Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty Internships

RFE/RL’s Internship Program offers meaningful work experience for university students and recent graduates

January 12, 2022

Photo: RFE/RL Graphics

RFE/RL’s Internship Program offers meaningful work experience for university students and recent graduates

Apply now

RFE/RL’s Internship Program offers meaningful work experience for university students and recent graduates in order to:

Provide interns an opportunity to develop their skills through practical experience
Support RFE/RL's mission by providing independent journalism or other subject matter experience to individuals from our broadcast regions
Assist RFE/RL's outreach efforts

Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty Internship

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Place & Length of the Internship

The internship can take place in RFE/RL Headquarters in Prague, in our DC office, some RFE/RL bureaus or even remotely.

RFE/RL offers a limited number of placements for interns, which are filled subject to the current needs of our divisions and departments. As such, interns should expect to devote at least three months to their RFE/RL experience, subject to renewal. However, interns seeking a full-time, intensive internship for a shorter duration are also considered.

Divisions/Departments within RFE/RL open for the internship

News (Language Services, Current Time, etc.)
External Affairs
Human Resources
Operations (Information Technology, Broadcast Operations, etc.)
Legal
Finance

Click and learn more about our current open internship positions.

“The best aspect was that I got to see how it works and looks like at such a big and important organization, plus through that I met lot of interesting people. I also learned a lot about working in a journalistic environment. Lastly it improved my language skills.”

“The internship was the best possibility to pitch/write stories of my interest. I have learnt a lot about the importance of the audience and how to think more about their views and interests.”

“The best aspect of the internship was being thrown right into the work environment and given a good level of responsibility. In that way, I got firsthand experience with live journalism and broadcasting.”

“The RFE/RL office is a great environment to work with and you experience all aspects of a large media company. I was given a lot of independence and was able to do exactly the work that I specialise in.”

“The best aspect of the internship was to work with amazing journalists in the Moldovan Service. The worst aspect was that the internship ended too soon.”

“I’ve learned about the way that the newsroom functions and the process of choosing, translating and editing videos. I’ve learned that there is a lot of cooperation and team work when it comes to publishing final content. Everyone utilizes their particular skill, which makes it all come together. I learned a lot of specific skills such as how to add subtitles, how to properly transcribe a video, and I about the video editing process.”

“I can easily say that this was the internship experience in which I've learned the most and had the most incentive from my supervisors. Not only incentive, but when it comes to the finished tasks, I really felt like my work was appreciated and the satisfaction with the results was always clearly demonstrated by my supervisors, which made me even more eager to learn more and do better.”

“The best part of my internship was having the chance to contribute to RFE/RL, discovering quality media outlets, improving writing skills and having my texts corrected and revised by professionals; coffee breaks were definitely a highlight since it gave a lot of insights into professional journalism and also created a touch point with other interns.”

Requirements & Conditions

Applicants must be university students or recent graduates (up to one year post graduation).
Applicants must have a good working knowledge of English, both oral and written.
Working experience in the desired field of expertise is not necessarily required, but knowledge of one of RFE/RL's 27 broadcast languages is a significant advantage.
The internship is unpaid. All costs (flight, accommodation, per diem, health insurance, etc.) are the responsibility of the intern.
The intern is responsible for any medical or other health costs that may be incurred.
An internship does not, in any way, constitute a commitment to future employment with RFE/RL.

How to apply

Write a short cover letter explaining the motivation for completing an internship at RFE/RL.
Provide an updated and structured resume/CV.
Provide work samples if applying for a News or External Affairs internship.
If applying to a Language Service internship with focus on journalism, please provide a writing sample in the language used by that service.
Links to digital portfolio samples are allowed and welcomed.