13 Journalism Internships for High School Students in NYC
- Stephen Turban
- Jul 31
- 11 min read
If you're interested in journalism, writing, media, or communications, an internship can help you explore the field while building skills beyond the classroom. Journalism internships introduce you to areas such as reporting, editing, multimedia storytelling, podcasting, and investigative journalism while helping you develop research, interviewing, writing, and communication skills. They also provide opportunities to learn from experienced journalists and collaborate with peers who share similar interests.
New York City is home to major news organizations, publishing companies, nonprofit newsrooms, television networks, and journalism schools that offer internships for high school students. These opportunities range from newsroom internships and podcasting programs to writing fellowships, media workshops, and student journalism initiatives, giving you access to one of the world's largest media ecosystems.
Why should I participate in a journalism internship in high school?
Journalism internships provide a structured environment where you can develop reporting and storytelling skills while learning how professional newsrooms and media organizations operate. Depending on the internship, you might research and interview sources, write and edit articles, produce podcasts, create multimedia stories, attend editorial meetings, or collaborate on newsroom projects under the guidance of journalists and editors. These experiences can help you strengthen your writing, critical thinking, and communication skills as you prepare for college and future careers in journalism, media, communications, or related fields.
To help with your search, below is a list of 13 journalism internships for high school students in NYC.
If you’re looking for online summer research programs, check out our blog here.
Key takeaways
These 13 programs span audio journalism, podcast production, newsroom reporting, editorial leadership, public affairs, education journalism, and digital media, so students with a wide range of journalism interests can find a relevant opportunity in or near New York City.
Several programs are paid, including Hearst High School Media Internship ($17 per hour), Bell Audio Journalism Internship (paid), Bell Summer Podcast Academy ($500 plus daily lunch), NYC Office of the Mayor ($17 per hour), CLARIFY (paid), CondéFuture (paid every four months), Chalkbeat Student Voices Fellowship ($1,000), and YCteen ($125 per published article).
Many programs specifically target NYC public or charter school students, including The Bell, Press Pass NYC, CondéFuture, CLARIFY, and Chalkbeat Student Voices Fellowship, so local students should take note of these targeted opportunities.
Programs vary significantly in length and format, from one-week editorial bootcamps, such as Press Pass NYC Summer Bootcamp, to two-year media fellowships, such as CondéFuture, so students can choose based on their availability and career goals.
Several programs have spring or early summer deadlines, including Hearst Internship (March 30), NYU Urban Journalism Workshop (March 18), NYC Office of the Mayor (March 29), and Press Pass NYC (April 29), so students should prepare applications in early spring.
Location: The Paley Center for Media
Stipend: $17/hour + travel reimbursement
Dates: July 6–August 6 (four days per week)
Application Deadline: March 30
Eligibility: Rising 11th and 12th graders | Must be legally able to work in the U.S. and provide NY State Working Papers
The Hearst High School Media Internship gives you a structured introduction to media, storytelling, and career pathways in journalism and entertainment. Through workshops and mentorship, you explore how words, images, sound, and digital platforms shape the way audiences understand information. A major strength of this journalism internship for high school students in NYC is its access to professionals, newsrooms, podcast studios, and production spaces, helping you see how media work happens behind the scenes. You’ll build practical skills in research, interviewing, writing, public speaking, and audio production. The culminating podcast project gives you a chance to turn those skills into an original piece of storytelling.
Location: The Bell, Lower Manhattan
Stipend: Paid
Dates: School-year cohort
Application Deadline: November 3
Eligibility: NYC public or charter high school students
The Bell’s Audio Journalism Internship is built around real reporting, audio storytelling, and student-centered journalism. You learn how to interview sources, write scripts, record audio, edit episodes, and shape stories for podcast audiences. As a paid intern, you contribute to actual youth-focused shows such as Miseducation and P.S. Weekly. The internship also places you in a newsroom-style environment where feedback, deadlines, collaboration, and revision are part of the process. Mentorship from journalists and audio producers helps you understand how reporting choices affect clarity, tone, and impact. If you are interested in education, equity, or local issues, this internship gives you a direct way to report on topics that affect students and schools.
Location: Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism
Stipend: $250 + lunch + daily field trips
Dates: August 3–7
Application Deadline: April 29
Eligibility: Students in grades 9-11 from NYC public schools
Press Pass NYC’s Student Editor Summer Bootcamp is designed for students who want to strengthen their roles in school newspapers, news sites, or student publications. You’ll learn how to edit efficiently, support writers, make publication decisions, and keep a student newsroom connected to its audience. Sessions also cover leadership, staff motivation, audience engagement, and the responsibility of serving a school community through journalism. The bootcamp is hosted in a professional journalism school environment, meaning you also gain exposure to peers and mentors who take student media seriously. This is a strong fit if you already participate in student journalism and want to become a more effective editor or newsroom leader.
