The Pittsburgh Media Partnership, through the generosity of its donors, funded the work of 11 interns during the summer of 2023. The cohort, which combined to produce more than 140 stories and photos, featured five Point Park University alumni or current students: Justin Stewart, who interned with Allegheny Front; Caitlyn Scott, Pittsburgh Independent and The Northside Chronicle; August Stephens, Pittsburgh City Paper; Abigail Yoder, Pittsburgh Magazine; and Erin Yudt, TribLive.
Other members of the group were Asha Blake (Kent State University), TribLive; Sam Bigham (Indiana University of Pennsylvania), Gazette 2.0; Madison Stokes (Chatham University) Pittsburgh Independent and The Northside Chronicle; Ladimir Garcia (West Virginia University), The Mon Valley Independent; and Matt Glover (Slippery Rock University), Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism.
All interns worked up to 30 hours a week for eight weeks, stretching through the final week of July. In addition to working for their respective outlets, the interns met as a group every Wednesday for education and training sessions provided by Partnership members. Joining the PMP group at those weekly sessions were two Pittsburgh Union Progress interns – Delaney Parks (University of Pennsylvania) and Harrison Hamm (Denison University).
During the 2023 summer session, 11 interns produced more than 150 bylined stories and photos for their respective outlets. In addition to placing interns with Partner outlets, we asked each of the Partner newsrooms to lead weekly training sessions so they were giving back to the program while also benefitting. The cohort model worked well by creating linkages among the interns so they end up supporting each other through the program and, we expect, beyond.
What the 2023 interns said about their summer experience:
Matt Glover, Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism
“The internship only confirmed in my mind that I chose the correct career path as a journalist. I enjoy journalism because of the grind, the connections with new people and solving the puzzle of writing a story, and I was extremely grateful for the opportunity to apply the skills I’ve learned to a new environment while building upon them with the help of my editors. I had previously only practiced journalism in rural communities, and I now have the confidence that I can enter a new, diverse community and quickly learn the landscape to produce content at high standards. I’m still deciding if I’d like to be a journalist in Allegheny County, but I definitely want to be a journalist. ”
Abigail Hakas, Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle
“Working for the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle reminded me of what I love most about journalism: it is a public service. The Chronicle went out of its way to tailor its coverage (of the Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre trial) to the needs of the victims and their loved ones. When we wrote the stories, we centered them around the lives lost and not the shooter, whom we rarely named in articles. Over my eight weeks with the Chronicle, I never wrote the shooter’s name. Covering the trial was the best confirmation I could get that journalism is not just something I enjoy, it is my greatest passion.”
Abigail was the subject of a video made by a fellow Chatham student pertaining to trauma-informed journalism. You can view the video here: Trauma-informed Journalism.
Justin Stewart, The Allegheny Front
“This internship impacted my decision about pursuing a career in journalism by re-emphasizing that this is something that I could see myself doing for many years. Throughout college, I was hesitant if I made the right choice to pursue a career in this field, but after sticking with it and hearing other people encourage me to keep grinding, I feel motivated to get things accomplished. I enjoy talking with people, giving them a chance to share their stories with the community and beyond.”
What the Partner outlets said:
Ali Trachta, Pittsburgh City Paper, on intern August Stephens:
“Since City Paper is such a small operation, having a PMP intern join the team for the summer was incredibly helpful, especially considering we didn’t have to fund that position ourselves. We aim to push out new content every day, and August helped us accomplish that goal many times over. Having an extra person at the ready to turn over stories quickly helps us all squeeze more out of our limited resources.”
Virginia Linn, Pittsburgh Magazine, on intern Abby Yoder:
“We saw no downsides to having a PMP intern — only positives. We particularly appreciate the weekly PMP educational sessions that helped the interns understand more about news gathering, checking public records, learning about different writing styles and criticism and other issues. I think these sessions also were helpful to the interns to hear what other participants were working on and to get some feedback from the advisers. Because Abby was paid 30 hours a week, she did not have to seek out a second job to make ends meet, so she could focus her attention on this magazine internship and had more flexibility in her schedule. We saw the experience a win-win.”
Toby Tabachnick, Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, on intern Abigail Hakas:
“The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle has a small editorial team, with only three writers and one editor. It was a boon to our newsroom to have an additional hand on deck. Abigail Hakas is a great writer, with good editorial judgment. She took instruction well and was open to all assignments. We had a particularly challenging summer, having a reporter in court every day to cover the synagogue shooter trial, and Abigail took her turn and did a great job. She also took over our Instagram account and improved the look of our posts.”
Pittsburgh Media Partnership 