Maria Wilczek (The Economist, 2018)

“I joined the Economist as Marjorie Deane intern in late 2018. Over the past three months I worked with my anonymous heroes and wrote over a dozen print pieces for a number of sections, including Finance, Business, Europe, Britain, and the Americas. I am immensely grateful to the Marjorie Deane Foundation for making this possible.”

Alice Fulwood (The Economist, 2018)

“I was a Marjorie Deane intern at The Economist in early 2018. I am delighted to be back from late November as a full-time business correspondent. I am forever grateful to the Marjorie Deane foundation for giving me the opportunity to have this experience.”

Colby Smith (The Economist, 2018)

“The Marjorie Deane Foundation’s internship programme offers an unparalleled experience for young financial journalists looking to hone their reporting and writing skills. It was a pleasure collaborating with a number of journalists and editors across a broad spectrum of subject areas, from emerging markets to employment law. There is simply no better way to get your start in journalism.”

Camilla Hodgson (Financial Times, 2018)

“Applying for the Marjorie Deane internship was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The scheme is immensely valuable for aspiring journalists and those looking to specialise in finance in particular (there are a lot of terms, numbers and concepts to get your head around), but I think any aspiring journalist would get a lot out of it. I spent six months in the Financial Times’s newsroom on the Companies and FastFT desks, both of which were fast paced and full-on learning experiences. In that time I covered breaking news stories, wrote analyses and features, spoke to chief executives at FTSE companies and got my first front page—as well as a thousand other things—and I am now on the Financial Times’s graduate trainee scheme.”

Eric Monkman (The Economist, 2017)

“The original Bagehot once admonished us not to “let in daylight upon magic.” He was referring to the monarchy, but his words could apply to anything impressive and mysterious. I have long been impressed by The Economist’s team of anonymous journalists and editors. There was a mysterious quality to how they consistently produced an interesting and informative weekly summary of the world’s events. Indeed, I suspect The Economist achieves this effect in part through its lack of bylines and its consistent “voice”.

As a curious reader, I decided to defy Bagehot and find out how The Economist does it. (After all, he also said “The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do”). Thinking it would be fun to work for a newspaper that I take so much pleasure in reading, I applied for the Marjorie Deane internship, not expecting that I would get it. And I didn’t. I had to apply several times before even getting on the shortlist, and then once more before finally learning that all my efforts had finally paid off. I was accepted for the position, beginning in August 2017 and working until the end of October.

I can say that, in this case, “letting in daylight” did not lead to disappointment. I was impressed by the level of thought and research that went into the production of articles. It was a joy to attend and take part in the regular discussions about what positions The Economist should take and what should be included in the paper were a joy to attend. Best of all was the friendliness and warmth I received from my colleagues. They helped me develop as a writer and remain my good friends.

I would like to thank Marjorie Deane and her namesake foundation for giving the opportunity to work at The Economist.”