UPDATE: The application deadline for this program has been extended until March 12.
The Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting is excited to announce the expansion of its investigative internship program this summer, offering watchdog journalism skills-building with some of the country’s top newsrooms.
This year’s internship program has expanded to include 10 internships at nine newsrooms. In addition to continuing partnerships with all of last year’s internship newsrooms, the Society will welcome an additional four newsrooms this year. The partner newsrooms for 2022 are:
- The Associated Press
- Los Angeles Times
- Miami Herald
- National Public Radio
- The New York Times
- ProPublica
- Tampa Bay Times
- USA Today
- The Washington Post
“We received such moving feedback from the seven aspiring journalists who went through our program last year sharing what this opportunity has meant to them and how the experience has shaped their aspirations for the future,” Society director Rhema Bland said. “We are so thrilled to expand our family this year and open the doors to even more aspiring journalists that have been historically kept out.”
In keeping with the Society’s mission to build the ranks, retention and profile of journalists of color in investigative work, these internships aim to help students and recent graduates from historically marginalized communities gain entry into a field of journalism that still largely lacks diversity. Through the internship program, they gain a chance to learn hands-on investigative journalism skills under the supervision of editors at some of the country’s elite news outlets.
“Newsroom diversity is critical to understanding and covering the world. This is especially true in investigative journalism, which often uncovers the biggest stories with lasting impact. We’re pleased to be partnering again with the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Journalism and our colleague Nikole Hannah-Jones this year to help train the next generation of journalists,” shared Theodore Kim, director of newsroom career programs at The New York Times.
This is the second year for the investigative internship program. Last year’s launch included seven interns at five news organizations, including ProPublica.
“Our Ida B. Wells Society interns last year were creative idea machines,” said Ariana Tobin, ProPublica crowdsourcing and engagement team editor. “We learned just as much from them as they learned from us.”
With more partners this year, the Society will be giving even more interns the opportunity to make an impact at newsrooms that are producing groundbreaking investigative pieces. Among this year’s new partners will be National Public Radio.
“NPR is honored to partner with the Ida B. Wells Society to host a summer intern on our investigations team,” shared Nancy Barnes, SVP of news at NPR. “The Society is dedicated to increasing the diversity of investigative reporting, and thereby, raising the caliber and impact of this important work in a myriad of ways. These goals line up beautifully with NPR’s own mission to support and embrace diverse voices as we expand our public service investigative journalism.”
This summer’s new partners also include Los Angeles Times, Tampa Bay Times, and The Washington Post.
“We couldn’t be more excited to join with the Ida B. Wells Society for the first time this summer. Our newsroom is eager to welcome a new member to a team known industry-wide for unearthing and reporting impactful stories with real effects in the community,” said Claire McNeill, enterprise editor and director of internships at Tampa Bay Times. “With the Society’s reputation for excellence and commitment to supporting journalists of color, we’re confident this will be a winning combination for our newsroom and the broader industry.”
“This internship expands on The Post’s longstanding efforts to cultivate the next generation of journalists who have a strong desire to hold the powerful to account,” said Carla Broyles, senior editor at The Washington Post. “We look forward to this collaboration with The Ida B. Wells Society, an organization that embodies the ideals of its pioneering namesake and is dedicated to increasing the ranks of journalists of color in investigative journalism.”
The call for applications for our summer 2022 investigative internships will go out on Feb. 7 and applications will remain open until Mar. 12. To prepare, we encourage applicants to review our FAQ page that contains more details about the application process.
We also strongly recommend that anyone who is interested in applying to attend our internship preparation sessions that we are offering. These sessions will feature panelists from our partner news organizations, and they will be sharing what they look for in a strong application.
Register for the prep sessions with the links below:
Internship Prep Session #1 Feb. 7 5:30-7 p.m. ET
Internship Prep Session #2 Feb. 8 10-11:30 a.m. ET
Internship Prep Session #3 Feb. 16 10-11:30 a.m. ET
