Intern, DC Bureau

Position Information:

Start Date: January 8, 2024 - June 7, 2024
Hours: 40 hours per week (Monday – Friday, 9:00 – 5:00pm)
Location: Washington, D.C.
Compensation: $18.00/hour

Intern, Marketplace – Washington, D.C. Bureau:

Eager to boost your journalism career in the nation's capital? The Washington, D.C. bureau of Marketplace has an excellent internship opportunity for those who have an active interest in business and economic journalism. As the DC Bureau Intern, you will be supporting our reporters and editors producing the journalism that makes us the leading business news franchise in the country. Our team is a dynamic, deadline-focused newsroom that is unique among public radio operations in its informal yet informative tone. Our DC bureau is an especially exciting place to learn about the intersection of politics and the economy, and how decisions in the nation’s capital show up in the everyday experiences of people and businesses.

Key Learning Goals:

Through immersive learning and real-world projects, our goal is for you to:

Learn and perform a variety of production, research, and editorial tasks, including recording and cutting audio.
Conduct pre-interviews for on-air guests.
Conduct 'person on the street' interviews.
Develop story selection and pitching skills, via daily pitching and one -on -one work with supervising editor as well as other staff. This news judgment is a key part of our work. You will learn what makes a pitch a Marketplace story, as well as how to report and write one.

Responsibilities:

In this hands-on role, you will work directly with the DC-based reporters and any of the remote editors and staff with the following:

Assist in sourcing for daily deadline and feature stories, including research, pulling audio, finding sources, gathering in-person interviews.
Maintain and expand DC planning calendar of relevant upcoming political and economic events.
Assist reporters in developing Web and social media content to accompany and complement their on-air stories.
Monitor press releases/ statements from various parts of government for relevant news.
Contribute ideas for stories and other editorial material.
Assist with fact-checking.
Follow up on ongoing research requests (i.e. checking in on FOIAs, checking on standing interview requests, adding updated data to research collections, etc.).
Other duties as assigned.

Benefits:

Eligible to accrue sick time off.
Eligible for health insurance as required under the ACA.
Eligible to participate in the APMG retirement plan.

Programming:

Participate in robust on-boarding experience.
Professional development: on-the-job training, workforce readiness training, formal performance review feedback sessions, etc.
Participate in brown bag sessions to gain broader perspective of the organization.

Required Qualifications:

Enrolled Senior in an undergraduate or Master’s program OR have earned a degree within the last 12 months.
Must have the ability to write clearly and accurately under strict deadlines and work independently.
Must have strong organizational and communication skills.
Proficient in Microsoft office products with the ability to learn new software programs.
Must be able to work 40 hours per week (Monday – Friday, roughly 9:00 – 5:00pm) for the duration of this internship.

Preferred Qualifications:

A demonstrated interest in journalism (i.e. produced work for publication, worked at school newspaper/radio, etc.).
Self-starter with an appetite for learning audio skills.

Next Step in the Application:

In addition to your skills and knowledge, we want to get to know you in the application process. Please include a cover letter (of no more than 1 page) with answers to the following:

What interests you about this role?
What professional skills would you like to add to your toolbox in the months and years to come to grow in your career field?

Physical Demands and Working Conditions:

Must be able to perform the essential duties of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.
Physical Demands:
Required to move about in an office environment and sit for extended periods of time.
Required to move about in the community.
Frequent use of hands for data entry/keystrokes and simple grasping.
Working Conditions:
Moderate noise level.
Occasional exposure to prevalent weather conditions.