Newsroom Internship Program (2025)

Application Instructions

Please list all professional experience and explain any gaps in employment history. All of your application materials, which may include PDF files of work samples and/or links to audio, video, photography or graphics, must be uploaded to the field labeled Resume/Cover Letter/Work Samples to be considered for the position.

Job Description

The Washington Post is seeking students for the newsroom’s 2025 summer internship program. We are looking for college juniors, seniors and graduate students enrolled in a degree program by the application deadline, which is noon Eastern time on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024.

Please click the “Apply” button above and select “Autofill with Resume” for the easiest uploading experience. Applications should include a résumé, autobiographical essay (which should be no more than 500 words), and at least three work samples unless otherwise indicated. Cover letters are not required. Materials can be submitted as links or documents to the same field labeled Resume/Cover Letter/Work Samples.

The autobiographical essay should tell the selection committee something about you that cannot be gleaned from your experience and education and should not exceed 500 words. Please note that essays, work samples and résumés must be in English. To learn more about the program, go to https://www.washingtonpost.com/pr/interactive/washington-post-internship/.

For more information, contact Senior Editor Carla Broyles at newsinterns@washpost.com.

This position is based in our Washington newsroom.

The Post strives to provide its readers with high-quality, trustworthy news and information while constantly innovating. That mission is best served by a diverse, multi-generational workforce with varied life experiences and perspectives. All cultures and backgrounds are welcomed.

Here are the roles:

• Reporters: Clear, concise, energetic writing is highly valued. Conventional coverage of news events should be demonstrated, but a higher value is placed on enterprise reporting that shows creative, inventive or investigative skills. Writing for online is also highly valued. Please indicate your reporting assignment preference: General Assignment News Desk; International News (assignments will be in the Washington newsroom); Arts, Entertainment and Culture; Local; Business; Sports; Climate and Environment; National; or Opinions (assignments will be in the Opinions department which is separate from News). Include no more than three clips.
• General Assignment News Desk: Interns will help GA provide live coverage of breaking news, especially the unexpected story that falls between our existing beats. Working with breaking-news hubs in London and Seoul, GA provides fast, resonant and around-the-clock coverage of the main stories of the day. GA also produces beautifully written quick-turn narrative, riveting coverage of microcosm moments that illustrate broader trends, and contributes to the explanatory journalism that helps readers understand the news. Interns will join a team of about a dozen writers who report mostly by phone; they’ll be able to develop a variety of skills, including responsiveness, narrative story tops, interview skills, story approach and framing, research techniques and teamwork. If you love to write about a variety of topics, you’ll want to call GA home.
• Visual journalists: For digital photographers, candidates must be proficient in Photoshop CS, photo management software, and Mac and PC platforms. Your application must include a portfolio. Videographers must be proficient in all aspects of digital video/audio and editing software, including Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere. Experience with voice-over narration and HTML is helpful. Required portfolio must be attached. Please indicate your assignment preference: Photography or Video.
• Copy editors: Successful editors must be able to edit for multiple platforms, writing headlines and photo captions that are tailored for print and digital audiences. Editors must also have a keen understanding of style, grammar and sentence structure, and must be able to edit for clarity. We also value editors who can detect problems in stories and work with others to make them better. Working nights and weekends, plus the ability to work calmly under intense deadlines are also requirements, as is strong news judgment. Include up to six examples of news or feature stories you have edited, preferably files that include a headline and caption(s) for web or print.
• News and digital designers: The designers craft the visual presentations of our content across platforms. We are looking for interns capable of creating innovative storytelling presentations and then tailoring them to all of our platforms. A candidate must be a strong visual designer, able to work well on deadline and have experience working well with photography and video. They should be proficient in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Photoshop and InDesign. Send a portfolio that includes five examples of your digital design work. The portfolio should be contained in one PDF or link on your application form.
• Graphics reporters and developers: The graphics reporters and developers tell visual stories and present data online. A candidate should be able to utilize the entire storytelling toolbox — writing, reporting, charting, coding, mapping and data visualization — and know how to weave it all together to tell engaging stories. The candidate will create, or assist in creating, news applications such as data-driven maps, databases, social media apps, widgets and mobile tools that will either stand alone or be paired with other digital content. They will work closely with reporters and editors in the newsroom, either through mining existing data online, taking in feeds or working with digital producers to imagine new ways to present information. They will work with the design and development team to indicate, design and help develop tools digital producers can use to enhance engagement. Candidates must be proficient in CSS(3), HTML(5), jQuery and JavaScript and must have experience in developing with databases, XML, JSON, PHP and/or Django. Send a portfolio that includes five to 10 examples of your work. The portfolio should be contained in one PDF or link on your application form.
• Audio producers: The producer helps record, write and edit audio stories for long-form and short-form podcasts, and works collaboratively with reporters and editors to find and bring to life Post reporting. The ideal candidate has a background in sound design, audio production or both. Our producers combine traditional journalistic skills with creative approaches to telling stories through sound. We also value a producer who brings creative approaches to promotion and community-building. Proficiency in either Adobe Audition or Pro Tools is required. Please include three links to audio clips with your application
• Data reporters: Reporters on our team work across the newsroom on a wide range of stories -- from quick-turn coverage to large-scale projects. As a data journalist, you’ll acquire, clean and analyze data, present your results to reporters and editors, write stories, and suggest possibilities for visualization and presentation. We are looking for technically adept reporters who work in R or Python and are infused with skepticism, bold ideas for analyses and smart storytelling approaches using data. Sharp writing and basic visualization skills are a plus, as is experience using GitHub. We love people who are curious, collaborative and collegial. Please provide a link to your work portfolio or copies of no more than three clips that demonstrate your best data-driven work.
• Audience strategy editors: An audience strategy editor focuses on reaching and engaging audiences on and off platform. We are looking for interns who obsess about finding ways to connect journalism with readers where they are and in storytelling formats that resonate with growth audiences. For instance, you may be a social media editor using Instagram Stories to break news, a newsletter editor curating one of our flagship daily products, or an SEO editor helping optimize live coverage
  
  

The Post strives to provide its readers with high-quality, trustworthy news and information while constantly innovating. That mission is best served by a diverse, multi-generational workforce with varied life experiences and perspectives. All cultures and backgrounds are welcomed.

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