Investigative Reporting Apprentice (Volunteer)

Are you a college student or recent graduate looking to improve your reporting and writing skills? The non-profit news organization WhoWhatWhy is looking for aspiring journalists to join our Investigative Reporting Internship. Over a three-month term, you will have the opportunity to investigate and report on national stories under the guidance of experienced senior editors. This internship is unpaid, although apprentices who show exceptional promise may be invited to stay on as a stipended fellow.

Who We Are

WhoWhatWhy is a non-profit news organization looking to cover extremism in all of its forms in 2023. We are staffed largely with skilled volunteers dedicated to elevating public awareness of any form of injustice in the US and across the globe.

Apprenticeship Program Overview

Since its founding, WhoWhatWhy has worked with aspiring young journalists to help them hone their reporting and writing skills, offering them the opportunities no class, college newspaper, or internship with a local publication can provide.

Because WhoWhatWhy has always operated on a remote basis, our mentors are experienced in providing the sort of “distance learning” that is now needed for young people counting on in-person internships to get their careers underway.

Over our intensive three-month program, apprentices will be trained in all facets of reporting and work with their mentors to write various kinds of news articles – from wire-service style pieces to investigative stories. They will not have to share their bylines with anybody else, and graduates of the program usually leave with a portfolio of quality articles.

Apprentices who complete our program say they are well prepared to contribute to the real journalism that — particularly now — is so sorely needed.

The most important quality of WhoWhatWhy Apprentice applicants is a passion for serious journalism. We are looking for college students and recent graduates, both US citizens and internationals. Some reporting and writing experience is a plus but not required. The commitment is 10-15 hours per week for a minimum of three months. Participants must attend two weekly online lectures.

This opportunity is limited to a total of five students to ensure that all of them will receive the full attention of their instructors and get the most out of the program.

Our Mentors

Our mentor group includes working journalists on the staff of WhoWhatWhy, as well as top educators and current and former journalists from other media outlets and publications.

Many of our mentors have decades of combined experience working with young reporters at such publications as The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Hill, as well as local, regional, and online publications like Buzzfeed and Vice. Others have taught journalism at the college and graduate school levels.

WhoWhatWhy mentors and staff also help Apprentices find jobs through letters of recommendation, references, networking, and coaching

Expectations

You will work remotely and on your own schedule (apart from attending live Zoom calls for a mix of instruction and discussion with your mentor and peers). Because our staff is spread throughout the world, we communicate mostly through Slack and email.

To Apply

Please send us a resume and a carefully reasoned, customized cover letter (no form submissions!) that outlines who you are and what you hope to accomplish as an apprentice. Please confirm your understanding that this is a volunteer position. We will not review applications that appear to be mass submissions. Please send a cover letter to [email protected]