News Intern

Join us this summer as a paid news reporting intern and gain practical education and professional experience while having a great time working alongside reporters and editors in our newsroom.

You will work on stories, be assigned a mentor, and learn from experienced journalists about the ever-changing world of news.

Our company: The Tribune is one of 30 news organizations in the McClatchy Company. We’re a Central Coast news and information company, with our newspaper, website (sanluisobispo.com) and other products on different delivery platforms.

We primarily serve San Luis Obispo County, covering important issues like government accountability, housing affordability, education, the coastal environment, major industries like tourism and wine, Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant and more. We are an award-winning organization with a reputation for accuracy, fairness, credibility and civic purpose. Our investigations bring about change. Our community involvement touches readers. Our news imperatives bring them information fast and truthfully.

The summer internship/core mission: Our goals are many. First is to educate and train aspiring journalists in the principles and rigors of their desired profession. Second is to bring new voices to our newsroom to give us fresh perspectives. Third is to put you to work – you will write stories, create photos and videos and contribute to audience engagement. Fourth, this can be a try-out. We are surveying and assessing future journalists either to fill jobs or to recommend to our colleagues in other news organizations around the nation. Our interns have moved on to become reporters and editors at major American publications like the Washington Post, the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.

The anticipated base pay range for this position is between $17.50 and $17.50 per hour. Individual base pay may vary within that range depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, relevant education, department equity, training, geography and local wage and hours laws.

The program/supervision/support: Our interns are vital and we value them. The program works this way:

The paid internship is 10 weeks, 40 hours per week. The schedule could include weekend hours.

The intern learns how to cover local news, features and business – and more.

The intern has an editor who oversees them, guides them and helps solve problems.

The intern can work in multimedia as well, creating content and crafting social promotion for digital platforms.

Qualifications include:

The ability to write quickly, accurately and well;

The ability to monitor and mine various sources for breaking news;

Solid news judgment;

An instinctive grasp of what will engage your audience;

A deep understanding of what drives interest on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms;

A strong entrepreneurial spirit, good curiosity and high energy;

A collaborative style that allows you to work comfortably across teams spread throughout the office and company.

A familiarity with shooting photos and video, including the use of entry-level video editing software, is preferred.