Paid Intern - Political Journalism Fellow

This is a Full Time Paid Internship

DESCRIPTION:

Position Information:

• Start Date: January 5 – December 4, 2026
• Hours: 40 hours per week
• Location: St. Paul, MN
• Pay: $20/hour - $23/hour (salary will be based on individual's education and/or relevant experience)

Fellow, Politics – MPR News:

MPR News has an exciting opportunity for a developing journalist to join our politics team. This fellowship will give you real-world experience covering politics and government stories while working with a high-performing team of reporters, editors, and producers.

The goal is to give you, the Fellow, full access to our newsroom, along with its tools and resources. This position helps MPR News develop the next generation of public media talent by training journalists who will create exceptional content for MPR News platforms. Your work will be a vital part of our coverage and will help expand our audience's understanding of Minnesota politics, campaigns, and legislative activities.

This position requires you to work in Minnesota. In addition, while you have an assigned shift, the daily news cycle and our staffing needs may require early morning, night and/or weekend work. A supervisor will manage your overall experience. In addition, an editor will be assigned to help with day-to-day assignments and guidance.

Key Learning Goals:

The goal of this fellowship is to provide you with immersive learning and real-world experience through impactful work. By the end of your fellowship, you will be able to:

• Gain practical experience in political reporting by covering legislative sessions, campaign events and elections
• Develop professional relationships and expand network within the journalism industry

Responsibilities:

We want you to take your journalism to the next level. Our Political Fellow role equips talented writers with an interest in building multimedia skills to deliver compelling election coverage across platforms.

In this fast-paced position, you will grow the following skills:

• Audio Reporting - develop your radio reporting talent from recording to scriptwriting and sound mixing.
• Digital Storytelling - Craft articles for our website, voter guides and Capitol View newsletter, enhanced through visuals and social video training.
• On-Air Reporting - Develop and hone live, on-air skills through daily coverage opportunities, election night coverage and MPR News specials.

Benefits:

• Eligible to accrue sick time off.
• Eligible for health insurance as required under the ACA.
• Eligible to participate in the APMG retirement plan.

Programming:

• Participate in robust on-boarding experience.
• Professional development: on-the-job training, workforce readiness training, formal performance review feedback sessions, etc.
• Participate in brown bag sessions to gain broader perspective of the organization.

Required Qualifications:

• Completed bachelor's degree or at least two years relevant professional work experience in journalism or communications
• Additionally, minimum two years’ experience in journalism or communications
• Strong writing, research, and communication skills
• Self-motivation, resourcefulness, curiosity, creativity, accuracy
• Passion for telling distinctive stories and amplifying community voices
• Awareness of current events
• Proven ability to work efficiently and meet deadlines

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience using audio production or editing equipment.
• Basic knowledge of issues important to Minnesota.
• Knowledge of HTML and working in a content-management system.

Next Step in the Application:

In addition to your skills and knowledge, we want to get to know you in the application process. Please include a cover letter (of no more than 1 page) with answers to the following:

• What interests you about this fellowship?
• What professional skills would you like to add to your toolbox in the months and years to come to grow in your career field?

Physical Demands and Working Conditions: