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Wisconsin Watch, the award-winning newsroom of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, is seeking applicants for an investigative reporting internship beginning Jan. 25, 2021 and working 10 to 20 hours a week through the end of the semester.
The reporting intern will produce investigative stories and may also use additional skills such as photography and data analysis and visualization. This internship may be extended for a full year based on interest and performance.
Eligibility is limited to undergraduate and graduate students who are enrolled at the time of application in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where the independent nonpartisan and nonprofit Center is based. (December 2020 graduates are eligible to apply.)
Pay for the internship is $12.50 an hour. The part-time schedule is flexible, between 10 and 20 hours per week during the academic year, with the possibility of increasing to full-time in the summer.
*** The application deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4, 2020. ***
Interns are expected to work remotely until further notice because of COVID-19 restrictions. Some travel around Wisconsin may be required. A laptop is required.
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About the internship
Reporting interns receive intensive training and experience in interviewing, researching and writing. They work with Wisconsin Watch’s staff and media partners to produce high-impact investigative journalism on government integrity and quality of life issues. In-depth, investigative and computer-assisted reporting skills are preferred. Web, audio, video,photography and additional language skills are desirable.
To apply for a reporting internship, applicants must submit the following in electronic form to Managing Editor Dee J. Hall at reportingintern@wisconsinwatch.org
- One-page letter describing why you should be selected for the position.
- Resume including work and journalistic experience, awards, GPA and three references.
- Up to five examples of published or broadcast work. Students who want to do photos, videos or other multimedia should provide portfolios.
- One story pitch, no longer than three paragraphs. A pitch is not a topic. It should summarize the story in a single sentence, and explain who is affected by the situation, why the public should care and how you plan to get it done.
Questions about the news internship may be directed to Managing Editor Dee J. Hall at dhall@wisconsinwatch.org, 608-333-2433.
About the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
The Center began operating in 2009. It increases the quality, quantity and understanding of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future generations of investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy. The Center is guided by its values: Protect the vulnerable. Expose wrongdoing. Explore solutions. It focuses on government integrity and quality of life issues such as the environment, education, the economy, health, and the justice system.
Wisconsin Watch collaborates with WPR, PBS Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism & Mass Communication, and news organizations in Wisconsin and across the nation.
Wisconsin Watch’s reports are published on WisconsinWatch.org and are made available for free to print, online and broadcast news organizations.
Since our launch in 2009, we have produced nearly 430 major news reports that have been cited, published or broadcast by more than 960 newspapers, radio and TV stations and news websites in Wisconsin and nationwide reaching an estimated audience of nearly 114 million. In 2019, we shared 46 investigative reports with more than 220 news organizations — more than half of them located in Wisconsin. During the pandemic, the audience on our website is triple the normal size.
Stories produced by Wisconsin Watch’s staff, interns and classroom collaborations have received professional recognition, including 88 Milwaukee Press Club awards, a national Sigma Delta Chi/Society of Professional Journalists award and a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award.
Wisconsin Watch’s 50-plus former interns and fellows are thriving in journalism and related fields. They have worked for news organizations across the nation and around the world, including the Wall Street Journal, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin State Journal, the Cap Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian, BBC, Business Insider, Vox, The Progressive, Better Government Association, Institute for Nonprofit News, Public Radio Exchange, Wisconsin Public Radio, WisContext, WisPolitics.com, NBC, Appleton Post-Crescent, The Nation, The Associated Press and others.
The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism embraces diversity and inclusiveness in our journalism, training activities, hiring practices and workplace operations. The complex issues we face as a society require respect for different viewpoints. Race, class, generation, sexual orientation, gender and geography all affect point of view. Reflecting these differences in our reporting leads to better, more-nuanced stories and a better-informed community.
We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ people and people with disabilities.
We look forward to hearing from you!
More details about the Center’s journalistic and financial operations are available at: https://wisconsinwatch.org/about/
The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (wisconsinwatch.org) collaborates with WPR, PBS Wisconsin, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
