Engagement Journalism Intern

Overview

Chicago Public Media is one of the nation’s largest local nonprofit news organizations. Home to WBEZ 91.5FM, the Chicago Sun-Times, and Vocalo. Chicago Public Media reaches more than 3.3 million people weekly across broadcast, print, and digital platforms. As a mission-driven organization, we aspire to be the most trusted news source Chicagoans turn to for understanding the people, events, and ideas shaping our community.

Chicago Public Media is a 100% community-funded newsroom powered by nearly 97,000 members whose support makes our journalism possible. This sustained community investment helped drive nationally recognized work in 2025, including 29 awards from esteemed organizations, including the Public Media Journalists Association, the Edward R. Murrow Awards, and the National Association of Black Journalists.

We believe independent journalism is essential to a healthy democracy and that access to objective, fact-based news is a right for every citizen. We serve the public interest by creating diverse content that informs and enriches our community, supported by a dedicated staff of approximately 250 professionals.

For more information, please see the Chicago Public Media Annual Report.

The Engaged Journalism Team works with both WBEZ and Chicago Sun-Times journalists to imbue a community-first approach to our work. We define “engaged journalism” as a process that starts by identifying and listening to specific communities before any reporting and production. Community input informs what we cover, what we make, and how we make it. Our Engaged Journalism Team strives to provide practical, actionable utility to the people we serve and to rebuild trust in communities by meeting our audiences where they are.

The Engaged Journalism Team Intern will learn the principles, strategies and tactics that underpin our work. They will help us reach out to communities, develop creative ways of listening and gathering input from them, and use that input to shape our journalism. This could include in-person outreach at events and in neighborhoods; digital outreach in the form of surveys and social media;

and analogue outreach, such as writing letters to incarcerated people as part of our Prison cast! project. The internship also will involve updating and maintaining the administrative systems and database that form the backbone of our team. The ideal candidate is passionate about producing journalism and tools that serve communities across Chicagoland. They’re comfortable talking with strangers, and getting strangers to get comfortable with them.

They are creative, highly organized and self-driven. They are willing to learn from experienced newsroom reporters, producers and editors.

A bit about our internship programs:

• Many, but not all, of our interns have completed college or some other form of education and/or certification in the journalism or media field(s).
• Many go on to careers in public media or other outlets. Many have found their way back to WBEZ, too.
• We pay $20/hour, non-negotiable
• Positions are daytime work hours on a Monday through Friday schedule, though some flexibility may be possible

Interns work full time 40 hrs/week Program term is 12 weeks (June 9, 2026 - September 10, 2026)

What we are looking for our candidates to display in their resumes, cover letters and interview conversations:

• Knowledge about WBEZ and our mission of serving the community
• Strong interest in learning and contributing to our mission
• Curiosity and the willingness to learn
• Understanding of the value of bringing together diverse perspectives
• Why WBEZ is part of your career planning in journalism and media
• Specific skills you want to learn during the internship
• If applicable, any links to a portfolio of writing samples; audio, video, or multimedia packages; or other completed work that may be relevant to this opening

The Final date to receive applications is Friday, March 20, 2026. Managers plan to select candidates by early May.

Accepted applicants will be required to start training in Chicago on June 9, 2026. Internship ends September 10, 2026.

At Chicago Public Media, we care…