Madeleine Carlisle, Politics editorial fellow @ The Atlantic

Each year, Atlantic Media hires around 40 recent graduates for its fellowship program. Fellows are placed in editorial or business positions across Atlantic Media’s four brands: The Atlantic, National Journal, Government Executive, and Quartz.

Tell us about your fellowship.

I am one of two politics fellows at TheAtlantic.com. I help write The Politics & Policy Daily newsletter, I coordinate with all of the freelancers that pitch the politics desk, I do the social media for the politics desk, I curate the politics landing page, I help with fact-checking and production, and I manage the politics story budget. I also write my own stories.

What were you working on right before this?

I was writing the newsletter.

What’s the coolest thing you’ve gotten to work on?

I’ve gotten to shadow some writers on The Hill, and that’s been very fun. I got to go with Elaina Plott to cover Nancy Pelosi’s leadership election, which they let me co-byline.

What’s something you’ve learned in a prior non-media job that’s weirdly applicable to your fellowship?

At Yale, I had a student job as a video product assistant, which meant that I made videos for Yale’s office of communications. That involved going up to strangers and interviewing them with a camera. That trained me very well for journalism, even though at the time that was marketing and communications.

What was your childhood dream job?

I wanted to be an actress, but I realized I’m actually just loud, I’m not performative. I was Peter Pan in the first grade, because I was the tallest kid in the grade, and I had a pixie cut. I think that’s why I thought I was destined for an Oscar.

What did you study in school that prepared you for this job?

I studied history, specifically political and legal history, which was a track within the history department. I am fascinated about different forces that create the world as it is today, which is why I loved history. What’s fun about journalism is it’s the first draft of history, so I find it fascinating.

What is the best advice, career related or not, that someone has ever given you?

Swati [Sharma, deputy editor of TheAtlantic.com] meets with all the fellows, and she gave me very good advice during our meeting. She said that you should lead from where you are, meaning you should try and be a leader, even if you aren’t in a leadership role. I think that helps remind me to be confident even though I’m a low level fellow.

Do you have any advice for people looking for entry-level jobs in media?

You’d be surprised what prepares you for these jobs. Another thing I did in college is I worked for a criminal justice advocacy group in New Haven, and we would take testimony from people who had been wronged by the criminal justice system in New Haven and bring that to law students who would then bring that to the Hartford legislative body. That involved me interviewing people who I had never met before and had gone through really intense things. That trained me very well for being a journalist, even though it’s a totally different role from being a journalist, it’s an advocacy role, so my advice would be, all of your different life experiences can prepare you for being a reporter.