Indiana University School of Journalism

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NSJC Director  Tim Franklin

The IU National Sports Journalism Center has secured internship slots for IU students with several sports news organizations, leagues and teams, including the Big Ten Network, Associated Press and Major League Baseball.

Center Director Tim Franklin announced five of the internships today and said he expects to post more information about other sports-related opportunities in the next few weeks.

These internships are available to IU School of Journalism students on both the Indianapolis and Bloomington campuses in partnership with the National Sports Journalism Center, which is based at IUPUI.

Franklin said applications will be screened to determine finalists, who then will interview with the organizations, either in person or by phone. Each organization will make the final selection.

Here are the first five opportunities. Deadline is Nov. 2 to apply for these.

• Associated Press

  The AP is offering a 12-week, paid internship to a current full-time junior, senior or graduate student at IU. This sports reporting intern would be assigned to a domestic AP bureau to be determined. Applicants must have had at least one internship in a daily deadline reporting environment.

• MLB.COM

  Major League Baseball Advanced Media is offering a paid summer internship to a current junior, senior or graduate student at IU. This intern could either be assigned to the MLB.com newsroom in New York City or to a beat covering a Major League team elsewhere in the U.S. Applicants must have had at least one prior sports reporting internship with a professional news organization.

• Chicago Tribune

  The Chicago Tribune, the Midwest’s largest news organization, is offering a summer academic internship in its sports department to an IU journalism student. This intern would work out of the main newsroom in downtown Chicago. The intern would cover breaking news and write feature stories for the print and online editions of the Tribune. Applicants must be current juniors, seniors or graduate students and must have had a previous internship with a professional news organization.

• Big Ten Network

  The Big Ten Network, based in Chicago, is offering academic internships year-round to qualified IU journalism students. Applicants must be at least upcoming sophomores. The network will match students with its own needs, but duties could include writing for the BTN’s Web site, doing production work in the studio or assisting in the marketing department. In applying for this internship, please specify whether you would be available in the spring, summer or fall terms.

• Indiana Pacers

  The Indiana Pacers offer an academic internship to a qualified IU journalism student. Applicants must be at least sophomores and have had some professional writing and reporting experience. These interns will be working in the public relations office and/or writing for the NBA franchise’s Web site. The Pacers may be in need of an intern as early as the spring semester. These could be part-time internships.

To apply:

If you are interested in any of these internships, you’ll need to submit:

• A one-page cover letter addressed to the director of the National Sports Journalism Center (contact information below);
• A one-page resume;
• No more than five examples of your work (clips or CDs of multi-media work);
• And two letters of recommendation, one of which must be from a professor or faculty adviser on letterhead.

If you’re applying for the AP internship, you also must do the following:

• Write a short, 300-word autobiographical essay on this topic: “The Associated Press seeks to recruit and retain a workforce that embodies a wide range of talents, experiences, achievements and journalistic skills. Please describe the qualities and accomplishments you would bring to the company.”
• Take a timed news writing test at an AP bureau.
• Interview with an AP news manager.
• Complete an employment application (when you take the test).

Please be sure to specify the internship or internships that you’re seeking. If you’re applying for multiple internships, please rank them in order of preference and include the ranking on a separate page.

Send your applications no later than Nov. 2 to Tim Franklin, director of the National Sports Journalism Center, at timfrank@indiana.edu, and to Marcia Debnam, School of Journalism career services director, at mdebnam@indiana.edu.

Franklin said the next internship posting likely will be for ESPN. The deadline for applying for ESPN’s summer internship likely will be early January. Applicants should be at least juniors and have previous experience.

Questions?

• Contact National Sports Journalism Center Director Tim Franklin.
• Contact School of Journalism Career Services Director Marcia Debnam.