A LEGACY OF SUCCESS
Amsterdam News Interns Building Newsroom Diversity
Garren Keith Gaynor
Class of 2010
Managing Editor of Politics and Washington Correspondent
Erica Ruth Brown
Class of 2009
Producer and Digital Reporter
Levar Alonso
Class of 2019
Associate Producer
The Amsterdam News Educational Foundation Internship Program
Building The Future Diversity of the Newsrooms of Tomorrow
Diversifying tomorrow’s newsrooms
With the intent of nurturing tomorrow’s journalists and publishers of color, ensuring the sustainability of Black newspapers and overall newsroom diversity nationwide, The Amsterdam News Educational Foundation launched an expansion of its long-standing and highly regarded editorial internship offerings to include social media and digital content internships.
A Legacy of Success
The list of prominent women and men of color who started their careers at New York Amsterdam News is long and this expanded internship program builds upon that legacy.
The “NYAN Experience”
Each intern receives a stipend for their participation in this rigorous career development program that in addition to providing on the job training also provides training in LinkedIn development and job search best practices.
Lasting Connections
In addition, C-Suite executives at New York Amsterdam News provide job references for all successful internship participants on an ongoing basis.
“An internship at The Amsterdam News was my first job in journalism and 25 years later I still draw on the lessons I learned from Elinor and her team.”
— A.G. Sulzberger, Publisher, The New York Times
“The Amsterdam News was one of the major training grounds for me as a writer. There are no massive cover stories at Quincy Jones’ VIBE, nor my cover stories for places like Esquire or The Washington Post Magazine or British GQ, nor my 15 books, nor my work now as a filmmaker without the AmNews. I was able to do and learn a lot because of this historic Black newspaper and the opportunities it gave a young writer like me.”
— Kevin Powell, Author and Journalist
“The New York Amsterdam News was the place that gave me an opportunity and the confidence to enter into the news space. Without the NY Amsterdam News, I would 100% not be where I’m at today. I remember being given the opportunity to cover everything from the mayor’s race featuring Ferrer and Bloomberg, to Knicks games and local community issues. It felt like the paper believed that nothing was too big for me.
— Claudio E. Cabrera, VP of Newsroom Strategy and Audience at The Athletic (a NY Times company)
How to apply
Applicants are sought from HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities) nationwide and NYC based private and public colleges and universities.
Interns apply for Fall, Winter/Spring or Summer openings for in-person or remote opportunities. Newsroom (Print/Digital Journalism), Digital Content (amsterdamnews.com) and Social Media interns report directly to 16-year New York Amsterdam News newsroom veteran, Digital Editor Cyril Josh Barker. Weekly career development sessions and overall internship program management provided by Amsterdam News President Siobhan “Sam” Bennett. Newsroom (Print/Digital Journalism) interns must be in the NYC-metro area. Digital Content and Social Media interns can be remote. Participants are also provided with significant opportunities to boost their professional profiles plus ongoing references as they seek opportunities in media or other fields.
Please indicate your preferred department on your application. We will do our best to honor your request. Placement will be based on overall needs of the publication.
MEET OUR INTERNS
Learn more about our previous internship classes.