Internships
Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience. – Anonymous
Internship Program
Curtis Media Group offers an Internship Program designed for students currently enrolled in a college/university and pursuing a degree in Mass Communications or a related field. We would also consider high school students who are taking journalism courses.
Internship requirements are as follows:
- Must be a student currently enrolled in a high school, college, university, or graduate school
- Must be able to participate a minimum of 10 hours per week (and not more than 20)
- Must reside in the market area or be willing to travel to the market weekly
- Must have own transportation
- Must provide two references
- Must have a verifiable GPA of at least 2.8 in Major and 2.5 Overall
- Must be available for a personal interview
Curtis Media Group interns are expected to actively contribute to their assigned projects. Specific internship assignments will vary depending on the needs of the stations, as well as the site and timing of the internship.
AVAILABLE INTERNSHIPS
As a News/Sports/Public Affairs Intern, you will learn:
- How to write a radio news or sports story
- How to conduct an interview
- How to edit an interview for both short and long-form stories
- How to operate recording equipment
- How to edit wire copy
- How the news and sports departments select stories
- How public affairs programs are put together
- How the station handles the quarterly Issues/Programs List required by the FCC, including ascertainment
- The difference between chasing a story and developing a story
- Getting the story behind the news
Time Commitment:
- Students must commit to 10-15 hours per week
- A two to three days per week schedule during business hours on weekdays is preferred
Talents/Skills Required:
- Highly motivated self-starter
- Energetic and thick-skinned
- Interest in news, sports, and current events
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- Proficiency with computers, especially MS Word
Special Application Requirements:
- To apply, complete and email the News Questionnaire along with your resume to Katelyn Butner.
As a Programming Intern, you will learn:
- How music lists are determined, titles classified, and songs rotated
- How the station handles listener comments, emails, and letters
- How the station books guests for talk shows (if News/Talk format)
- What makes a successful commercial or promotional announcement
- How commercials are written and produced
- How to operate recording equipment
- How the programming clock is determined and how it works
- How stations utilize the services of programming consultants
- How Nielsen works and how the station works to maximize ratings
- How the traffic and billing system works
- How automation and streaming work
- The differences between local, syndicated, and satellite radio
Time Commitment:
- Students must commit to 10-15 hours per week
- A two to three-days-per-week schedule during business hours on weekdays is preferred
Talents/Skills Required:
- Highly motivated self-starter
- Energetic and thick-skinned
- A love for terrestrial radio
- An interest in listener behavior, analytical and creative mindset
- A planner who can quickly pivot to take advantage of unexpected opportunities
- On-air skills are a plus
Special Job Requirement:
- You are required to write a paper dissecting one hour of the morning show and another hour by your favorite announcer (music formats) or a paper dissecting an hour of open news/talk and a guested hour by their favorite talk host (news/talk formats).
Application Requirement:
- To apply, email your resume to Katelyn Butner.
As a Sales and Client Marketing Intern, you will learn:
- How to match our listeners to advertisers to help them grow their businesses
- How to identify sales opportunities through research and the “tell me, sell me” process
- The difference between local and national, direct, and agency business
- What makes a successful media salesperson
- How to set appointments with local business owners
- How to keep an active client base
- How to get to the person who can say “yes”
- How to access vendor support programs
- Why radio is the most effective and efficient medium
- To sell one of the nation’s most dynamic radio groups against its competing media outlets
- How to sell with both qualitative and quantitative numbers
- Why radio is the best mainstream option to pair up with today’s “new media”
- Building your client’s brand with imaging
Time Commitment:
- Students must commit to 10-15 hours per week
- A two to three-day-per-week schedule during business hours on weekdays is required
Talents/Skills Required:
- Highly motivated self-starter
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- Creative thinking and writing skills
- Outgoing, energetic, and thick-skinned personality
- Interest in advertising and the sales process
- Analytical and creative mind
Special Job Requirement:
- Students will be required to research, write, and present an advertising and promotional campaign for a mutually agreed-upon client, using co-op and vendor marketing concepts in addition to a radio schedule.
Application Requirement:
- To apply, email your resume to Katelyn Butner.
As a Promotions and Station Marketing Intern, you will learn:
- Image is everything and how to shape it
- How to develop a station’s brand
- The key elements that make a promotion work
- How we determine what events and opportunities our stations become involved in and how we make our own opportunities
- When to say “no” to promotional opportunities
- When a client promotion makes sense for the station too
- How we use other forms of marketing such as direct mail, TV, and print to increase our audience and time spent listening
- How we evaluate the success of our marketing efforts and adjust them accordingly
- FCC and other legal contest rules and procedures
Time Commitment:
- Students must commit to 10-15 hours per week
- A two to three-day-per-week schedule during business hours on weekdays is required
Talents/Skills Required:
- Highly motivated self-starter
- Energetic, positive personality
- Strength and stamina for physical work and long hours
- A real “people person”
- Creative thinking and writing skills
- Strong organizational and execution skills
- Ability to handle multiple priorities and shift gears quickly
Special Job Requirement:
- Students will be required to research, write, and present an advertising and promotional campaign for a mutually agreed-upon client, using co-op and vendor marketing concepts in addition to a radio schedule.
