At McClatchy, we strive to be the eyes, ears and voice of the communities we cover. We know to do this effectively takes training up a new generation of driven and diverse journalists. 

That’s why at McClatchy we’ve launched initiatives geared specifically toward getting more HBCU students and recent graduates passionate about journalism through our doors.  

McClatchy is seeking students and recent graduates from accredited HBCU programs to gain hands-on experience from our top-notch teams while interning with select newsrooms in Summer 2025. 

The HBCU News Internship is a news-specific initiative in tandem with our annual summer internship program. If you are a student or recent graduate passionate about journalism that engages the community, uncovers issues beneath the surface and propels real local change, we want to hear from you.

In addition to this program, we will be continuing our separate three-year-long program McClatchy HBCU Internship –  enrolling first-year HBCU students in long-term training on multiple aspects of our media company from product innovation to human resources. More details on that will come later this year.

Our summer news internships are 10-week, paid positions on-site that provide weekly skills training sessions and networking opportunities.

As a news intern, you can expect to:

• Be treated like a staff member, whether you are working as a reporter, visual storyteller, or audience / social media specialist. 
• You will be assigned to a senior-level mentor during the internship and will receive coaching, training and mentoring.
• Work with seasoned staffers and work directly with local leaders.

To qualify for this program, you must be a current student or graduate of an accredited HBCU. We're looking for individuals with a sincere interest in reporting local news and a basic understanding of journalistic ethics and standards. Previous experience reporting and/or producing for a student or professional news publication is a plus. This internship program involves full-time hours and on-site work, so interns should be prepared to live near the location of their respective newsrooms. Internship locations will vary by market.

The anticipated base pay range for this position is between $15 and $17 per hour. Individual base pay may vary within that range depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, department equity and relevant education.

To apply: Please upload a persuasive personal statement, resume and 3-5 samples of your best news-related work. Incomplete applications may not be given full consideration.

Deadline: Please submit your application no later than November 18, 2024.

Please note: We want to ensure that each candidate is given the full consideration they deserve. Please be aware that our selection process involves thorough review and evaluation, and we will make our final decisions once we have identified our top finalists. Because of the very high number of applicants, this process can take some time, and our hiring team will only follow up directly with those candidates we seek to advance. We appreciate your patience as we work to find the best fit for both the interns and our team. 

For questions, contact McClatchy Deputy Director of News Talent Acquisition & Development Rhema Bland at rbland@mcclatchy.com.