Fall / Winter Intern - Music & Culture -

Job Description

OVERVIEW

Program Duration: October 6th, 2025 - April 17th, 2026
INTERN WILL LEARN AND BE EXPOSED TO:
NPR Music and NPR's Culture Desk - our hub for coverage of film, television, books, and music, as well as visual and performing arts - are both creative and curatorial enterprises: On our site, stories created by our small team of producers live alongside features from NPR's radio programs, podcasts and digital news platforms, essays and reviews from freelance contributors and on-the-ground reporting from around the public radio system. This season's intern fields daily assignments spanning a large range of mediums, genres and ideas, and must work on deadline to synthesize that information into compelling content for a savvy online audience. We're looking for an aspiring journalist with airtight editing skills, solid news judgment, strong organizational habits and the ability to think critically and independently about what makes a music story worth telling. For the first half of the internship, you'll work with the NPR Culture team and for the second half, you'll work with the NPR Music team.
This is an NPR editorial role covered under the terms of the NPR Ethics Handbook. All editorial staff are bound by this guidance. Editorial staff are defined as staff members who play a role in shaping the journalistic or creative direction of NPR's content, including events.
Interns will have the opportunity to experience & support the work of the team in the following areas...
• Researching and pulling tape for reporters, radio segments and larger projects
• Transcribing, fact-checking and editing interviews; adapting broadcast pieces for presentation as dynamic web articles; improving copy that falls below our editorial standards; crafting compelling headlines and promotional language
• Web production for a wide array of stories, including segments from NPR's news shows, public radio music stations, original essays by staff and freelancers, and special editorial packages
• Assisting NPR Music's audience strategist with social planning and scheduling
• Podcast production on All Songs Considered, New Music Friday, Alt.Latino and other long-form NPR Music audio
• Communicating with producers at public radio music stations, NPR's news programs, digital news editors, and contacts at record labels and publicity firms
• Managing deadlines from multiple supervisors, adapting to sudden changes of schedule when breaking news hits
• All work of the intern is to be performed under the close supervision of the host teams
A strong internship candidate for this role might have…
• Strong editing and writing skills
• Passion for storytelling; an interest in the how and why behind stories in the music industry
• Working knowledge of content management systems and basic web editing
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
• Resume
• Cover Letter
• Writing Sample (optional)
• Portfolio Link (optional)
EDUCATION:
• Must be a current student in an accredited degree program or a recent graduate of no more than 12 months from the month of the start of the internship.
WORK LOCATION
• Hybrid Permitted: This is a hybrid permitted role. Some aspects of this role include duties that are better performed at an NPR facility. The employee will be required to be onsite at the Washington, DC office at least 10 days a year. The employee must also reside in an NPR supported location based on the number of onsite days they choose.
JOB TYPE
• This is a temporary (28-week) full time internship.
COMPENSATION
• Hourly Rate: The US based anticipated hourly rate for this opportunity is $20.00 per hour. The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum hourly rate NPR expects to provide for internships across all US locations.
• Benefits: NPR provides interns with multiple benefits and amenities. Interns receive immediate eligibility to contribute electively to a Principal 403(b) retirement plan and access to the Transit Flexible Spending Account for commuter benefits. Interns working out of DC HQ enjoy free access to on-site Cigna medical providers, no cost fitness center access, as well as bike facilities and garage parking available onsite. Interns can access the Employee Assistance Program which provides confidential counseling services as well as Business Travel Accident coverage and Global Guardian membership and they also qualify for Signal Financial Federal Credit Union membership. NPR interns who work 30 or more hours per week are eligible for holiday pay. This includes pay for the company's 10 observed holidays plus one floating holiday per year. Interns automatically earn 3.08 hours of sick leave each pay period without any waiting time restrictions and can utilize paid administrative leave as necessary. Interns have access to professional development opportunities and can benefit from flexible work hours and telecommuting options.
SCHEDULE
• 40 hours a week, generally from 9 a.m. ET to 6 p.m. ET with an hour break for lunch
Applications close on Monday, June 30th at 11:59 pm ET.
Does this sound like you? If so, we want to hear from you.
CLOSING COMPLIANCE STATEMENTS
Want more NPR? Explore the stories behind the stories on our NPR Extra blog. Get social with NPR Extra on Facebook and Instagram. Find more career opportunities at NPR.org/careers.
The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum salaries NPR expects to provide for new hires for the position across all US locations.
NPR Pay Range
$20 - $20 USD

If you are a person with a disability needing assistance with the application process, please reach out to employeerelations@npr.org.

Want more NPR? Explore the stories behind the stories on our NPR Extra blog. Get social with NPR Extra on Facebook and Instagram. Find more career opportunities at NPR.org/careers.
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Jobcode: Reference SBJ-o11ez4-216-73-216-118-42 in your application.