NPR Music & Culture Internship - Fall/Winter 2025

OVERVIEW

A thriving, mission-driven multimedia organization, NPR produces award-winning news, information, and music programming in partnership with hundreds of independent public radio stations across the nation. The NPR audience values information, creativity, curiosity, and social responsibility – and our employees do too. We are innovators and leaders in diverse fields, from journalism and digital media to IT and development. Every day, our employees and member stations touch the lives of millions worldwide. 

Across our organization, we’re building a workplace where collaboration is essential, diverse voices are heard, and inclusion is the key to our success. We are committed to doing the right thing in our journalism and in every role at NPR. This means that integrity, adherence to our ethical standards, and compliance with legal obligations are fundamental responsibilities for every employee at NPR.

Program Duration: October 6th, 2025 - April 17th, 2026

INTERN WILL LEARN AND BE EXPOSED TO: 

NPR Music and NPR’s Culture Desk — our hub for coverage of film, television, books, and music, as well as visual and performing arts — are both creative and curatorial enterprises: On our site, stories created by our small team of producers live alongside features from NPR’s radio programs, podcasts and digital news platforms, essays and reviews from freelance contributors and on-the-ground reporting from around the public radio system. This season’s intern fields daily assignments spanning a large range of mediums, genres and ideas, and must work on deadline to synthesize that information into compelling content for a savvy online audience. We’re looking for an aspiring journalist with airtight editing skills, solid news judgment, strong organizational habits and the ability to think critically and independently about what makes a music story worth telling. For the first half of the internship, you’ll work with the NPR Culture team and for the second half, you’ll work with the NPR Music team. 

This is an NPR editorial role covered under the terms of the NPR Ethics Handbook. All editorial staff are bound by this guidance. Editorial staff are defined as staff members who play a role in shaping the journalistic or creative direction of NPR's content, including events.    

Interns will have the opportunity to experience & support the work of the team in the following areas...

• Researching and pulling tape for reporters, radio segments and larger projects
• Transcribing, fact-checking and editing interviews; adapting broadcast pieces for presentation as dynamic web articles; improving copy that falls below our editorial standards; crafting compelling headlines and promotional language
• Web production for a wide array of stories, including segments from NPR’s news shows, public radio music stations, original essays by staff and freelancers, and special editorial packages
• Assisting NPR Music’s audience strategist with social planning and scheduling
• Podcast production on All Songs Considered, New Music Friday, Alt.Latino and other long-form NPR Music audio
• Communicating with producers at public radio music stations, NPR’s news programs, digital news editors, and contacts at record labels and publicity firms
• Managing deadlines from multiple supervisors, adapting to sudden changes of schedule when breaking news hits
• All work of the intern is to be performed under the close supervision of the host teams

A strong internship candidate for this role might have…

• Strong editing and writing skills
• Passion for storytelling; an interest in the how and why behind stories in the music industry
• Working knowledge of content management systems and basic web editing
• Excellent oral and written communication skills

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

• Resume 
• Cover Letter
• Writing Sample (optional)
• Portfolio Link (optional)

EDUCATION: 

• Must be a current student in an accredited degree program or a recent graduate of no more than 12 months from the month of the start of the internship. 

WORK LOCATION

• Hybrid Permitted: This is a hybrid permitted role. Some aspects of this role include duties that are better performed at an NPR facility. The employee will be required to be onsite at the Washington, DC office at least 10 days a year. The employee must also reside in an NPR supported location based on the number of onsite days they choose.

JOB TYPE

• This is a temporary (28-week) full time internship.

COMPENSATION

• Hourly Rate: The U.S. based anticipated hourly rate for this opportunity is $20.00 per hour. The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum hourly rate NPR expects to provide for internships across all US locations.
• Benefits: NPR provides interns with multiple benefits and amenities. Interns receive immediate eligibility to contribute electively to a Principal 403(b) retirement plan and access to the Transit Flexible Spending Account for commuter benefits. Interns working out of DC HQ enjoy free access to on-site Cigna medical providers, no cost fitness center access, as well as bike facilities and garage parking available onsite. Interns can access the Employee Assistance Program which provides confidential counseling services as well as Business Travel Accident coverage and Global Guardian membership and they also qualify for Signal Financial Federal Credit Union membership. NPR interns who work 30 or more hours per week are eligible for holiday pay. This includes pay for the company’s 10 observed holidays plus one floating holiday per year. Interns automatically earn 3.08 hours of sick leave each pay period without any waiting time restrictions and can utilize paid administrative leave as necessary. Interns have access to professional development opportunities and can benefit from flexible work hours and telecommuting options.

SCHEDULE

• 40 hours a week, generally from 9 a.m. ET to 6 p.m. ET with an hour break for lunch

Applications close on Monday, June 30th at 11:59 pm ET.

Does this sound like you? If so, we want to hear from you.

CLOSING COMPLIANCE STATEMENTS

Want more NPR? Explore the stories behind the stories on our NPR Extra blog. Get social with NPR Extra on Facebook and Instagram. Find more career opportunities at NPR.org/careers.

NPR is an Equal Opportunity Employer. NPR is committed to being an inclusive workplace that welcomes diverse and unique perspectives, all working toward the same goal – to create a more informed public. Qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, lactation, and reproductive health decisions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, transgender status, gender non-conforming status, intersex status, sexual stereotypes, nationality, citizenship status, personal appearance, marital status, family status, family responsibilities, military status, veteran status, mental and physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, genetic characteristics of yourself or a family member, political views and affiliation, unemployment status, protective order status, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or any other basis prohibited under applicable law.

If you are a person with a disability needing assistance with the application process, please reach out to employeerelations@npr.org.

You may read NPR’s privacy policy to learn about how NPR may handle information you submit with any application.

Want more NPR? Explore the stories behind the stories on our NPR Extra blog. Get social with NPR Extra on Facebook and Instagram. Find more career opportunities at NPR.org/careers.