WCMU Public Radio seeks reporting interns for summer 2025
WCMU Public Radio, an NPR affiliate station serving listeners and readers across central and northern Michigan, is offering up to four paid reporting internships for summer 2025.
This opportunity is only available for students enrolled at Central Michigan University. Students of all majors who are interested in pursuing a career in journalism are eligible to apply. Audio production experience is not required. This internship is eligible for course credit in several departments across campus.
WCMU’s reporting has garnered several national, regional and statewide awards, including recognition from the Public Media Journalists Association, the Radio Television Digital News Association and the Michigan Association of Broadcasters.
Our reporting interns will have the opportunity for their work to be syndicated on the Michigan Public Radio Network, Harvest Public Media, the Alpena News and Traverse City Record-Eagle. The stories our interns produce will also be considered for national and regional awards.
Previous WCMU reporting interns have gone onto work at the New York Times, MLive, the Smithsonian Institution’s Sidedoor Podcast, Midland Daily News, Interlochen Public Radio, The Buckeye Flame, WILX-10, WRJT-12, Traverse City Record-Eagle, Alpena News, Iron Mountain Daily News and more.
Reporting interns will work closely with editors to produce news stories that impact people across central and northern Michigan. From time to time they will be given story assignments but will be expected to pitch and produce their own stories daily. Interns will file several stories a week, make daily cold calls to sources, attend the occasional long public meeting and speak to people in-person with recording equipment in order to write and produce their stories. Students will create both radio and print stories.
Two reporting interns will be based in the WCMU newsroom in Mount Pleasant. One of these interns will be a general assignment reporter, while the other will be assigned to cover the Tri-Cities (Midland, Bay City, Saginaw). The other two interns will be based in northern lower Michigan at the Alpena News and Traverse City Record-Eagle. Students based at these newspapers will file stories for both WCMU and the papers.
Reporting interns will be paid a competitive wage over a full-time, 13-week schedule, beginning May 12 and ending on August 8. The final hourly rate has yet to be determined. Before students begin producing stories full-time, WCMU will provide two weeks of paid training in Mount Pleasant on the fundamentals of audio journalism beginning May 12.
Interns will be responsible for their own transportation and must have a valid driver's license or have one in their possession by May 12. The internship pays for meals and mileage to and from assignments. WCMU does not provide a housing stipend or laptops. WCMU will provide access to recording equipment, desktop computers and professional recording studios in Mount Pleasant.
Interested applicants are required to complete the following:
- Fill out and submit THIS APPLICATION FORM
- Submit a cover letter, resume and at least two news stories you've written (class assignments are welcome) to Rick Brewer at rick.brewer@cmich.edu with “WCMU internship” in the subject line.
- The deadline to submit the materials above is Monday, January 27, 2025, at 11:59 p.m.
- Attend an in-person meeting in Moore Hall 424 (Caponigro Lab) on Friday January 31, 2025, from 9:00-1:00 p.m. During this meeting, students will learn more about the internship and all of its finer details. Students can also expect to write a news story that day and be interviewed by our committee. This is a business casual event.
Once all the applications are submitted, prospective interns will receive final instructions and logistical information about the in-person meeting on January 31 via email in the days leading up to the meeting.
If you have questions, please drop Rick Brewer a line at rick.brewer@cmich.edu. No phone calls or in-person visits.
Testimonials from past WCMU interns
"I gained more journalism experience and skills this summer than I have in all my time in college."Jill Harrington, 2022 intern
“It’s the first thing I’ve done that has changed my view on my chosen profession, in a good way. It really showed me what journalism is all about. It’s definitely the highlight of my college experience.”Riley Connell, 2021 intern
“I would absolutely recommend this internship for other students because it's a fast way to get a better understanding of what you want and what kind of environments are going to provide that.”Lauren Rice, 2024 intern
“There were days I struggled to get a hold of any source, and there were days I would have 5-6 interviews in a row. But since I knew where to go next - how to write, how to edit the audio, setting up editing appointments - it made things easier no matter how the sources responded because I could keep the product organized and on track.”Courtney Boyd, 2024 intern