We’re hiring a spring intern

538 is seeking an intern to join our research and copy-editing teams for spring 2024. We’re looking for a recent graduate or early career journalist who has some experience writing about or wrangling data and wants to develop their skills in a collaborative, data-driven newsroom.

The intern’s main role will be to copy-edit and fact-check stories and assist in research and data-gathering, both for standalone articles and our flagship interactive news products. We expect the internship will require a mix of data-collection for our polling databases, collaboration with other journalists to research and collect data for articles and interactives, and copy-editing/fact-checking as a member of our copy desk. There may also be opportunities for the intern to write and/or research their own projects.

The ideal candidate will have a background in data analysis or some experience editing other journalists’ writing (whether from a journalism class, job or internship). As part of our copy desk, you will play an integral role in the publishing process for 538 stories, so strong writing or reporting skills are a bonus.

The Research and Copy-Editing Intern will report to the Senior Editor in charge of the copy desk and work closely with the Senior Research Assistant, but as a small newsroom, we’re looking for someone eager to collaborate with other colleagues in different departments, too. Interested candidates should apply through the Disney jobs portal.

Responsibilities:

• Gather data for our 2024 poll aggregation and forecasting models
• Work with colleagues on the copy desk to edit and fact-check stories and interactives
• Assist in data collection for reporters working on standalone stories

Basic Qualifications:

• Journalism experience, whether from a class, student publication, job or internship
• Experience collecting or analyzing data — again, experience from a class, student publication or previous job or internship is absolutely fine!
• Comfort utilizing essential features in spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel or Google Spreadsheets, such as filtering, writing simple functions and setting up pivot tables
• Knowledge of 538 and the kinds of journalism we create

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience line editing or knowledge of the AP Stylebook
• Fact-checking experience
• Proficiency with statistical programming languages such as R or Python
• Familiarity or experience working with relational databases

Required Education:

To be eligible for this internship, you must be a junior, senior or recent graduate (within six months of your graduation date) pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree in journalism, communications, media studies, film/television or a related field.

Additional Details:

• Must be enrolled in an accredited college/university taking at least one class in the semester/quarter (spring/fall) prior to participation in the internship program OR must have graduated from a college/university within six months OR currently participating in a Disney College Program or Disney Professional Internship.
• Must be at least 18 years of age​ and possess unrestricted work authorization.
• Must not have completed one year of continual employment on a Disney internship or program.
• Must be able to have a consistent, reliable work schedule throughout the session.
• This internship is a remote position and requires a working, reliable internet connection as well as a quiet, dedicated workspace.
• The approximate dates of this internship are from January 2024 to June 2024. The candidate must be available to work 40 hours per week for the duration of the internship.
• The pay rate for this remote role is $21.70 per hour.