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VOA Internship Program

Voice of America
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VOA INTERNSHIPS 
***VOA's Internship Program is now being offered in person as well as virtual. Please send in your application to the program manager and the appropriate department contact will follow up if they are able to accept in-person/virtual interns.​*** 

Are you motivated, hard-working, and enthusiastic? Think about becoming a VOA intern! 
Click here to learn more about VOA and the Internship program or here to learn more about VOA. 
General Information 
  • Location: Washington, D.C. 

  • Eligibility: Undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in an accredited college or university. We need people who are creative, energetic and willing to take initiative. You must be willing to work under pressure and have a desire to learn in a hands-on environment. Ideally, we prefer to have interns who are able to work with us a minimum of three days a week. 

  • Compensation: Voluntary and unpaid (though a transportation stipend is provided) 

  • Credit: College credit is available, depending on student's school 

  • Majors: Journalism, Broadcasting, International Relations and related disciplines. We are also interested in Studio Production, Education, Graphics, Information and Library Studies, Communications and Public Relations majors. 

  • Benefits: Provides "real world" experience in a diverse and dynamic international broadcast network. We mentor, train and support our interns. You will leave your internship with VOA with enhanced skills and a portfolio to show to potential employers. 

  • Deadlines: Apply in January-March for summer internships, in May-June for fall internships, and October-November for spring internships. Allow 2-4 weeks for processing paperwork. All answers must be typed. 

  • Application: Send resume, cover letter expressing desired focus of internship and teams you would like to work on, with subject line: Internship. Highlight experience that makes you a good candidate.


* Note to international students: Unfortunately, we are unable to assist in the procurement of United States visas. 

Internships By Department 
Senior Management & Support Offices 
  • Internship opportunities with senior management and support teams include Administration, Contracts, Public Affairs/Public Relations, TV Operations, General Counsel, Graphics and Research. Senior management interns need excellent research, writing and communications skills, knowledge of Word, and Excel. Duties in those offices vary, but often involve research, working on white papers, memos, special projects, analyzing data and creating spreadsheets. Support offices require more specific technical skills such as studying for a JD, knowledge of graphics software, broadcast engineering, data analytics, budgets, writing press releases, social media and webpage creation.​ 
VOA Language Services 
  • VOA’s nearly 50 Language Services (see fact sheet above) broadcast news and information on multiple platforms: mobile, television, radio, social media and web to Asia, Africa, Eurasia, Latin America and Iran. Fluency in broadcast languages is a plus. Interns must have a keen interest in TV/Radio news as well as a grasp of working on deadline with the ability to research, write and edit stories. They will get hands-on experience working on radio/television, social media and digital platforms. 
Media Lab 
  • VOA’s Media Lab creates daily short form video headlines on Africa, World, Asia and U.S. along with pilots and special programs. Students will be able to research, write, edit and post news capsules. They will learn how to operate a small studio, and have an opportunity to anchor newscasts. Interns must have excellent research, writing and some editing skills. We will train students in developing news judgement, news writing, video editing skills and basic studio operations. 
Learning English 
  • Learning English produces original podcasts, videos and social media posts using a limited vocabulary to teach non-English speakers American English. Interns must have excellent research, writing and social media skills using the limited vocabulary for English learners. Students are trained in audio production, web article posting and social media audience engagement. Send resume, cover letter, transcript(s), and two writing samples (news-related or features items) to Ashley Thompson (athompson@voanews.com) 
TV to Africa 
  • VOA’s English to Africa Service provides multimedia news and information covering all 54 countries in Africa. Interns write daily show descriptions for TV Facebook pages, assist with video field shoots, edit projects using Adobe Premier and DaletPlus editing systems, run teleprompter for live TV shows, videotape logging, topic research, guest recruit, guest greeting, and other duties. Students must have research experience, demonstrated interest in Africa and international affairs, communications skills, ability to meet deadlines and to work under pressure. Send cover letter and resume to Clara Frenk (cfrenk@voanews.com). 
VOA Newsroom Teams
  • The Inside Story The Inside Story is the VOA News Center’s weekly TV news program that uses VOA reporters and their reporting to give audiences a better understanding of the major story of the week. Interns for The Inside Story should have a keen interest in TV news and television program production --- live and recorded. Interns should have a good grasp of working on a deadline and all elements needed to build a television news story. We will help to teach them news judgement and story-telling. We are also very much mindful of the bridge between the different platforms that allow us to reach our audiences. Interns for The Inside Story also need an understanding of how to communicate on digital platforms. Interns on this program must be able to work at least three days a week. Thursdays are required, plus Monday or Tuesday and another day or two.
 
  • VOA News Center Hub Interns on the VOA News Center hub are assigned a wide variety of news stories to write that will be used by VOA language services and the English website. In addition to daily international and domestic news stories, interns will be encouraged to pitch original story ideas. They will be exposed to all aspects of the NewsCenter's operation and maybe asked to help do research and conduct interviews for stories being worked on by other VOA reporters.
 
