Internships
About the Internship Program
I’ve learned more about non-profits in these 9 weeks than my entire first year at college. I’ve learned about the grant writing process from the beginning to the end. I didn’t even think it was possible to learn as much as I have in such a short period of time. My expectations were easily surpassed, which makes me excited to report back to my professors about all I have learned.Joseph Stanekenas, The Ohio State University, B.A. Arts Management 2025 – Ideastream Intern Class of 2024
Apply now for our Internship Program!
The Ideastream Public Media Internship Program provides learning, networking and resume-building opportunities to those who wish to learn more about and gain skills in public media and non-profit organization operations and administration. Opportunities will vary and might include local news reporting for radio and web, local television production, digital media production and distribution, research and data analysis, marketing, fundraising, accounting, broadcast engineering and information technology and classical music programming.
The goal of our program is to maximize the internship experience by focusing on the skills our interns acquire, the tangible work products they produce and the relationships they build with our managers and staff - all of which we hope help them advance in their education and careers, hopefully in public media!
Equally important to Ideastream Public Media are the diverse lived experiences and perspectives that interns bring into the organization, ones that challenge our conventional ways of thinking and force us to learn about, grow and adapt to the needs and interests of those just starting their career journeys or transitioning into new pathways. Over the past three years, our interns have been students from across the country with 53% identifying as non-white and 73% identifying as women.
I anticipated gaining hands-on experience in media production, but what I encountered was far more enriching. The opportunity to collaborate on projects that directly impacted the community, particularly through our work with the Education Department, allowed me to apply my skills in meaningful ways. I was also able to engage with various facets of media production, from research and content creation to technical operations, which broadened my understanding of the field.Graeme Grady, Ohio University, B.S. Communication, Media Arts Production 2025 – Ideastream Intern Class of 2024
The past three summer cohorts of interns worked together on a group project. The 2022 cohort developed personal stories exploring topics important to them as part of our Sound of Us series. The 2023 cohort created an engaging video explaining the four areas of the Content department to increase overall awareness among our audience. The 2024 cohort created an educational and promotional video featuring Ideastream programming and content from two community events in Akron.
Ideastream Public Media offers paid internship opportunities to undergraduate or graduate university students. In some instances, students enrolled in vocational or technical school programs may also qualify. Internships are available year-round to and generally fall into an academic semester or a common 10 week summer period. Interns may also receive college (or other credit) for their experience at Ideastream Public Media.