Application Requirement:
- To apply, email your resume to Katelyn Butner.
As a Website and Social Media Intern, you will learn:
- How to develop a station website
- How to keep website content fresh and encourage page views
- How and when to share information across multiple websites
- How to incorporate links and ‘stock’ content
- Legal and copyright rules regarding online content
- How to design advertising space that works for the client
- How to make a site interactive
- How to utilize email for building relationships and station loyalty
- How the stations utilize social media to connect with listeners
Time Commitment:
- Students must commit to 10-15 hours per week
- A two to three-day-per-week schedule during business hours on weekdays is required
Talents/Skills Required:
- Highly motivated self-starter
- Creative thinking and writing skills
- Strong organizational and execution skills
- Ability to handle multiple priorities and shift gears quickly
- Web and graphic design skills a plus
- Strong computer and technical skills
- Understanding of how to use a variety of social media networks
Application Requirement:
- To apply, email your resume to Katelyn Butner.
As a Graphic Design Intern, you will learn:
- Editorial Design: You will learn how to support news stories visually by designing charts, graphs, and diagrams for publication. You’ll also learn the basics of newspaper and magazine layout.
- Advertising Design: You’ll learn how to develop both in-house and client ads for Curtis Media publications.
- Promotional Design: Learn logo, identity, and communication design as you develop promotional materials for internal and external projects.
- Research Skills: You will learn how to stay on the cutting edge of design trends by researching what’s working and not working for other publications. You’ll also learn how to create more “design time” by researching time-saving techniques and strategies.
Time Commitment:
- Students must commit to 10-15 hours per week
- A two to three-days-per-week schedule during business hours on weekdays is required
Talents/Skills Required:
- Highly motivated self-starter
- Creative thinking skills
- Strong organizational, communication, and execution skills
- Strong working knowledge of Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign
- Must be comfortable in a fast-paced environment with tight deadlines
- Must have a great attitude and work ethic
- Must have a desire/drive to learn and improve your design skills
Special Job Requirement:
- Students will complete an editorial or advertising design project from start to finish over the course of their internship.
Application Requirement:
- To apply, email your resume to Katelyn Butner.
As an Engineering and Operations Intern, you will learn:
- How we use various telecom technologies to send and receive voice and data
- How we use automation to schedule and run programming
- How to download and upload content for affiliate networks
- What ISDN, DSL, T-1, and other telecom options are, and how they are used
- How to optimize a station’s signal
- What simulcasting signals are and how they work
- What delay technology for news/talk formats is
- How streaming, podcasting, and on-demand technology works
- FCC rules of operation and responsibilities of licensees
- About the Public File and license renewal
- What remote technology is and how it works
- How to engineer the board and follow a log, recording key measurements
- How to manage a LAN, including access, security, shared files, and licensing
- How to manage internet access including intranet, security threats, “cloud” computing, and other aspects
- The differences between AM and FM stations, from towers and transmitters to studios and coverage
Time Commitment:
- Students must commit to 10-15 hours per week
- A two to three-days-per-week schedule during business hours on weekdays is required
Talents/Skills Required:
- Strong organizational, communication, and execution skills
- Must have a great attitude and work ethic
- Natural technical ability and analytical mindset
- Process management and oversight skills
- Keep appreciation and respect for authority and the FCC
- Strong computer skills, preferably hardware and software-based
Special Job Requirement:
- Students will be required to examine a particular subset of an engineering/operations process as identified by the supervisor from start to finish, evaluating strengths and weaknesses and offering cost-effective and efficient suggestions for improvement.
Application Requirement:
- To apply, complete and email your resume to Katelyn Butner.
As an ACCSports.com Intern, your tasks will include:
- Writing feature articles about top ACC recruits
- Conducting interviews
- Helping with news aggregation
- Editing interviews for both short and long-form stories
- Editing wire copy
- Line-editing stories both before and after they appear on the website
- Updating the front page of the website
Time Commitment:
- Students must commit to 10-15 hours per week
- A two to three-days-per-week schedule during business hours on weekdays is required
Talents/Skills Required:
- Highly motivated self-starter
- Energetic and thick-skinned
- Must be comfortable in a fast-paced environment with tight deadlines
- Strong interest in sports news and current events
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- Proficiency with computers, especially MS Word
Special Job Requirement:
- Students will be required to research, write, record, and edit a 15-minute program on a topic mutually agreed upon with the program supervisor.
Application Requirement:
- To apply, complete and email your resume to Katelyn Butner.
APPLY
Curtis Media Group interns are expected to actively contribute to the projects assigned. Apply only if you are willing to work hard and are responsible and a quick learner. Specific internship assignments will vary depending on the needs of the stations, as well as the site and timing of the internship.
To apply, email your resume and other assigned forms/papers to Katelyn Bullard. Email your resume and forms/papers at least four (4) weeks prior to the semester or term you are requesting to allow time for interviewing and reference checking.
CURTIS MEDIA GROUP
Katelyn Bullard
Human Resources Department
3012 Highwoods Blvd., Suite 200
Raleigh NC 27604
[email protected](336) 793-7572