Q&A: Nicole Javorsky, Editorial Fellow @ CityLab

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 what you do.

I’m an editorial fellow at CityLab. I write a lot of the environment stories for the website, so when environmental issues overlap with urban and city density issues. I also write other things for the site and work with Richard Florida on some of his posts, doing some research and helping him with his articles.

Can you tell us more about CityLab?

CityLab is The Atlantic’s online publication that looks at cities through various lenses. So we look at environmental topics, equity, transportation, design, and life — those are our fives sections.

Sometimes stories will go into multiple sections; for example, it doesn’t just have to be an environment story, it can be an environment-equity story. That’s one of the things I actually really love about CityLab, which is that a story doesn’t just have to fall into one section. It can look at cities through multiple angles.

Were you always interested in this type of work? Or what led you to this position?

When I was in college, I did freelance work for City Limits, which is an investigative journalism publication that looks at issues in New York City, and then I also wrote for Chelsea Now, which is a local newspaper that serves Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen, Hudson Yards neighborhoods.

I grew up in New York City too, so I think even as a kid, I observed a lot of different problems or issues of equity or education, etc, and as I got older I kept wanting to ask more questions.

I think one of the great things about being a reporter in this city-focused space is that I can explore all these questions that I might have been interested in before; now, I can interview the mayor or I can interview an activist who’s working on an issue related to that city. It’s just cool to begin to ask more questions about the state of cities.

What were you working on right before you answered these questions?

Wildfires have been in the news a lot lately with California’s wildfires, so I’m working on a story based on research that shows that Native Americans, Blacks, and Hispanics are more likely to have the burden of wildfires, even though White Americans make up a lot of the areas that are affected by them.

What’s the best advice that someone’s ever given you?

I think one of the best pieces of advice I’ve gotten is how important it is to work with our colleagues and learn from each other. It’s not always about getting to know the top editor — yes, they’re great to get to know because they’ve had this whole life history and it’s awesome to hear about it and learn from them — but sometimes some of the best support and the best help with thinking through ideas comes from the people who are at your level.

Where did you work before you came to The Atlantic?

In terms of journalism, I used to work at CNN as an intern in their New York bureau. I freelanced there during the following semester and was basically a guest greeter there, so whenever someone would come on to the shows and didn’t have a security pass to get in, I would lead them to all the right places, mic them up, etc. That was really cool because I hadn’t had much experience before with the broadcast side of things and it was great to be exposed to that.

I’ve also done some nonprofit internships too. I interned at Coda Story, which mostly reports on Eastern Europe and that whole region. (They did a really cool series on disinformation before it became this big topic.)

How did you find out about the fellowship?

I looked up journalism fellowships, and also thought about which publications I would prefer to write for, and this was one of them. I also wanted to look and see which publications offered more long-term fellowships, and this one was always on the list.

What’s your dream job?

I have a dream job for my career, which would be kind of like what I’m doing now, but even more of it. I would love to be an environmental reporter and get to learn more about the beat over time, which would allow me to do more in-depth stories and know when there’s breaking news and be able to react quickly because I already understand the topic. That would be incredible to get to that point.

In my personal life, I’ve always loved art, so I would love to have some art practice on the side.

Do you have any advice for undergrads, recent grads, or people looking for entry level jobs in media?

I think getting to know the people around you is important, and also asking people for coffee and trying to talk to people at all different levels. Even if it doesn’t land you a job, it helps you keep an eye out for other opportunities. Maybe that person you got coffee with is aware of some opportunities that you weren’t aware of before. It’s also just fun to get to know people in your industry.

I also think it’s good to just apply to everything. In my case, I wasn’t sure whether I would get this job — I thought so many people probably applied for this — but it’s worth it to just send it your application to as many places as possible. You never know if that dream one might work out, and if it doesn’t, you still need the others anyway.