Intern Application Guidelines

About our internships:

This American Life is a weekly, nationally-distributed public radio program featuring documentaries, interviews and short stories. The show is produced at Chicago Public Radio in downtown Chicago by a full-time staff of four producers, an executive producer, an administrator and an intern.

This American Life is pleased to offer three internships a year. Although there are no specific application criteria, most interns in the past have been recent college graduates.

Internships run for four month periods.

The internship program is designed to give an introduction to almost every facet of producing This American Life – from copyediting to technical production to administrative duties. The interns start off observing the weekly production of the show by sitting in on meetings and edits with producers while learning basic production skills. Interns will first learn digital tape editing by producing promos and short interviews. They will review unsolicited submissions, transcribe tape, learn to structure a radio story and learn to mix a radio story, plus performing assorted menial administrative tasks that are true signs of an internship. Interns participate in all story meetings and are encouraged to pitch story ideas and comment on future shows. By the end of the program, interns are encouraged to produce their own pieces, including editing and mixing voice, sound and music. The diversity of tasks depends largely on initiative and self-motivation.

Interns are provided a monthly stipend of $2000, before taxes. Unfortunately we are unable to provide aid in terms of housing, however past interns have been able to find partially furnished rooms for $300-$400 a month. We are committed to providing a stipend because the work hours are fairly long. We feed the show on Friday nights at 7 p.m. Central time every week, so as we get closer to the end of the week, the hours become longer. A typical work week varies between 50-60 hours. As a result, it is expected that this be the intern’s only job during the four-month term. The next open terms are as follows:

•   Summer 2005 term begins May 2, 2005, and runs through September 9, 2005. This position has been filled.


•   Fall 2005 term begins August 29, 2005, and runs through January 13, 2005. Applications must be postmarked by June 1, 2005; decision by July 1, 2005.


•   Winter 2006 term begins January 2, 2006, and runs through May 12, 2006. Applications must be postmarked by October 1, 2005; decision by November 1, 2005.


•   Summer 2006 term begins May 1, 2006, and runs through September 8, 2006. Applications must be postmarked by February 1, 2006; decision by March 1, 2006.


•   Fall 2006 term begins August 28, 2006, and runs through January 12, 2006. Applications must be postmarked by June 1, 2006; decision by July 1, 2006.


•   Winter 2007 term begins January 2, 2007, and runs through May 11, 2007. Applications must be postmarked by October 1, 2006; decision by November 1, 2006.

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To apply for the internship program...

Send a cover letter, in the form of a personal statement of no more than 500 words, explaining why you should be selected to take part in the intership program and letting us know something about yourself and your interest in radio. You should include a resume and the names and phone numbers of at least two references whom we may contact. We ask that you also answer the questions below. Resumes and cover letters will not be acknowledged unless they come with a completed questionnaire. Interviews for finalists will be set up after the above materials are received.

Return answers to the following questions with your resume and cover letter to:
Internship: Fall, Winter or Summer (please indicate which term)
This American Life
WBEZ Radio
848 E. Grand Ave
Chicago, IL 60611

DO NOT EMAIL YOUR APPLICATIONS; WE WILL NOT ACCEPT THEM. ALSO, PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE TAL WEBSITE OR OUR OFFICES CONCERNING YOUR APPLICATION. We will notify all applicants of the decision by the deadlines listed above.
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Internship application questions:

•  Briefly describe any of your previous radio, documentary journalism or writing experience.
•   Write about three of your favorite This American Life shows or pieces and briefly explain why.
•   Write about three shows or pieces that did not work quite as well and explain why.
•  Suggest a small documentary/reporter piece for This American Life. Please explain the story as a whole, along with possible characters and scenes that could be developed. This probably sounds harder than it actually is. We're not looking for Pulitzer Prize war stories or anything like that, but rather stories that you have some personal stake in or that you find genuinely interesting, no matter how small they are. Imagine that you're telling the story to a friend and that you need to keep them entertained so that they don't get bored and their eyes don't start to glaze over. And the more detailed you can get the better.
•  Suggest two or three possible show themes. In a paragraph, explain how each theme could be explored. Feel free to include examples of specific stories that could fit each theme.
•   What is your familiarity with computers, recording equipment, and analog or digital editing? Have you ever worked with an editing program called Pro Tools? If not, have you worked with other editing programs? Have you ever transcribed tape?
•  Briefly describe any research experience you may have had.

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