Thank you for your interest in a news internship with the Public Press. As of January 2019, our editorial program is closed until further notice. We will update this page to reflect any change.
The San Francisco Public Press is looking for highly motivated interns who wish to gain experience in news reporting, multimedia (including photo, video, design, art and web), communications or business operations. We encourage interested parties to apply for the internship that is most in line with their skills and interests.
The Public Press is a local nonprofit news organization dedicated to enriching the civic life of San Francisco by delivering public-interest journalism to broad and diverse audiences. We publish online and in print with support from foundations and more than 500 dues-paying members, instead of advertising. At this time, the San Francisco Public Press is not yet in a position to pay its interns. We do offer a modest transportation stipend for local travel.
PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS:
News interns have previous experience with newspapers, newspaper-style journalism, editorial websites or multimedia presentations, and can produce clean copy conforming to AP style on deadline. Interns will work on breaking general assignment stories as well as longer-term investigative projects, and we encourage our news interns to pitch stories and participate in our weekly story meetings. We look for candidates who have roots in, and strong knowledge of, San Francisco and the Bay Area.
Duties include:
- Researching data and public records for team reporting projects
- Summarizing background issues for senior reporters
- Working in collaboration with reporters, photographers, data anaylsts and editors to organize projects
- Fact checking and copy editing
- Writing articles by covering meetings, profiling individuals and delving into policy debates
- Working with partnerships team to identify the best stories from other local public media for online and print republication
- Blogging about the news with a focus on the work of our partners
- Producing databases and interactive features for the website, including mapping, timelines, infographics and other multimedia tools
Multimedia (photo, video, design, art web) interns produce original images, print design and Web design to complement the editorial operations. Interns will work side-by-side with the news team and participate in weekly story meetings.
Duties include:
- Shooting original news photography, video and audio recordings for the print edition, website, podcasts and radio partner productions
- Producing attractively designed stories daily at sfpublicpress.org using Drupal
- Design advanced functions using PHP, Javascript and embedded tools for mapping, timelines, infographics and other multimedia tools
- Design print pages using InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and other tools
- Drawing, painting and constructing informational graphics and art to complement the news team
Communications interns gain experience with promotion and outreach for a news organization. Should have some familiarity with a variety of social media platforms and tools. as well as communicating with other local media organizations to promote Public Press content and expand our reach in the community.
Duties include:
- Maintaining our social media streams, including Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Storify, Pinterest and others
- Producing our weekly email newsletter to members and followers
- Strategizing outreach to news media, bloggers and interest groups who might take interest in our reporting
- Updating and improving the look and feel of our website and blogging about the organization
Business and operations interns specialize in the management side of running a nonprofit. Those interested in this internship should possess excellent verbal and written communications skills and have a basic understanding of marketing practices. This internship overlaps with the communications internships insofar as it involves maintaining and growing newsletter and member databases, and creating monthly, weekly and daily opt-in newsletters.
Duties include:
- Assisting with tracking metrics for website traffic and social media influence
- Expanding the San Francisco Public Press membership program
- Assisting with fundraising and development
- Database management using Salesforce
- Organizing community outreach and member events
- Managing the print distribution program
- Designing retail display and other collateral
COURSE CREDIT:
All interns are expected to commit to working with us for a minimum of either:
- four days a week for three months, or
- two days a week for six months
- Interns receiving class credit. Interns who want class credit for their work at the San Francisco Public Press must fulfill the internship requirements outlined by their schools. Interns must provide these requirements before they begin their internships.
- Interns not receiving class credit. Interns not eligible for class credit must commit to working the same number of hours weekly.
APPLICATION PROCESS AND DEADLINE:
- Candidates for the news internships should send a résumé, cover letter and three examples of their work to internships [AT] sfpublicpress.org, with “News Internship Candidate” in the subject heading. Please describe your journalism experience, familiarity with San Francisco, topics of interest, technology and media skills and the dates and times you are available.
- Candidates for the communications internship should send a résumé and cover letter to internships [AT] sfpublicpress.org, with “Communications Internship Candidate” in the subject heading. Please describe your experience with social media platforms and tools (include links to your various social media profiles), familiarity with San Francisco, the technology and media skills you possess, and the dates and times you are available.
- Candidates for the multimedia/photo/video/design/art/web internship should send a résumé and cover letter to internships [AT] sfpublicpress.org, with “Multimedia Internship Candidate” in the subject heading. Please say which of the above you are most interested in and have experience with, any relevant skillsets, familiarity with San Francisco, the technology and media skills you possess, and the dates and times you are available.
- Candidates for the business operations internship should send a résumé and cover letter to internships [AT] sfpublicpress.org, with “Business Operations Internship Candidate” in the subject heading. Please tell us why you are interested in the position and describe your experience with promotion and outreach, familiarity with San Francisco, the technology and media skills you possess, and the dates and times you are available.
DEADLINES
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis but are limited by space in our downtown office and our capacity to provide supervision.
VOLUNTEERS
The San Francisco Public Press also welcomes interns and volunteers interested in our community engagement initiative, nonprofit development, marketing and Web production and development. If your experience or interests head in this direction, please send an e-mail specifying your area of interest to internships [AT] sfpublicpress.org or (415) 495-7377.
