A Mercer University alumna has started a prestigious journalism fellowship at The New York Times.
Rylee Kirk, a journalism major who graduated from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2020, is one of 31 early-career journalists selected for the one-year fellowship at one of the country’s largest and most influential daily newspapers. Her first day was June 2.
Kirk is working on the express desk, which covers breaking news and trending stories from around the world. She works from 1-8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 3-10 p.m. Saturday at the newspaper’s headquarters in Times Square.
“Typically, we are the ones getting the first story up,” she said of her work on the express desk. “A lot of times when something is happening, we’re the people that are quickly getting what we can and then handing it off to another desk like national or international.”
She’s already worked on breaking news stories about a medical helicopter crash in rural Quebec, Canada, the sentencing of two men in the deaths of 52 migrants in Texas, and the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas. She also has a more in-depth piece she works on during slow news days.
The Times offers the fellows educational seminars to help improve their journalism skills. As the fellowship winds down, sessions will include tips for writing resumes and cover letters, Kirk said.
“Journalism is very lucky to have a newspaper that spends time and energy on the next generation of journalists,” she said. “In a year, I don’t think that they’re going to be in a position to hire all 30 of us, so they’re kind of investing in us to benefit other places.”
Kirk said she subscribed to The New York Times when she was in college, and she still can’t believe she’s working there.
“Everyone is so nice. Everything gets edited twice before it goes up, and I’m learning a lot. They go through and explain things to me,” she said.
The New York Times employs 5,900 people, including 1,700 journalists. Different departments often hold talks and other events related to what they’re working on, such as a cocktail hour featuring summer cocktails from the cooking department, Kirk said.
Prior to receiving the fellowship, Kirk worked as a breaking news reporter for Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard in Syracuse, New York. There, she received awards for her work investigating failures of child protective services and was recognized with the Syracuse Press Club’s A. Brohmann Roth Newcomer Award. She also holds a master’s degree in investigative journalism from Arizona State University.
She credits Mercer with giving her a strong foundation in journalism, specifically in terms of public records research, interviewing skills and newswriting basics.
“Rylee has always been a remarkable and talented human being. She has already won numerous prestigious awards in journalism,” said Dr. Jay Black, the Schumann Endowed Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Mercer. “She is well deserving of this new opportunity to progress in her career. I’m sure one day she will look back and see this as the defining moment of her life.”
