The application deadline for the 2009 Kaiser Media Internships is December 4, 2008 for Print applicants; and January 8, 2009 for Broadcast applicants. 

About the Media Internships

What the Internship Provides

• Stipend
• Core Program Activities

How to Apply

• Eligibility Requirements
• Timeline
  

2007 and 2008 Kaiser Media Interns and their Host Organizations
The 2007 interns have each selected one story from the many they produced during their internship to exhibit on our site along with a brief background on their experience reporting the story. Click on the interns' names in this section to read both the stories and background. The stories from the 2008 interns will be posted soon.

1994-2006 Kaiser Media Interns

Orientation and Critique Sessions

About the Media Internship

The Kaiser Media Internships Program, established in 1994, is an intensive 12-week summer internship for young journalists interested in specializing in health reporting, with a particular commitment to coverage of health issues affecting diverse and immigrant communities.

The Media Internships Program provides an initial week-long briefing on health issues and health reporting in Washington, D.C. Interns are then based for ten weeks at their newspaper, online, or radio/TV station, typically under the direction of the Health or Metro Editor/News Director, where they report on health issues. The program ends with a 3-day meeting in Boston to hear critiques from senior journalists and to go on final site visits. The aim is to provide young journalists or journalism college graduates with an in-depth introduction to and practical experience on the specialist health beat, with a particular focus on diverse and immigrant communities.

What the Internship Provides

Stipend

Travel to and from Washington, D.C., the internship city, Boston, and all training and accommodation expenses in D.C. and Boston, are paid by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Interns are responsible for housing and other expenses during the ten weeks spent working at their news organizations. The Kaiser Foundation provides a stipend - minimum $500 gross per week, matching the news' organizations own weekly rate, if higher.

Core Program Activities

The 12-week program starts in June with a week-long briefing on health issues and health reporting in Washington, D.C. Topics include major health concerns such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes prevention, violence, and smoking; sessions on where people get health care, from emergency rooms to community health clinics; and on how they pay for it, including private insurance, Medicaid and Medicare. During the week, interns meet with a wide range of health policy experts, health providers, and senior health reporters and editors. Briefings and discussions focus on journalistic concerns and reporting techniques, with emphasis given to city-specific information about the different internship locations (for example, children’s' health programs in San Jose or Baltimore).  The impact of different cultures on health, as well as linguistic and financial barriers to accessing medical care, are discussed in some depth.

Interns then travel to their newspaper, online, or radio/TV station and work for ten weeks typically on the metro or health/science desk or with the daily health programming team. Most interns, after ten weeks, have a substantive number of published clips or a professional DVD/CD with their own reporting on a wide range of public health topics. This work is pooled, and in the final week the interns regroup in Boston for further briefings and an intensive clip/DVD/CD critique session with leading health journalists. 

Each year the Foundation produces a book showcasing this work. If you would like a copy, please e-mail mediafellowships@kff.org. 

How to Apply

There is no application form. To apply, send the following materials to the program's executive director:

• Detailed letter describing your reasons for applying – please include information about previous internships or newsroom work experience, describe any previous health reporting experience and/or college course work in health/science-related issues, give details of your graduation date and degree, and a contact mail and e-mail address. Your letter should describe your personal or family experience, or demonstrated interest or experience reporting on diverse or immigrant communities.  Priority will be giving to applicants who are bilingual and/or bicultural; and to jounalists who have studied or reported on health issues affecting diverse or immigrant communities.
• Please indicate on a separate sheet if you have preferences for particular news organizations or connections to individual internship cities, however, your application materials will be sent to all participating host news organizations unless you specify that you would only like to be considered for the organization(s) you list.
• Resume.  Please note if you are a member of the following journalism organizations: the Association of Health Care Journalists, the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Asian American Journalists Association, the South Asian Journalists Association, the Native American Journalists Association, Investigative Reporters and Editors, or the National Association of Science Writers.
• List of references
• Examples of recent work
• • Print applicants: Original clips or photocopies must be mounted on 8.5”x11” or 11”x17” paper. If clips are reduced in size to fit the page, they should be legible. For oversize work or series, applicants may submit an original in addition to the mounted copy.
  • Broadcast applicants: TV applicants should send transcripts of stories, not DVDs or CDs.
  • Work samples will not be returned to applicants.

Mail to:
Penny Duckham
Executive Director
Kaiser Media Fellowships Program
Kaiser Family Foundation
2400 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Phone: 650-234-9220
Fax: 650-854-4800 or 650-854-7465
Email: pduckham@kff.org

Eligibility Requirements

This is a program for new journalists who can demonstrate a commitment and ability to report on health issues affecting diverse and immigrant communities. Strong writing skills and previous newsroom reporting experience are essential. In addition, priority will be given to journalists who are bilingual and/or bicultural; and to journalists who have studied or reported on health issues affecting diverse or immigrant communities. This could include previous reporting experience and/or academic expertise in health, medical, or science-related issues, or urban affairs.  Typically, interns selected are graduating from college and/or journalism school with quite considerable experience, including previous internships at a newspaper or TV/radio station. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Time Frame

The print media application deadline is in early December (for the 2009 Internship, it is Thursday, December 4, 2008). Typically newspapers review applications from January through the end of February and select their interns by March.

The broadcast application deadline is in early January (for the 2009 Internship, it is Thursday, January 8, 2009). The stations review applications and make their selections by the early Spring.

Intern applications will be sent from the Kaiser Family Foundation to the designated editors or news directors at the news organizations for review and selection. The news organizations will then contact applicants they shortlist and make their final selections.  

When a news organization selects an intern we immediately post this information on our website, so please check back for up-to-date information about the selection process.

The 2009 news organizations will be posted shortly.

2008 Host Organizations

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Jung Eun Lee
The Baltimore Sun - Euna Lhee
The Boston Globe - Neil Munshi
The Charlotte Observer - Kristine Crane
The Detroit Free Press - Meghana Keshavan
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Jeannine Aquino
The Orlando Sentinel - Arelis Hernandez
Reuters - Deepa Seetharaman
The Sacramento Bee - Jane Liaw
The San Jose Mercury News - Vianna Davila
The Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale - Yeganeh Torbati
The Times-Picayune, New Orleans - Jennifer Evans
The Washington Post - Brittney Johnson
BET News -  Martha St. Jean 
KQED Public Radio, San Francisco - Ailsa Chang (Background)
 
2007 Host Organizations/Interns (click on names for select articles from their internship)

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Kavita Pillai
The Baltimore Sun - Sindya Bhanoo
The Boston Globe - Felicia Mello
The Charlotte Observer - Megha Satyanarayana
The Detroit Free Press - Catherine Ho
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Belinda Yu
Newsday - Christina Hernandez
The Oregonian - Tracie Morales
The Orlando Sentinel - Tyeesha Dixon
Reuters - Ishani Ganguli
The Sacramento Bee - Danielle McNamara
The San Jose Mercury News - Saqib Rahim
The Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale - Tina Shah
BET News - Shartia Brantley   (Background)
KQED Public Radio, San Francisco - Irene Liu
KTVU/2-TV, San Francisco-Oakland - Azadeh Ansari   (Background)