High Country News is looking for informed and enthusiastic interns to report on natural resource, environmental and community issues in the 11 Western states.

High Country News, published twice-monthly in Paonia, Colo., is a nonprofit newsmagazine and website "for people who care about the West." The magazine reaches 25,000 subscribers — an estimated 60,000 readers — and the website reaches thousands more, including grassroots activists, public land managers, tribal officials, government policymakers, educators, students and interested citizens.

The Los Angeles Times has written that High Country News is "the most influential environmental journal in the Mountain West," and according to Newsweek, "High Country News is a must for anyone following land use issues west of the 100th meridian." Our hard-hitting coverage has won many major journalism awards during the past few years, including:

* Utne Independent Press Awards for Best Environmental Coverage and Best Local/Regional Coverage

* Hillman Prize for Magazine Journalism

* George Polk Award

* First Person Narrative award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors

* Science Journalism Award from the American Association for Advancement of Science

* Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism

* James V. Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism

Every year, High Country News offers four to six internship positions, each six months long. Two to three new interns join us each June and January; we provide free housing and a $200-per-week stipend. To help defray moving costs, an additional $500 travel stipend is available upon successful completion of the internship. One exceptional candidate from each session may have the option of staying on another six months as an editorial fellow — a higher-paid, higher-output position.

Our interns and fellows are a key part of the HCN team; aside from a few minor tasks such as sorting the mail and answering phones, interns spend most of their time researching, interviewing, writing, and developing content — both for print and online. We pride ourselves on fairness, accuracy and good writing, and we expect no less of our interns.

For all of our internship positions, a bachelor's degree or equivalent and some prior journalism experience and/or education is preferred. We also prefer applicants who are familiar with High Country News and who have lived in the West and know its environmental and community issues. Photographic experience and familiarity with audio and visual programs such as Final Cut Pro and Flash, as well as radio or video experience are all pluses. We strongly encourage Native American journalists, Hispanic journalists and those from other under-represented backgrounds to apply.

All interns and fellows work with the staff editors to write news stories for the website and for the newsmagazine, ranging in length from 250 to 1,600 words. Depending on their experience and ability, they may also get the opportunity to write a 2,500- to 5,000-word feature story. Our editing process is rigorous — all copy goes through two layers of editing and it is not unusual for a story to see six or eight drafts. Reporting is generally conducted over the phone and the Internet, but we do have money to send each intern out into the field at least once to do on-the-ground work.

Our interns and fellows go on to become leaders in journalism and politics. They pursue careers as reporters, editors, educators, lawyers, policymakers and freelance writers.

Upcoming start dates and application deadlines are as follows. Applications must be received in our office by the deadline date.

Summer/Fall 2014

Start date – July 7, 2014

End date – December 12, 2014

(Applications must be received by March 31, 2014)

Winter/Spring 2015

Start date – Jan. 5, 2015

End date – mid-June, 2015

(Applications must be received by Oct. 10, 2014)

In the past, we have required a hardcopy application, but we are transitioning to a paperless process. Applicants should send an email with attached cover letter, résumé, contact information for three references (phone and email), and three writing samples (plus multimedia samples, if applicable) to Associate Editor Sarah Gilman at sarah (at) hcn.org. Please be sure to include "intern application" in the subject line.

If e-mail application is not an option, candidates may also mail their materials to

Associate Editor Sarah Gilman

High Country News

P.O. Box 1090

Paonia, CO 81428

Call 970-527-4898 or email sarah (at) hcn.org for further information.