VPM Internship Program
So, you want to be a VPM Intern?
VPM is a place where employees and interns alike can bring their most authentic, creative, and enthusiastic selves to the workplace — you won’t fetch coffee here — you will gain real-life experience and new skills while creating content that matters. But, not only will you walk away with great experience to add to your work portfolio; when we can, we love to hire our interns, too.
In June 2018, our internship program was greatly expanded through the support of the family of Sarah Raybin Portlock. Sarah, a digital media innovator at The Wall Street Journal, often mentored young reporters and was called to journalism in part by listening to VPM Radio/NPR on her daily drives to school when younger. Sadly, Sarah passed away on November 6, 2017, and her parents, Nancy Raybin and Bill Portlock, honor Sarah’s memory by helping support other budding journalists through the Sarah Raybin Portlock Fund. Their generous annual donation helps support the ability to offer paid internship opportunities to students interested in journalism and news. You can read more on Sarah’s story here.
The Internship Program shares VPM’s mission and vision, and simultaneously helps interns gain real-life experience in the work place in media-related fields of their choice.
Join the Team!
VPM is pleased to offer internship opportunities to students enrolled in graduate or undergraduate studies (or) students who have graduated twelve months prior to the time of application. High school students may also be considered through our seasonal collaboration with Partnership For the Future program.
We currently offer internships in the following areas, although the openings may vary according to the individual departmental needs: News/Digital News, Radio/Music, Production & Post Production, Digital, Marketing & Communications, Accounting, IT, and Education & Community Engagement.
Internships spots available vary for Fall, Winter/Spring, and Summer semesters, with the Summer window being most popular. However, they do vary from semester to semester.
Please verify the department's available internship openings in the application: If the department is not listed on the application, they will not be hosting an intern this semester.
What you’d be doing:
VPM News/Digital News Internship: Tasks ranging from covering news events, writing/recording stories for newscasts and web, recording/editing community events, speeches, roundtables, etc. for broadcast and in some instances, you may work on a semester long feature storytelling project. This intern would work directly with the VPM Digital News department, a liaison between VPM News and VPM Digital as well. Other tasks could range from Video/Audio Production Assistance, drafting social media posts, creating visualizations to accompany reporting, to producing digital videos and/or photography, shadowing reporters and conducting interviews for audio or video stories.
VPM Focal Point TV News Internship: VPM News Focal Point seeks interns who have an interest in long-form television broadcast journalism as well as integrated reporting across multiple news platforms. Preference will be given to those who have studied broadcast journalism and who have some experience shooting video and writing for broadcast, digital, and print. Duties may include occasional on-camera reporting during Richmond City Council meetings (coverage airs live on VPM, channel 23), researching assigned story topics, conducting interviews, writing for the web or radio and television, and shadowing reporting teams in the field. When applying, please be familiar with our news program and share your feedback about the show and your long-term communications interests and goals
VPM Music/Radio Internship: Tasks vary depending on the qualifications of the intern. Some tasks include assisting with interviews and live performances, helping create online playlists, and maintaining a calendar of local events.
VPM Post-Production Internship: Tasks ranging from Post-production assistance, to transcription, media management, and video editing.
VPM Digital Internship: Tasks ranging from helping to develop graphics for social media and web, assisting team members in developing social media campaigns, project research, production assistance for video content, photography, to helping to capture and edit audio, and accompanying staff offsite to NPR, PBS, and interview/film venues. Other tasks can include creating social media posts, and occasionally writing articles and producing videos for our digital projects.
VPM Marketing & Communications Internship: This intern would work with the marketing and communications team. This intern would work with the marketing and communications team. Tasks include developing digital and print creative, assisting with brand photography shoots, and cataloging assets. Motion graphics and animation skills are a plus. Other duties as assigned.
VPM Education & Community Engagement Internship: Tasks range from authentically connecting with our community leaders, to at times interacting directly with experienced technical personnel, including production engineers, executive producers, multi-media reporters, leadership, etc. during the course of the internship. Additionally, interns are exposed to Industry specific-trainings and other personnel engagement events and get togethers.
VPM Accounting Internship: The Accounting Intern will have an opportunity to gain hands-on accounting, finance and investment management experience and learn about the various aspects of the accounting and finance functions at VPM Media Corporation. This intern will work directly under the supervision of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), but will assist other members of accounting, finance and investment team(s).
