News Intern

The News Tribune values early-career journalists. You are the future of our industry.

Our interns have moved on to become reporters, editors and publishers, both with The News Tribune and elsewhere.

Join us in Tacoma, Washington, as a paid 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 talk about the ever-changing world of journalism with experts, from our president and regional editor to investigative journalists.

What should you know about our company?

The News Tribune is a Western Washington state news and information company, with our newspaper, website (thenewstribune.com) and other products on different delivery platforms. We are one of 30 news organizations in the McClatchy Company.

We primarily serve Tacoma-Seattle and the South Puget Sound, specifically Pierce County, covering breaking news, weather, sports and entertainment news. 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. We deliver information to them quickly and truthfully.

What’s the goal of this internship?

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 (or take photos, create social media plans or make videos). 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.

How does the internship work?

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

Internships are generally 12 weeks, 40 hours per week, and interns are paid. Schedule could include weekend hours.

You will learn how to cover a wide variety of local news. This is a general assignment internship that will give you an array of clips and experience. You might write a breaking news story about a crime one day, a profile about a new business opening the next, and a city council measure later in the week. You will be assigned stories and will also be responsible for pitching story ideas throughout the internship. Most interns work with an editor to choose one larger project to work on throughout their time in the newsroom that is published as the culmination of their internship.

Each intern, while being assigned to the newsroom and responsive to its supervisors, also has a peer mentor.

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.

What skills is The News Tribune looking for?

The ability to write quickly, accurately and well.

Solid news judgment.

Self-motivation, with an instinctive grasp of what will engage your audience.

A deep grasp 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 works comfortably across teams spread throughout the office and company.

A familiarity with entry-level video editing platforms is preferred.