15 Media Internships for High School Students

If you are a high school student who wants to see how content gets made, edited, and published, media internships allow you to learn how stories, videos, and digital posts are produced and shared. These internships may involve researching topics, writing short pieces, managing social media, helping with video shoots, or joining team meetings to learn how ideas are planned and developed. You could work with a local newspaper, a radio station, a digital media company, or a nonprofit communications team. These experiences will help you learn new skills, ask questions, and identify which parts of the media interest you most, while gaining real-world exposure.

Why should you choose a media internship?

A media internship can help you learn about communication, storytelling, or creative work. It will also help you build skills in clear writing, critical thinking, meeting deadlines, and adjusting your message for different audiences. You’ll learn about different media careers, like journalism, filmmaking, digital marketing, and public relations. It is also an amazing way to build strong communication and teamwork skills early on, while also giving them a chance to figure out if a media career is actually something you enjoy. Additionally, internships can boost your college applications and resumes, demonstrating that you’ve taken steps to explore your interests beyond the classroom. 

To help you get started, we’ve put together a list of 15 media internships for high school students, focused on real, hands-on learning. If you’re interested in marketing internships, you can find them here. You can also check out journalism internships for high school students here.

15 Media Internships for High School Students

1. Emma Bowen Foundation Internship

The Emma Bowen Foundation Internship is a summer program that allows you to explore media and technology careers. As a new or returning fellow, you’ll work full-time for at least eight weeks, with your schedule set by the partner company. You may be placed at organizations like NBCUniversal, Bloomberg, Hearst Television, or The New York Times, working across different departments. If you are placed in a marketing role, you’ll help a marketing team with tasks like content creation, managing social media, campaign planning, and data analysis, based on the company and position. Depending on your role, you could gain experience in news production, broadcast journalism, print journalism, digital media, or related areas.

2. Hearst High School Media Internship at The Paley Center for Media

The Paley Center for Media Hearst High School Media Internship is a paid, five-week summer program for rising juniors and seniors. You’ll get hands-on experience in media and entertainment while building skills, connections, and college readiness. Through media literacy, career development, and mentorship, you’ll learn how media shapes everyday life and what it takes to work in the industry. You’ll meet professionals, visit newsrooms, podcast studios, and TV production sets, and learn from the college internship cohort. You’ll explore digital storytelling and media analysis, then create your own original podcast as a final project. You’ll also develop skills in public speaking, research, writing, interviewing, and audio production.

3. Maryland Public Television (MPT) Internships

Maryland Public Television offers hybrid and in-person internships for students interested in television programming, development, co-productions, and related business areas. You can also explore internships in public relations, marketing, communications, TV production, administration, client relations, education, sales, IT, and other departments. If you are interested in media, a Public Relations and Communications internship will allow you to help with research, writing, and editing for internal and external communications. You may also monitor media coverage, maintain contact databases, respond to media requests, and help with other projects within the Communications Department. 

4. CondéFuture | Condé Nast Program

CondéFuture is a global program run by Condé Nast’s creative and editorial teams that helps students explore careers in media. You’ll connect with professionals from brands such as GQ, Vogue, Allure, and Teen Vogue, and explore interests like social media, photography, fashion, video, and digital design. You’ll learn about marketing in the media and fashion industries and get hands-on experience with digital and social media strategy. The program includes mentorship from Condé Nast staff, technical production training, creative projects, and support in building a digital media portfolio. You’ll also spend about 5 to 8 hours a week on meetings and activities, and access resources from Educational Alliance.

5. Digital4Good x #ICANHELP Internship — Annual Intern

Digital4Good and #ICANHELP offer remote internships for students aged 13 or older. As an annual intern, you’ll join a team based on your interests and work with a lead intern who will assign you monthly projects. If you join the Digital Media team, you’ll handle graphic and video projects from beginning to end, create content based on monthly themes, and submit and track project requests in ClickUp. You’ll coordinate with the Digital Media Mentor, graphic design team, and marketing team on content and captions. You’ll also attend virtual team meetings on the third Sunday of each month, meet content deadlines, and spend about 2 to 4 hours a week on assignments, emails, and updates.

6. Teen Summer Writing Fellowship: GrubStreet

The Teen Summer Writing Fellowship is a three-week creative writing program where you’ll join workshops, take classes, and attend readings to create new work and learn about writing and publishing. You’ll explore nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and screenwriting, and experiment with different genres, including mystery, verse novels, fantasy, and magical realism. The program offers insight into the media and publishing world and helps you develop skills across formats. You’ll write in multiple genres, learn from local writers, and give and receive feedback. The program includes guest author visits, daily group writing sessions, weekly open mics, a college and career writing day, one-on-one meetings with instructors, and preparation for a final showcase.

7. Internships at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

The Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage offers year-round internships in areas like history, social media, marketing, cultural anthropology, ethnomusicology, museum studies, linguistics, folklore, design, videography, arts administration, and library science. You’ll work with staff on projects related to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives, cultural sustainability efforts, and education and outreach programs. Many internships involve creating content for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, and Folklife Magazine. This will give you experience in documentation, digital communication, and cultural storytelling. If you are studying history, music, folklore, library science, American studies, or related fields, you may be able to earn academic credit.

8. The L.A. Times High School Insider Summer Internship

The Los Angeles Times High School Insider youth journalism program allows students to report on stories that matter to their peers. You’ll join a team of student reporters for a seven-week summer program and gain real newsroom experience writing feature enterprise stories, covering breaking news, and creating multimedia content. Your tasks will include contacting sources via email, text, or social media, drafting multimedia feature stories, scheduling interviews, and working with editors to revise your work. You’ll also gain access to mentorship, training, and workshops led by an award-winning newsroom to help you strengthen your reporting skills.