Location: The Bell, Lower Manhattan
Stipend: $500 + daily lunch allowance
Dates: July 27–August 14
Application Deadline: May 17
Eligibility: Current 9th-12th graders in NYC public and charter schools
The Bell’s Summer Youth Podcast Academy focuses on the core skills behind audio journalism and podcast production. You’ll learn how to identify a story angle, conduct interviews, write for the ear, record clean audio, and edit a final episode. This audio journalism internship for high school students in NYC is collaborative, so you work with peers, professional editors, and storytellers throughout the production process. Workshops also introduce you to the media industry and help you understand how podcast teams develop stories from idea to publication. By the end, you can leave with a completed episode and a stronger foundation in multimedia reporting.
Location: New York City
Stipend: $250
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Summer and spring cohorts
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: High school students in NYC (grades 9–12)
The Press Pass NYC Student Journalism Leaders Fellowship helps you build journalism, leadership, and collaboration skills through a longer-term student media experience. You work with other student journalists across New York City while developing story ideas, conducting interviews, shaping angles, and contributing to shared reporting projects. Professional journalists guide the process through workshops, roundtables, field trips, and editorial support. The journalism internship for high school students in NYC also focuses on engagement journalism, encouraging you to think about how school newspapers can better serve their communities. You’ll develop stronger reporting habits while also learning how to support a publication team and lead with more confidence.
Location: Midtown Manhattan
Stipend: Paid (varies by cohort)
Dates: Summer and fall cohorts
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: NYC high school students in grades 11–12 or recent graduates
This paid journalism internship for high school students in NYC introduces you to public service journalism through reporting, research, writing, and civic engagement. The program is centered on local issues, helping you understand how journalism can inform communities and hold institutions accountable. You’ll develop skills in article writing, source research, communication, public speaking, teamwork, and deadline management. The internship also emphasizes media literacy and critical thinking, which are essential for students interested in reporting on policy, housing, education, government, or neighborhood concerns. Mentorship and hands-on assignments give you a clearer sense of how public-interest journalism works in practice.
Location: Condé Nast, One World Trade Center, New York, NY
Stipend: Paid every 4 months
Dates: Two-year program (October–June)
Application Deadline: Typically late July
Eligibility: Rising public high school juniors | Approximately 12 students
CondéFuture gives you long-term exposure to digital media and journalism within one of the world's most influential publishing companies. While the program includes creative areas such as photography, video, social media, and design, its strongest journalism connection comes from learning how major media brands create, edit, package, and distribute stories. You’ll meet professionals across Condé Nast’s editorial and production ecosystem, including teams connected to publications such as The New Yorker, Wired, Vanity Fair, and GQ. Through workshops and projects, you develop a better understanding of how reporting, visual storytelling, audience strategy, and brand identity work together in modern media. The program also helps you build communication, presentation, and portfolio skills over time.
Location: New York City Hall
Stipend: $17/hour
Dates: July 6–August 28
Application Deadline: March 29
Eligibility: Must be at least 16 years old, live in New York City (for fall and spring internships), have work papers at the time you apply, and be in high school or already accepted into college
The NYC Office of the Mayor Internship can be valuable if you are interested in political reporting, public affairs, or government communication. Depending on your placement, you may support research, briefing materials, outreach, event staffing, incoming inquiries, or communications-related projects. These tasks help you understand how public information is created, organized, and shared within the city government. For students interested in journalism, the experience can strengthen your ability to analyze civic issues, follow policy discussions, and understand how government offices interact with the public and press. Speaker sessions and exposure to city leadership add useful context on how decisions are made across agencies.
Location: New York University, New York, NY
Cost/Stipend: None
Dates: July 12–18
Application Deadline: March 18
Eligibility: High school students in the tri-state area (New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey), age 16+
The NYU Urban Journalism Workshop gives you an intensive introduction to reporting, multimedia storytelling, and journalism in a major city. You’ll learn from NYU faculty and visiting media professionals while producing your own stories for publication on the program’s website. The workshop emphasizes field reporting, interviewing, writing, and digital production, helping you understand how journalists turn observations and sources into finished work. Newsroom visits and conversations with working journalists add professional context beyond the classroom. Living and learning in New York City also gives you direct exposure to the pace and complexity of urban reporting.
Location: Columbia University, New York, NY, and virtual
Cost: Session 1 Resident: $3,000 | Session 2 Resident: $3,000 | Sessions 1 and 2 Resident: $6,300 | Session 1 or 2 Commuter: $1,700 (per week) | Virtual (per week): $1,100 per session
Dates: In-person (Residential and Commuter): June 21–26 and June 28–July 3 | Virtual: July 6–10; July 13–17; July 20–24
Application Deadline: Residential: June 5 | Commuter: June 5 | Online: June 30
Eligibility: Open to students attending secondary schools in the U.S. and international schools following an American plan of education | Residential participants must be at least 15 years old and turn 16 by December 31 of the year they attend the program | The commuter option is open to students entering grades 9–12
The Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s Annual Summer Journalism Workshop is designed for student journalists who want to sharpen their reporting, writing, editing, design, or publication leadership skills. You choose from focused sequences that may cover areas such as news writing, editorial leadership, digital media, broadcast journalism, or publication design. Instruction from Scholastic Press professionals and Columbia-affiliated educators gives the workshop a strong newsroom-training structure. Depending on the format, you may also participate in media visits, campus activities, and peer sessions with other student journalists.