Tasks vary from performing monthly reconciliations, to researching technical accounting, finance, and investment matters as they arise and develop, summaries or reports for CFO, accounting team or management, Assist the accounting team to complete quarterly Accounts Receivable and other procedures documentation, Pull financial reports per the request of the Senior team members, create reports using Microsoft Excel, Word, etc. for the CFO and accounting team, Attend Finance and Audit Committee and Investment Committee meetings, accounts payable workflow support, and other duties as assigned. Preference will be given to Accounting or Finance major Senior Level student applicants.
VPM IT-Web Team Internship: The IT-Web Team Intern will have an opportunity to gain hands-on web development, product strategy, and web ops experience along with exposure and participation within other IT functions at VPM Media Corporation. You will work directly under the supervision of the VPM Web Manager but will collaborate with and assist other members of the IT Team as well.
Tasks for this internship will include coordinating and collaborating with the VPM Web Team (online/remotely) on daily web product and internal customer support priorities, implementing requested webpage edits, site uploads and other adjustments within the CMS (Brightspot/Grove), creating and building out new webpages, subsite components and other web assets, owning and collaborating on R&D efforts to explore potential enhancements and efficiency gains within VPM’s web product infrastructure, assisting internal customers with identifying, troubleshooting, and resolving CMS and website issues, contributing to VPM Web Team strategy and coordination with other VPM departments to prioritize, plan and execute on department’s web-related initiatives, and participating in department meetings and strategic planning as a member of the broader VPM IT Team during your internship.
Requirements include: ability to work remotely and independently, but also connected, as part of the team, proficiency in HTML (e.g. custom HTML scripting, editing website content, posts and pages), and experience with CSS (working knowledge of Less CSS structure a plus). Preference will be given to applicants with familiarity with JavaScript (usage, editing), experience with WordPress, and Adobe Suite Skills (primarily, Photoshop).
VPM News- Style Weekly- Editorial Team Internship:
Style Weekly offers a robust internship program combining experience on both its print and digital platforms. Interns gain real-world experience working with the magazine’s editorial team on the production of our print publication and the magazine’s daily website.
Responsibilities Include: research, fact-checking, writing blog posts, administrative responsibilities, and working with editors on independent projects, pitching well-researched online-exclusive story ideas to the editor, reporting, writing, and posting 2-3 web stories per week, and accompanying photographer to breaking news events.
Requirements include: Strong writing/journalistic abilities, research skills, strong communication skills, reliable, trustworthy, and deadline-driven. Preferred Skills include: Knowledge of AP style, knowledge of Richmond, fact-checking experience, ability to work well independently, knowledge of WordPress (or a similar CMS), knowledge of SEO/social media sharing optimizations, and the ability to capture original photography/videography.
How the Internship Application Process Works:
All interns go through an application and interview process to be part of our team! This is great practice for the real world, too. Work schedules can be flexible based on class schedules and are typically 9a-5p, Monday-Friday, and hours vary between 15- 20 hours per week. Once selected, you would go through a similar new-employee/new hire onboarding as part of our real-life work experience here at VPM. All our Interns are typically paid $15 per hour. Typically, an internship is normally 10 weeks long.
Ideal Majors/Concentrations include Journalism, Broadcast Journalism, Mass Communications, Public Relations, Marketing, Computer Science, Radio & Television Production, Production, Video/Film, Communications, Media Arts & Design, Media Studies, Music Education, Music Performance
When to Apply:
- Winter/Spring: January through May. Applications accepted October 1 – November 15.
- Summer: May through August/September. Applications accepted March 1 – March 29th. **
- Fall: September through December. Applications accepted July 1 – August 15.
General Application Requirements:
- Microsoft Suite Experience is preferred
- Google Drive Experience is preferred
- Copy of your resume is required
- Copy of your Cover Letter is required
- Any applicable links to portfolio, writing sample, audio sample, or video samples, if applicable.
- Please check for additional individual department/internship requirements in the "What You'd Be Doing" section above.
VPM believes attracting and retaining diverse staff is crucial to serving our community and fulfilling our mission to create and serve a more informed public.
Our Summer internship application window has now CLOSED. Please come back this later this Fall.
Accessibility Note: If you are in need of an accommodation to complete the application for our internship program, or if you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Human Resources department at [email protected], or 804-560-8102.