9. Project Write Now Teen Internship — Editorial Assistant

The Project Write Now Teen Internship allows you to get involved in digital storytelling by writing for online platforms or supporting youth writing workshops. As an editorial assistant, you’ll work with the program coordinator on projects for PWN Teen. This includes writing blogs and book recommendations for the website, creating original marketing content like flyers and social media posts, and helping manage the online young adult literary magazine, Bridge Ink. You’ll join regular editorial meetings, share ideas, and help grow the teen writing community. You’ll also help plan and support mentorship sessions for younger writers with guidance from professional writers and educators. At the end, you’ll receive a letter of accomplishment.

10. BAYCAT Academy – Advanced Filmmaking Internship

Location: Potrero Hill Studio, San Francisco, CA
Stipend: Paid, amount not disclosed
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive; approximately 12–15 students
Dates: Summer: June – July; Fall: September – December; Spring: February – May
Application Deadline: Summer: Typically, May; Fall: Typically, August; Spring: Typically, January
Eligibility: High school students who live or go to school in the San Francisco Bay Area; ages 14–18

Designed to help high school students transition into real digital media careers, this paid program hires you as a professional member of “The Crew.” In this internship, you will take charge of actual documentary projects for socially conscious community clients. The hands-on experience goes far beyond the classroom, teaching you how to handle field interviews, direct on-set lighting, and operate cameras. You will also develop strong project management and collaborative leadership skills. By using industry-standard tools to master scriptwriting, cinematography, and advanced editing, you get to guide the entire creative vision and deliver a polished final cut.

11. NYU Urban Journalism Workshop

The New York University Urban Journalism Workshop provides students with hands-on training from NYU faculty and opportunities to interact with media professionals. You’ll report and produce your own multimedia stories and develop skills in reporting, news writing, and multimedia production. You’ll tour major newsrooms like CNN, The New York Times, and Bloomberg, meet working journalists, and publish your work on the program’s site, The Spectrum. You’ll also live in an NYU dorm in the East Village and get insight into the college admissions process from NYU counselors. Alumni have gone on to work at major newspapers, magazines, online outlets, and in TV and radio.

12. Princeton Summer Journalism Program (PSJP)

The Princeton Summer Journalism Program allows students to explore journalism across print, digital, and broadcast media through workshops and seminars. In July, you’ll take part in virtual sessions led by journalists from around the country, begin drafting your own articles, follow weekly current events readings, and work with a college counselor on parts of your college application. During the in-person portion, you’ll visit media outlets like The New York Times, Huffington Post, and Bloomberg, attend additional sessions with experienced journalists and educators, and go on cultural outings such as films or plays. You’ll cover news, contribute to a group blog, conduct an investigation, help produce digital content, and write, edit, and publish your work in The Princeton Summer Journal. 

13. Asian American Journalists Association’s JCamp Summer Program

The Asian American Journalists Association runs JCamp, a six-day national journalism program for high school students. You’ll get hands-on training and produce multiplatform news stories for JCamp Live, practice multimedia reporting in the field, try anchoring TV newscasts, and work on live breaking news simulations. The schedule changes each year, but it usually includes guest speakers, reporting assignments, group discussions, Q and A sessions, workshops, one-on-one feedback, field trips, and opportunities to network. You’ll develop skills in communication, professionalism, project management, teamwork, self-advocacy, and accountability. You’ll also learn about diversity in newsrooms, journalism ethics, and how to build professional connections in the media industry.

14. Annenberg Youth Academy (AYA) for Media and Civic Engagement at USC

USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism runs the Annenberg Youth Academy for Media and Civic Engagement, a three-week summer program where you’ll explore college-level media and journalism. You’ll develop skills in public speaking, debate, writing, critical analysis of media, digital storytelling, interviewing, multimedia production, and ethnography, as well as learn how media influences civic life and leadership. You’ll learn from USC faculty, alumni, and industry professionals, gaining insights into the media landscape and potential media careers. You’ll also take part in sessions led by scholar and media maker Rogelio Lopez and a journalism lecturer, meet USC researchers who study gender, ethnicity, and race in communication, and get guidance on college essays and USC Annenberg undergraduate programs.

15. City Limits CLARIFY Youth Program

Location: New York City (specific meeting locations vary by cohort)
Cost/Stipend: No cost / Stipend paid, amount not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; small and focused cohorts
Dates: Multiple 6-to-8-week cohorts year-round, including summer, fall, and spring
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: NYC public high school students entering their sophomore, junior, or senior year; Graduating seniors may also be eligible for the summer session

The City Limits CLARIFY program is a paid public service journalism internship designed to train you in the essentials of news reporting. During your time there, you will explore topics like media ethics, investigative techniques, story structure, and photojournalism. You will actively conduct field interviews, go on reporting assignments across the city, and write locally focused stories about important civic issues. A unique feature of this internship is that your final reporting can be published directly in City Limits, giving you real-world professional clips. By completing this hands-on work, you will develop strong skills in critical thinking, public speaking, teamwork, and meeting strict deadlines.

One more option – Horizon Academic Research Program

If you’re looking for a competitive mentored research program, consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs! This is a selective virtual research program that lets you engage in advanced research and develop a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1000+ high school students so far and offers 600+ research specializations for you to choose from. You can find the application link here!

Image Source – Emma Bowen Foundation