Internship Opportunites

Newspaper Matching Funds Program

Since 2014, the Iowa Newspaper Foundation has offered matching funds to INA member newspapers to help them hire and support interns, giving students eight weeks of real-world newsroom experience while helping newspapers bring in fresh talent. What began with three internships has grown into one of INF’s most important next-generation programs.

Each year, selected newspapers receive $1,000 in matching funds to employ an intern. Participating newspapers are chosen through an application process reviewed by an INF committee, and host newspapers have the opportunity to interview and select their own intern. Funds may be applied to one intern or divided across multiple students.

Interns through the program will work a minimum of 240 hours, be paid at least minimum wage, and receive a well-rounded introduction to the newspaper industry. Host newspapers are asked to submit a brief follow-up report summarizing the student’s experience and takeaways.

The following newspapers were selected to receive $1,000 in matching funds to employ an intern for 2026:

• Algona Kossuth County Advance
• Decorah News
• Dubuque Telegraph Herald
• Estherville News
• Iowa Capital Dispatch
• Manchester Press
• Montezuma Record
• Webster City Daily Freeman Journal

If your newspaper would like to be considered for the program, complete the application and return it to ina@inanews.com no later than November 3, 2026.

INA Missions

One of the missions of the Iowa Newspaper Association is to recruit and help younger people enter in the industry as the next generation of journalism prospers.

Although there are many ways to help young people get into journalism, the Iowa Newspaper Association has a program to help both students and newspapers all across Iowa: the Newspaper Matching Funds Program.

In 2014, INF introduced a program that enhances internship opportunities for INA member newspapers. Through this program, newspapers receive financial assistance to employ interns with eight weeks of real-world experience in the newspaper industry. The program funded three internships in 2014 and has grown to eight.  This program is a key facet of the INF’s next-generation programming—cultivating the newspapers and journalists of tomorrow.

Participating newspapers will be chosen through an application process reviewed by an INF member committee. Host newspapers will have the opportunity to interview and select their own intern, and INF will provide matching funds of $1,000 to each of the eight selected newspapers.

Selected newspapers will offer an internship that provides a well-rounded experience in the newspaper industry and will be asked to submit a follow-up report to the INF summarizing the student’s responsibilities and takeaways during the internship.

Through the program, interns will…

• Work a minimum of 240 internship hours throughout the year
• Paid at least minimum wage
• Have the opportunity to experience the newspaper industry first-hand

*Funds can be used for one intern or multiple interns

If your newspaper would like to be considered for the program, complete the application and return it to ina@inanews.com no later than November 3, 2026.

Hear From Our Interns

The best measure of a program is what it does for the people in it. Here is what two of our interns had to say.

Rachel Bare interned at the Spencer Daily Reporter in the summer of 2024. Rachel was accepted to Yale University, where she plans to pursue a degree in engineering. Yale admissions staff noted that her newsroom internship played a meaningful role in distinguishing her application. “I will be forever grateful to the people I interviewed and worked with as a newsroom intern. The experience, even in a typical summer, is unparalleled. My Yale acceptance is merely a happy consequence of working an incredibly privileged and worthwhile job, which I would happily recommend to anyone seeking a summer of genuine service.”

Lizbeth Garcia Tellez interned at the Marshalltown Times-Republican in the summer of 2024, working in sales and marketing and bringing her public relations studies into a real newsroom setting. “My internship at the Times-Republican was an enriching experience. I had the unique opportunity to create a Spanish page aimed at increasing awareness and engagement within the local Spanish-speaking community, and to connect with community members and leaders. This experience has helped shape my career path and expanded my network.”