Morning Edition & NPR Politics Internship - Fall 2026

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Application Instructions: Applications close on Sunday, June 21st at 11:59 pm ET.

This internship will be divided into two phases: first at Morning Edition, NPR’s weekday morning newsmagazine, and then at NPR’s Washington Desk, which covers  the White House, Congress, politics, national security and other critical beats.

• Pitching ideas for host interviews on news and feature topics for Morning Edition
• Pitching news and feature stories
• Booking guests for the programs, including doing phone pre-interviews
• Conduct research for Washington Desk editors and reporters
• Assisting with the recording, producing and editing of host interviews and  radio pieces, including learning how to gather sound  in the field,  build radio pieces, cut interviews, construct audio clipboards and log tape
• Writing host copy and interview questions
• Writing digital stories
• Producing live and pre-recorded host interviews, including managing recordings and editing audio
• Learning NPR News’ radio journalism ethical standards and practices
• Developing radio reporting and producing skills that will prepare the intern for careers at NPR member stations and at NPR itself
• All work performed by the intern is to be done under the close supervision of the host teams

• Strong interest and familiarity with news, politics, government and current events
• Ability to own a  task from concept to completion
• Willingness to learn and interest in honing journalism, reporting, producing and editing skills
• Excellent research skills and an eye for a new angle/perspective major news stories
• The ability to find the right expert or first-person voice to illustrate a complicated news topic
• Some journalism/news reporting  (such as an internship at a local public radio station or a job at a college radio station)
• A keen interest in journalism
• Specific interest in public media

• Resume 
• Cover Letter

Must be a current student in an accredited degree program or a recent graduate of no more than 12 months from the month of the start of the internship.

This is an on-site role based in Washington, D.C.

This is a full-time, non-exempt internship.

Please note that the work schedule for this internship will vary and include swing and weekend shifts across both phases of the internship.

• At Morning Edition: 40 hours per week on a schedule that rotates through the show’s production shifts across all day parts, to gain exposure to all aspects of show production. The intern will start off on a Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm schedule.
• At the Washington Desk: 40 hours per week,  generally Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm, though the exact timing can be flexible around the intern’s schedule.

You may read NPR’s privacy policy to learn about how NPR may handle information you submit with any application.

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