1101 Wilson Blvd., Suite 1100
Arlington, Va. 22209
703-807-2100
e-mail: rcfp@rcfp.org
The Reporters Committee offers internships and fellowships on a regular basis. The work is challenging, but rewarding. Right from the start, interns write articles for our newsletter and magazine, contribute to our booklets on specific legal topics, and conduct research for other special projects. Legal fellows also handle legal defense questions in the areas to which they are assigned, and often write amicus briefs in appellate cases. Journalism fellows edit and write for all of our publications.
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2008-2009 Fellowship information:
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The Reporters Committee hires two or three legal fellows each year. Fellows will monitor significant developments in media law, assist with responding to legal defense requests from reporters, prepare legal memoranda, and handle other special projects. In addition, fellows will write for the Committee's publications, the quarterly magazine The News Media & The Law, and the bi-weekly newsletter, News Media Update.
Law fellows must have graduated from law school and taken a bar exam before the fellowship begins, but need not have passed the exam by then. Fellows start in September, but all hiring is done in the spring. The application deadline for the regular fellowships is usually in February; complete applications (see next paragraph) must be received at that time. A background in news reporting is strongly preferred.
The Reporters Committee hires a journalism fellow each year. The journalism fellow plans, supervises and edits articles for our website, newsletter and magazine, and works with our staff attorneys to ensure that all of our work is appealing to and useful for journalists, not just lawyers. A journalism fellowship candidate must have at least three years experience as a reporter or editor, and should have a background in free press issues.
There is no application form. Candidates should submit a cover letter; resume; names, addresses and phone numbers for three references; a legal writing sample (for one of the legal fellowships); and news clips or another short non-legal writing sample to the Executive Director. No faxed or e-mail applications will be accepted. Application materials cannot be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
The Reporters Committee is a voluntary, unincorporated association of reporters and editors, dedicated to protecting the First Amendment interests of the news media. From its Arlington, Va., office, the Reporters Committee staff provides cost-free legal defense and research services to journalists and their attorneys throughout the United States, and also operates the FOI Service Center to assist the news media with federal and state open records and open meetings issues.
Interns at the Reporters Committee follow media reports of significant press issues, do relevant research whenever necessary, report and write on major media law issues for our website, bi-weekly newsletter and quarterly magazine and help answer our national media hotline. This environment provides an excellent opportunity to hone reporting skills and expand journalistic knowledge.
We also hope that after their experience at the Reporters Committee, our interns become First Amendment and freedom of information advocates. To further this goal, internships include regular seminars by prominent media and legal experts on press freedom issues, congressional hearings, U.S. Court of Appeals and Supreme Court arguments and media conferences relevant to the Committee's work.
Perhaps most importantly, interns substantially contribute to the work of the Reporters Committee: helping reporters overcome legal hurdles in gathering and covering the news. This service plays a vital role in preserving the First Amendment and freedom of information rights of journalists all over the country.
There are three internship sessions each year: Summer (June through August), Fall semester (September to mid-December) and Spring semester (January through May). Interns may receive college credit, and full-time interns receive a $1,000 stipend. In the past, several Reporters Committee interns have been enrolled in Washington study programs sponsored by their colleges or universities and have received academic credit for their work here. Applicants should submit a resume, cover letter, and writing samples (clips and/or a short research paper). A strong background in journalism is preferred.
Applications are best sent by January 31 for the Summer term; March 31 for Fall; and October 31 for Spring, but are accepted anytime on a rolling basis until all positions are filled.
The Reporters Committee is located in Arlington, Virginia, next to the Rosslyn Metro station, just across the Potomac River from Georgetown, and is an easy commute from most places within the metropolitan DC area. For this and many other reasons, we feel that Reporters Committee internships offer journalism students both a literal and intellectual view of the nation's capital.
Applicants should submit a resume, cover letter, and writing samples (clips and/or a short research paper) to:
Two types of internship are available:
Journalism internship. This intern, a college student or recent graduate, will cover a broad range of issues, including arrests of journalists, military press pool restrictions and access to prisons and executions.
Legal interns. These internships are not always available, and candidates are considered on a case-by-case basis. A legal intern is usually a law student, or in rare cases a recent law school graduate. Journalism experience is not always necessary, but still preferred, in legal intern candidates.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is a voluntary, unincorporated association of reporters and editors dedicated to protecting the First Amendment interests of the news media. It provides cost-free legal defense and research services to journalists throughout the United States, and also operates the FOI Service Center to assist reporters with federal and state open records and open meetings issues.
More information about the Reporters Committee is available here.
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The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the
Press 1101 Wilson Blvd., Suite 1100 Arlington, Va. 22209 703-807-2100 e-mail: rcfp@rcfp.org
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