Location: Virtual
Stipend: $1000
Dates: Fall and spring cohorts
Application Deadline: Typically late August
Eligibility: 11th and 12th graders attending public or charter high schools within the city limits of New York City | Approximately four NYC fellows selected annually
Chalkbeat’s Student Voices Fellowship gives you the chance to publish personal essays with guidance from professional editors and writing coaches. The fellowship is especially focused on education, student life, and the experiences of teens navigating school systems. You’ll draft, revise, and polish your work through an end-to-end editorial process, learning how journalists shape personal stories for a public audience. Occasional workshops with Chalkbeat staff, journalism educators, and guest speakers add context on storytelling, reporting, and media careers. Fellows publish under their own byline, so the program can help you build a credible writing portfolio.
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: None
Dates: Ongoing (internships are offered year-round)
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: All high school students are eligible to apply
Pasquines’ virtual journalism internship for high school students in NYC gives you a flexible way to practice journalism while covering underreported issues connected to U.S. territories. You’ll research, write, and edit articles on places such as Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The work combines reporting with policy analysis, helping you understand how local developments connect to national politics, law, economics, and international affairs. As part of a remote nonprofit newsroom, you collaborate with editors and peers while learning how digital publishing operates.
Location: Typically remote
Stipend: $125 per published article
Dates: Spring, summer, and fall cohorts
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: Local teens ages 15–19
YCteen’s Teen Writing Program focuses on true stories that help other young people understand personal, social, and school-related issues. You work closely with a professional editor to develop a personal essay, reported story, or review through a rigorous revision process. The program does not require prior journalism experience, but it does ask you to bring a real perspective, a clear topic, and a willingness to revise deeply. Weekly editorial meetings help you strengthen your voice, organize your ideas, and make your writing useful to a teen audience. Since published pieces can reach students, teachers, counselors, and partner publications, your work can actually have a real public-facing purpose.
Frequently asked questions
What journalism internships are available for high school students in NYC?
Options include audio and podcast programs, such as The Bell Internship and Summer Podcast Academy, newsroom and reporting programs, such as CLARIFY and NYU Urban Journalism Workshop, editorial leadership programs, such as Press Pass NYC, digital media programs, such as CondéFuture, public affairs programs, such as NYC Office of the Mayor, education journalism programs, such as Chalkbeat Student Voices Fellowship, and remote writing programs, such as Pasquines and YCteen.
Which NYC journalism internships are paid?
Several programs offer paid compensation. Hearst Internship and the NYC Office of the Mayor both pay $17 per hour. The Bell Internship is paid. The Bell Summer Podcast Academy provides $500 plus daily lunch; CLARIFY is a paid placement. CondéFuture provides periodic pay over two years, the Chalkbeat Student Voices Fellowship awards $1,000, and YCteen pays $125 per published article.
Which journalism programs are open to students outside NYC public schools?
The NYU Urban Journalism Workshop is open to students from New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey, the Columbia CSPA Summer Journalism Workshop accepts students from U.S. and international schools, and Pasquines accepts applications from all high school students on a rolling basis. Press Pass NYC Fellowship also accepts students from across NYC regardless of school type.
Which programs are best for students interested in audio or podcast journalism?
The Bell Audio Journalism Internship and The Bell Summer Podcast Academy both focus specifically on audio storytelling, podcast production, script writing, recording, and editing. The Hearst High School Media Internship at the Paley Center also includes podcast production as a central project component.
When should I apply to journalism internships for high school students in NYC?
The earliest deadlines include NYU Urban Journalism Workshop (March 18), NYC Office of the Mayor (March 29), and Hearst Internship (March 30). Press Pass NYC closes April 29, The Bell Summer Podcast Academy closes May 17, and CondéFuture typically opens in late July. The Bell Internship closes in November for its school-year cohort, and Pasquines accepts rolling applications year-round. Students should begin researching and applying in early spring for summer programs and in fall for school-year placements.
One other option—the Lumiere Research Scholar Program
If you’re interested in pursuing independent research, consider applying to one of the Lumiere Research Scholar Programs, selective online high school programs for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4,000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here, check out students’ reviews of the program here and here.
Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students. Last year, we had 150 students on full need-based financial aid!
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a graduate of Harvard College, where he earned an A.B. in Statistics. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.