We are pleased to announce the 2014 Pohlad Internship Program!
Download 2014 Program Enrollment Form
Download Frequently Asked Questions
Download 2014 Program Flyer
How the Pohlad Internship Program Works
- You choose a high school student, age 16-19, who will work for your newspaper in any aspect of the business half-time for 10 weeks; recent high school graduates are eligible.
- Complete an enrollment form stating that you will hire a high school intern and wish to participate in the Summer Youth Employment subsidy program. Forms area available on the MNA website, and can by submitted by mail, fax, or email.
- College students and relatives of newspaper staff do not qualify for this program.
- The Pohlad Family Foundation requires that newspapers pay a portion to ensure a commitment from the participants and recommends an hourly wage of $8.00/hour for interns participating in the program.
- The reimbursement grant is calculated like this:
- First time interns: Member newspapers will be reimbursed for 75% of the intern’s wage, up to $1,200. For example: 20 hours per week, for 10 weeks, times $8 an hour (suggested wage) — the Pohlad Family Foundation grant will pay $6 of that $8 wage.
- Repeat interns: Member newspapers, hiring interns for the second time, will be reimbursed for 40% of the intern’s wage, up to $640. For example: 20 hours per week, for 10 weeks, times $8 an hour (suggested wage) — the Pohlad Family Foundation grant will pay $3.20 of that $8 wage.
Questions? Interested?
Contact MNA Program Director Sarah Bauer at 800-279-2979 | 612-278-0250 or sarah@mna.org.
The 2013 Pohlad Internship Program was a great success!
- Check out the 2013 Pohlad Intern Portfolio
- In 2013, 65 interns worked at MNA member newspapers as part of the Pohlad Internship Program
- High school-aged interns worked more than 10,500 hours over the course of the summer
- 100% of participating newspapers said they would participate again in 2014
Here’s what MNA member newspapers are saying about the Pohlad Internship Program:
How did your newspaper benefit from the experience?
Alex made an immediate impact in our newsroom, writing stories from sports to hard news and has a gift for writing clear and concise.
Bailey helped do a little bit of everything, from organizing archives to interviews, photos and stories to ads. Especially helpful was her coverage of the area festivals, three of which we do in-depth coverage prior to and during the festivals. She also began some projects such as our 100th anniversary next year and fire prevention in October.
We had a number of excellent front page stories generated by this highly creative young man.
We loved having our intern. She was so helpful in every area. She also taught us some things!
He brought a different perspective in his writing and his enthusiasm for each assignment had an overall good effect on the office.
Kiowa was a breath of fresh air and a ball of positive energy. He did great work for the newspaper, and he also served as an inspiration to us. Having him here saved our small editorial team from having to work every weekend, opening up our schedules and allowing us to put out a higher quality product.
Our intern brought some much needed enthusiasm into our office and he was able to do tasks that had been neglected in the past.
Alexa had a good eye for photos. She did a good job covering events, getting ads and helped us in get our computer files better organized.
We re-connected with students and learned loads about what is going on with young folks these days.
They were a valued member of the Journal team, taking photos, sending the eblast and updating the website. They wrote stories and formatted reader-submitted copy. In advertising, they worked on a couple of long-term projects that are on-going.
The newspaper had a fresh voice in its pages and more material for our website.
How do you think your intern benefited from the experience?
I think Alex left with an understanding of how community newspapers work, but also how important they are in a small town.
As is the case with any employees that work at a small newspaper, our intern learned a little bit about the whole process of putting a paper together.
Our intern wants to be a book copy editor. She learned skills for both proofreading and copy editing.
Bailey learned some lessons regarding proper attribution, developed interviewing skills and the need for accuracy. She honed both verbal and written communication skills.
Our intern learned a lot, developed more confidence and got a summer job that paid decently.
She got a real life working experience and honed her skills. She will be the editor of her high school newspaper.
Our intern received some hands-on feedback and encouragement from our newsroom team.
I think Laura got a good look at what working for a local newspaper is all about. She also learned about deadlines, interviews, photography and working with other editorial staff.
This was his first job and he learned a lot of qualities that he can carry over in life. He learned how to be professional working with the public, interview skills and sharpened his writing skills.
He learned how to write news and feature stories, as well as columns, and got some practice with an SLR camera. But most of all, by having to get out into the community and interact with people, his confidence grew. He told us he had tons of fun during the internship, and that it was the best job he’d ever had, hands down.
He learned how to write newspaper stories. He learned more about his community. He learned that the goal is to share information, not impress the readers with how clever you are.
She learned a lot about reporting versus storytelling and learned about what goes on with pagination, taking photos and photo shop work, too…As well what goes on behind the scene with sales, printing and other nuances of newspaper life. She was helpful and worked very well with others.
Amolak worked on his first multi-source story this summer, something that he was challenged by and really excelled at. His confidence with interviewing grew this summer, as he did autonomous reporting for the first time. He will be one of two senior reporters for ThreeSixty Journalism this school year, and his experience as an intern built his confidence enough to accept and look forward to the position.
Ashlee developed writing and critical thinking skills, and learned a few journalism basics.
Learned a lot of real life skills, and work ethic. Also, gives us a chance to interact with high school students and build future newspaper readers.