ESPN and the AAJA Sports Task Force offers a joint internship for sports journalism college students at ESPN (Bristol, CT) that will begin in the summer of 2020. The internship includes pay for qualified candidates. Applications will be submitted to ESPN from the AAJA Sports Task Force. ESPN, Inc. is the leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring the broadest portfolio of multimedia sports assets with over 50 business entities. The company is based in Bristol, Conn., with approximately 4,000 employees (approximately 8,000 worldwide).

ESPN Internship Program Details

    • Approximately June 8 – August 14, 2020 in Bristol, CT.
    • This is a paid internship – 10 weeks, 40 hours per week – Pay rates are discussed during the interview process.
    • Programming events hosted throughout the summer including: Intern Symposium, Speaker Events with ESPN leaders & networking with Recruiters for full-time positions and attendance at AAJA’s annual conference (2020 will be in Washington, D.C. July 29-Aug. 1, 2020).
    • The ideal candidate will fill a Social Media internship at ESPN, but the awardee may also be considered for a Production internship.
    • ESPN offers subsidized housing for non-local interns in Bristol, CT. Cost will be discussed during the interview.
    • $3,500 stipend which can be used towards housing and travel.

Internship Description

The Social Media team provides social media coverage across Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. The ideal candidate will be an incredibly avid social media user who is able to thrive in a fast-paced, team environment with an unquenchable thirst for learning. The intern may craft posts that are optimized to engage on these social platforms, clip and edit video and create Photoshop images for posting across various platforms. The intern will work with social media colleagues to understand the strategy behind posting on ESPN social platforms and will learn how to apply news judgment and journalistic standards to the most important sports stories of the day.

Application

Please check back for more information on applications for 2021.

Please reach out to support@aaja.org if you have any questions.

Eligibility
    • Must major in journalism, communications or a related field with an interest in pursuing a career in sports journalism.
    • Must be an undergraduate or graduate student within one year of graduation. Target graduation dates are May 2020, December 2020 or May 2021.
Requirements
    • Resume
    • Cover letter
    • Official transcript
    • References
    • Work samples
    • AAJA membership is not required but is strongly encouraged.  Student membership will be required for the selected candidate.
Past ESPN/AAJA Sports Task Force Internship Recipients

Jeng__Paulina.jpgPaulina Jeng is an experienced video journalist and producer, skilled in both on- and off-camera video content creation as well as audio, digital, and print production. “Earning [the ESPN internship] through a special selection process initiated by the Asian American Journalism Association (AAJA), I had the unique opportunity to integrate myself as a segment producer on our daily Snapchat shows. Outside of my daily work on the Snapchat team, I also gained knowledge about other ESPN operations through rotations with the DTCI, Editing, and ESPN China teams.

safon_jackson.jpg

Jackson Safon is a student at the University of Southern California studying broadcast and digital journalism. “My internship at ESPN provided me a great opportunity to learn major parts of the television industry and I’m continuing to learn this semester with my internship at The Ringer. […] I received experience in my field of interest while also being able to pick the brains of established professionals across ESPN,” Jackson says. He currently works as a video intern for The Ringer and as a producer/editor for USC Annenberg Media.

Privacy Policy

Application information will only be used internally by AAJA to promote student opportunities and for program evaluation and planning. In the application form, please indicate whether you would like to be notified of further student opportunities from AAJA, including scholarships, grants and additional journalism training. AAJA will only share your application information with appropriate ESPN selection staff.