  • Press Freedom and Polygraph Teams Interns for our Press Freedom and Polygraph units (polygraph.info) to do research including contacting sources by phone and email to obtain information; check facts, suggest story ideas for coverage; work in support of the team’s editors. Interns may also write articles for the VOANews.com website, go out on TV shoots, log and edit video, transcribe interviews (with transcription software). In addition, you may be called upon to do social media work including creating posts. Investigative team interns also participate in meetings discussing the team’s work and projects.The intern for Press Freedom will report for web, radio and TV, interviewing sources and writing news and feature articles, and assist with research on long-term projects. Interns will be assigned stories focused on global media freedom trends, and cases of harassment, censorship, and attacks on the free press. They should be comfortable conducting interviews via phone and Skype. Polygraph interns work with that team fact checking and debunking misinformation spread by Russia and other countries around the globe. We are looking for one intern to work with the Polygraph info team and one to work with the Press Freedom team
 
  • Social Media Interns with our Social Media team get hands-on experience creating original content, conceiving and executing campaigns and strategies to engage an international audience, and managing several social media platforms. Our Social Media interns must possess solid news judgement and be able to edit video and other multimedia with Adobe Premiere and Photoshop. They use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube and will learn to manage social media for an organization. They create content specifically for social media with the goal of grabbing readers' attention amid the flood of posts vying for attention.
 
  • Visual Content Internship Researching, writing and visualizing interactive digital first content for web and social media platforms are the duties of a Visual Content intern. Also, producing visual elements (GFX, animation, videos, images and GIFs). Advanced editing/motion design using After Effects and Premiere Pro. Brainstorming, pitching and developing story ideas with the rest of the team. Identifying new trends and digital developments 
 
  • Media Lab-VOA 60 The Media Lab produces daily VOA60 video news wraps, designed to be digestible on mobile and web in countries without wide access to digital formats and infrastructure and also on TV. They are short and punchy yet informative and entertaining. Interns will select the most compelling stories for a five story lineup, write a short explanatory headline for each, edit the piece using Adobe Premiere, and upload the product to each of our social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, synopsizing the content. They will have full ownership of the product, from stories that are to be included to technological responsibilities and publishing. Video editing experience on Adobe Premiere or other software is preferred, but not required.
 
  • VOA Connect A weekly TV magazine show (not live; all original video content) VOA Connect is looking for student video journalists and shooters and/or editors interested in compelling, non-narrated storytelling. VOA Connect requires proficiency in Adobe Premiere video editing. VOA Connect interns will have the chance to improve their Premiere skills editing and help with production for a weekly magazine show.

  • Production The VOA News Center production team is looking for interns who can edit video with Adobe Premier and audio with Adobe Audition. Ability to shoot video is also a plus. Depending on skills, production interns will edit radio and TV reports as well as shoot video, create graphics; and upload/download video. 
 
  • Documentaries Interns working on documentaries require strong research skills on a wide range of subjects. They provide in-depth analysis and summaries of issues being explored by the Executive Producer. They must be able to access social media platforms to find people relevant to the subject, and present their research in a cohesive way. Interns learn how to download footage for the projects and have the ability to research relevant archive and news footage necessary for the film. They find and identify footage and organize material in coordination with the Executive Producer. Experienced interns may have the opportunity to conduct preliminary interviews to prepare for shoots. This is a great opportunity to work inside a documentary film team, in a hands-on capacity.
 
  • China Abroad We are looking for an intern who is interested in and has knowledge of China and international relations. Responsibilities include research, scheduling interviews, pitching story ideas and writing stories across multi-media platforms, which may include print, TV and radio. 
Send resumes and cover letter to Amy Katz (akatz@voanews.com) with subject line: Internship. Highlight experience that makes you a good candidate. Internships are available in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Los Angeles. 
Media Asset Management Branch  
  • Asset Management Branch interns must be graduate or undergraduate majors in Library Science. Interns may do all or some of the following activities: shot-level cataloging of video content; assist with media migration activities; respond to producer requests for video, audio or textual background material; search internal databases, indexes and Media Asset Management (MAM) system; assist with documenting, researching, preparing or displaying legacy content; assist with processing audio files; ingest and archiving digital assets. Send resume and cover letter to Pam Commerford, Media Asset Management Branch Chief (pcommerford@voanews.com) 
Music Programming 
VOA produces a number of music programs from jazz to pop, country and regional programs. We are looking for motivated, highly-energetic students who are interested in all aspects of production, including research and social media. For general applications to all Music Programming, contact: June Simms, Executive Producer of FM Programming at jsimms@voanews.com. 
  • Music Time in Africa is VOA’s longest running radio program in English. It features Africa's finest music with weekly interviews, music news, and audience engagement. The host Heather Maxwell is an Africanist ethnomusicologist and musical artist who has lived and performed extensively throughout Africa for over 30 years. Interns assist with social media, Whatsapp, Facebook live sessions, organize and keep track of music. Interns must have excellent skills in writing, social media and research; ability to meet deadlines, work under pressure and a desire to learn. Send cover letter and resume to Heather Maxwell (hmaxwell@voanews.com) with subject line: Internship. Highlight experience that makes you a good candidate. Apply in May for summer internships. Internships are available in Washington, D.C. 
  • Border Crossings is the Voice of America's daily music program and broadcast on audio and television Monday through Friday at 1500UTC. Border Crossings airs listeners’ favorite song requests and dedications along with featuring interviews from some of the biggest names in music. Interns work on production, audio and video editing, scheduling interviews, audience interaction, assisting with locating and or filing music in the library. Interns must have excellent skills in writing, social media and research; ability to meet deadlines, work under pressure and a desire to learn. Send cover letter and resume to Larry London (llondon@voanews.com) with subject line: Internship. Highlight experience that makes you a good candidate. Internships are available in Washington, D.C. 
TV Technical Operations 
  • Interns assist TV technicians in setting up and operations in lighting, audio, camera control, video tape playback, and floor direction; assist in the project management, design and installation of broadcasting systems and facilities and assist mobile camera teams on news assignments. Interns must have a general knowledge of and interest in television studio production and field camera operation; familiarity with production and technical terms; background and/or knowledge in electrical or electronics engineering or systems project management. Send resumes to Seth Jason (sjason@usagm.gov)