Reporting for the Washington Blade
Joshua
Experience Information
Employer: Washington Blade
Job Title: Reporting Intern
Major: Multimedia Journalism
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: No
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
The Washington Blade is the nation's oldest mainstream LGBTQ publication in the United States. The staff is compact, not consisting of more than about a dozen or so full-time employees with a number of freelance journalists contributing - I being one of them in the months following my internship. Through print and online distribution, the Blade seeks to inform readers of topics in politics, entertainment, breaking news and other areas that relate to LGBTQ issues in the United States.
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
Working from Washington D.C. over the summer, I served as a reporter for the Blade covering my area of interest and focus, national politics. I reported on numerous stories from Capitol Hill and other areas to relate news in the political arena to how they affected the LGBTQ community. In doing so, I covered events including press conferences as the Capitol featuring high-profile members of Congress and was the Blade's on-the-ground reporter at the epicenter of protests outside the U.S. Supreme Court on the day of its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization to rescind the nationwide right to abortion access.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
Through this experience, I was able to gain knowledge associated with a myriad of skills essential to the journalism industry. These skills included working on exceedingly tight deadlines, increasing my contact repertoire and ability to network and my ability to perform self-sufficient reporting with little guidance from internship management.
Favorite Part of the Experience
My favorite part of the internship experience was being able to cover pivotal moments in American history like the Dobbs decision that further inspired me to pursue this career and reminded me of the incredible, indescribable importance of the work that journalists do. These kinds of events were incredibly enthralling to cover and contributed immensely to my knowledge in the field.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
This internship further strengthened my desire to be a professional in this field. I have wanted to society contribute in this way for many years and this experience allowed me to test my ability and enthusiasm to do so. To my delight, both were proven more than sufficient to succeed in the field. I was reminded through this internship and the events I covered of the bulwark of democracy that journalism embodies. I want to serve the public and contribute to our democracy. Because of this internship, will serve the public and contribute to our democracy.
Internship Format
In Person