SF Public Press internship

SF Public Press is looking for highly motivated interns who wish to gain experience in news reporting, communications orbusiness 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 startup nonprofit news organization dedicated to enriching the civic life of San Francisco by delivering public-interest journalism to broad and diverse audiences. We’re currently publishing online and in print with support from foundations and more than 200 dues-paying members, instead of advertising. Currently operated mostly by volunteers, SF Public Press is not yet in a position to pay its interns.

PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS: First, we are looking for highly skilled, motivated news interns who have previous experience with newspapers, newspaper-style journalism, editorial websites or multimedia presentations, and who 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 Monday morning news meetings.

We are also looking for a communications intern who is interested in gaining experience with promotion and outreach for a news organization and who has some familiarity with a variety of social media platforms and tools. The communications intern will assist with maintaining our presence on a variety of social media platforms (including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others) as well as communicating with other local media organizations (including local bloggers) to promote SF Public Press content and expand our reach in the community.

We also have space for a business operations intern who would like to learn more about 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. The business operations intern will assist with tracking metrics for website traffic and social media influence, expanding the SF Public Press membership program, organizing community outreach and member events, managing the print distribution program, maintaining and growing newsletter and member databases, and creating monthly, weekly and daily opt-in newsletters.

COURSE CREDIT:

• Interns receiving class credit. Interns who want class credit for their work at SF Public Press must fulfill the internship requirements outlined by their schools. Interns must provide these requirements before they begin their internships. Interns must commit to working at least 10 hours per week, though some of those hours will likely be spent out in the field reporting or working remotely.


• Interns not receiving class credit. Interns who work at SF Public Press but are not eligible for class credit must commit to working at least 10 hours per week.

APPLICATION PROCESS  AND DEADLINE: Intern 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.

Intern 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.

Intern 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.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis but are limited by space in our downtown office and our capacity to provide supervision. Interns will be notified of their status within two weeks. SF 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.