Six-month paid internship at the FT’s London headquarters
• Split into a three-month stint in the leader writing team and a three-month stint with the economics team
• Opportunity to write FT editorials on a wide range of themes
• Attend the daily leader conference where the FT editorial board discusses the burning issues of the day
• Be exposed to the FT’s core news operation
• Expected to file news stories as well as economic analysis pieces for the home page and newspaper

Who we are looking for:

• Expertise and interest in economic themes and thinking
• Ability to explain complex themes in simple and striking terms
• This will typically require a degree in economics, but we are happy to consider graduates from other fields provided they can demonstrate their ability to write engagingly and incisively about economic issues
• All applicants must have the right to work in the UK

The fellowship is funded jointly by the Financial Times and by Sir Samuel’s family. The fellow will receive a monthly bursary of £2500.

How do you apply?

• CV
• Cover Letter
• Unpublished article or column of no more than 600 words, examining an economic issue of current interest. It should be written in a spirit that reflects the work of Sir Samuel himself