AURN Audio Journalism Internship, Summer 2024

A Wonder Media Company - AURN Audio Journalism Internship, Summer 2024 (Writing and producing for Radio Health Journal & Viewpoints Radio)

Location: 24 E. Washington St. 8th Floor Chicago IL 60602 (Downtown Chicago)

Part time: 20 hours/week, 10 weeks Early June-Mid August (flexible start/end date) 

Hybrid: Mix of in-person and remote

Whether it’s a radio news release, story segment, or scripted headlines, writing for audio is challenging. Audio requires more vivid description and creativity because your audience can’t rely on pictures or video to get a better feel for the story. It also requires more clarity than print because your audience can’t go back and re-read what they’ve just heard. This internship is right for you if you would like to further develop your audio writing skills in a real-world setting and you’re passionate about long-form stories that dig deeper. 

AURN produces two, nationally syndicated public affairs radio shows, Viewpoints Radio and Radio Health Journal, airing on 950 and 700 stations across the country, respectively. The programs are also posted to several major podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple podcasts. We seek a candidate who wants to work side by side with industry experts to gain in-depth experience in script writing, editing, and interviewing. Some of our previous interns have gone on to work for NPR’s All Things Considered, NPR’s 1A, Vice, KNX-AM Los Angeles, WAND-TV, ESPN, ABC News, TMZ and us. 

Requirements:

• Incoming junior or senior majoring in journalism or related field.
• In the Chicagoland area this summer and can come into our downtown office 2-3 days a week.
• Excellent verbal & writing skills. Must be able to think quickly on their feet and write focused & objective stories.
• Has already completed some coursework in broadcast or audio journalism, and/or has extracurricular experience in scriptwriting for radio/audio. Radio/audio scriptwriting experience is a big plus!
• Hard-working with a professional demeanor, an eagerness to learn, and a high regard for deadlines.
• Must have a working laptop that can be used for the internship.

Responsibilities:

• Brainstorm and develop new segment ideas for both public affairs programs.
• Conduct interviews over Zoom with authors, experts, and leaders across a variety of fields.
• Research and write long-form, scripted stories for both public affairs programs. Your stories will air live on national radio & are posted on all the major podcast platforms.
• Work side-by-side with two experienced journalists, our studio production manager, and social media producer.

Learning Objectives:

• Be able to independently conduct advanced, long form interviews with experts to write an informative, interesting script that displays multiple angles of a story and seamlessly incorporates several soundbites from interviews.
• Gain practical experience in journalism i.e., participate in story brainstorm meetings,  write under strict deadlines, respond to constructive script editing sessions, etc.
• Produce several polished audio segments with your name at the end of the script. These stories are yours to add to your personal portfolio and social media pages.