RANGE Media is a startup newsroom recognized nationally for our worker-owned structure, our civic and accountability reporting, and for our approach to platform-agnostic news and information delivery.
We are doing leading-edge work reimagining the relationship between newsroom and reader, with the intention of meeting our readers — especially non-traditional news consumers from marginalized backgrounds and identities — where they are most comfortable.
This involves lots of audience development and experimentation to ensure we are maximizing the impact of our deep, award-winning journalism. We are a young and nimble team, but we’re also small, so we can offer interns a hands-on experience in local reporting, journalism-focused media-making and marketing.
Who: Students studying journalism, communications/PR, marketing, business or anything that fits with local journalism
Length: Flexible (dependent on semester, if it’s the summer, etc)
Compensation: Credit (we can also do any paperwork necessary for getting paid through school grants)
Assigning Editor: Erin Sellers
Details
As a growing startup newsroom, we’re growing our audience, experimenting with new channels, solidifying our processes and continuing to refine our team-based, limited-hierarchy approach to all of the above. We are seeking a small team of interns to learn and experiment alongside us.
While it may include solo reporting and writing, the work will be primarily focused on the team-centered aspects of a modern, fast-paced digital newsroom.
Because of the fluidity and variety of our work, rather than describing discrete internship roles students can apply for, we are listing broad task categories and, which we will fill based on the interests and the skills of the candidate interns, students are encouraged to describe which areas they’d like to engage and why you’d be a good fit.
Task Categories
A passion for local journalism is a must, whether that passion manifests in reporting, content delivery, marketing or business. We are especially looking for interns with an interest in growing their experience in at least two of the following areas:
- Research, reporting & editorial support
- Audio (podcast production, non-technical editing)
- Social video &/or Streaming (TikTok, YouTube, reels, etc)
- Marketing & audience
Interns will be tasked with helping the RANGE team promote its work, and reach new audiences by doing some of the following:
- Helping produce social, video (TikToks, Reels, etc), podcast and written content
- Contributing writing to CIVICS, Wide RANGE (our Friday roundup) & other product work
- Helping reporters research, schedule interviews, document meetings & report stories
- Writing aggregated, topical, evergreen news content
Interns will explore the work that goes into journalism and learn how RANGE reports out stories. Interns are expected to work in-office approximately 8 hours per week with flexibility available and expected to execute small assignments each week.
Journalism is a team sport, and interns are highly encouraged, but not required, to immerse themselves in our process by attending editorial meetings and audience/marketing meetings. (Our office is next to Kendall Yards at 628 N Monroe in Spokane.)
Internship & assignment structure
We built a flexible, tiered set of assignment options that become more complex throughout the internship to allow interns to make an impact immediately without throwing anyone in the deep end. We will do our best to assign these based on the skills and interests of the intern cohort.
Phase 1: Learn the ropes
Focused on supporting staff in execution of duties to acquaint yourself with our systems.
Phase 2: Training wheels off
More opportunities at independent work supported by staff and at a manageable pace.
Phase 3: Final Boss
Pitch and report a whole story! Produce a TikTok per week! Help us solidify a streaming process! Execute an idea you have for gaining audience!
Sound fun? Consider applying!
Email erin@rangemedia.co with the subject line “Intern program” and include the following in the email body:
- Name, major, year
- Regardless of whether your focus is reporting, content creation or marketing & audience: Why are you interested in doing that work in journalism?
- Why are you specifically interested in RANGE?
- The task category or categories you’re interested in and why
- List any experience in those categories (does not need to be professional experience)
- Give at least one example of innovative news content delivery you find inspiring
