Intern, Washington D.C.
The National Press Foundation is a nonprofit organization who strives to provide journalists with the necessary knowledge of current issues in order for them to send it out into the public. Headquartered in Washington D.C., NPF works with journalists not only across the U.S., but also around the world. NPF is proud to have provided 5,000 journalists with professional skills on how to distribute public policies and awareness.
What it’s actually like
The National Press Foundation will give you plenty of professional projects and skills that will help you move forward in your career path. NPF Intern Caroline Cummings said, “National Press Foundation is a really small staff so the interns here [are] unique in that you really feel like a part of the team here. There’s always something for you to do and you really feel needed. They really guide you in the right direction…I’ve only been here for two and a half weeks and I feel that I’ve done a lot of great projects.”
Cool stuff you get to do
If you love writing or going on social media, The National Press Foundation requires you to assist the media team and promote the organization through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You’ll also assist the Digital Media manager to edit video and audio stories. Look forward to doing projects with small groups and receive helpful advice from professional journalists.
What You’ll Learn
Looking for skills to add on your resume? To stand out from the crowd, let future employers know you mastered AP style, a necessary skill for budding journalists. Cummings said, “…So much news is now online and on Twitter and it’s important to draft these newsworthy tweets in AP style and have it free of any sorts of errors. It’s really trained me to have an eye for click-worthy stuff on our website.” NPF prepares its interns for the ever-changing journalism industry, and with digital sources gaining speed, you’ll want to know how to write for them.
How to prepare for your application
Spruce up your resume, rewrite your cover letter and make your application stand out in the crowd to land one of these coveted internships. NPF wants upperclassmen, graduates or professionals eager to take on diverse projects with small groups. To apply, send your resume and cover letter to Jenny Ash-Maher at [email protected].
Skills that impress them
The National Press Foundation wants interns with multimedia, video editing and social media skills. But most importantly, bring something of your own. NPF Director of Operations Jenny Ash-Maher said, “We look for interns who have skills that can expand with the National Press Foundation. We want someone to come in and say, ‘Hey! I can also do this.’” Make sure NPF knows you already have the basics down, but want to learn how to apply them.
Cool perks
So you love the internship, but want to keep learning more about journalism? Lucky for you, NPF offers program training. One of them is the Paul Miller Fellowship, a fellowship that spans the course of nine months, training journalists in their field by local experts. You can even do live webinars in their in-house broadcast studio. And there’s an annual awards dinner every January with journalism prizes.
The Deets
Say goodbye to your endless Ramen diet, NPF pays their interns. The internship pays a $1,900 stipend a month for full-time interns (40 hours per week) from mid-May to August of 2016 or longer. If you can only commit part-time, no worries—NPF offers a smaller stipend for parttimers too. As mentioned earlier, send your resume and cover letter to [email protected] if this internship calls your name.
