The Hearst High School Media Internship @PALEY
The Hearst High School Media Internship at The Paley Center for Media is a 5-week, paid, best-in-class media-focused summer internship for rising 11th and 12th grade students. The program will encompass Media Literacy and Digital Learning, Media Career Development, and Mentorship. The internship offers students the opportunity to develop the knowledge, skills, and network necessary to prepare for college and to break into the media and entertainment industry.
Applications for the 2026 class of Hearst High School Media Interns are now open.
Internship overview
The Hearst High School Media Internship will provide students with an understanding of media and its power and offer a meaningful educational and career readiness experience. The internship will create ongoing access and opportunity and serve as a pipeline for developing talent from all backgrounds inspiring the next generation of media industry professionals. Through these three pillars—Media Literacy and Digital Learning, Media Career Development, and Mentorship—students will gain invaluable insights and experience.
Internship highlights
During this internship, students will:
- Meet high-profile industry professionals and learn about their career paths while receiving career advice.
- Go behind the scenes and visit newsrooms, podcast studios, and/or television production sets, among others.
- Take a deep dive into media literacy and explore how the words, sounds, and images they encounter every day make an impression on them.
- Find out what it means to be a digital storyteller.
- Engage with and learn from our college internship cohort.
- As a culminating project, interns will learn to tell stories by producing an original podcast. Above all, interns will gain skills in public speaking, interviewing, research, writing, and audio production that are crucial for college and career readiness. Listen to the podcasts produced by the interns!
Who is eligible to apply?
The application is open to rising 11th and 12th grade students.
All participants must present a valid employment certificate (NY State Working Papers) upon commencement of the internship and must be able to work legally in the U.S. Here is information about NY State Working Papers:
For students residing in other states who will be working in New York City, New York State working papers are required as those from your own state are not sufficient. To start the process, please reach out to a Family Support Coordinator within the NY District Leadership.
Will I be paid as an intern?
Yes, interns will be paid $17 per hour and will be reimbursed for travel expenses.
What is the internship timeline?
The summer internship will last five weeks, meeting four times a week for six hours at a time except when noted otherwise (see full schedule below).
2026 Pre-Internship Schedule:
| February 2 | Applications open | |
| March 30 by 11:59 pm ET | Applications due | |
| April 24 | Semi-finalist candidates are notified | |
| May 9* | Semi-finalist candidates are interviewed in person | |
| May 22 | Accepted interns are notified |
2026 Internship Schedule:
How to apply
A letter of recommendation from a teacher or mentor MUST be submitted to be considered for the internship. Please make sure the letter of recommendation includes their name, phone number, and email address. Please upload your teacher/mentor letter of recommendation as a “FILE.”
Please double check that all email addresses on your application are entered correctly. Errors might impact our ability to get in touch with you about your application.
If you have any questions about the internship that haven't been answered, please feel free to reach out to Education staff at:
This program is made possible by the generous support from:
