Audience Intern - Summer 2027

Houston, TXOnsiteInternshipJunior / Entry-levelPosted 12 days ago

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Required skills

audience journalism
digital strategy
social media
newsletters
SEO
reader behavior
newsroom
storytelling
headlines
push alerts

Nice to have

college news publication
professional news organization

Role summary

The Houston Chronicle is seeking a curious and versatile Audience Intern for Summer 2027. This hybrid role, based in Houston, requires 3 days/week in the office. The intern will work with editors, reporters, and audience strategists to enhance journalism's reach and engagement. Responsibilities include monitoring analytics, crafting headlines and social posts, developing newsletters, packaging stories for digital platforms, researching audience trends, and pitching new engagement ideas. This internship is ideal for motivated student journalists aiming for careers in audience journalism, offering hands-on experience in a major newsroom. Interns will be paid $15/hour and work 40 hours/week for 10 weeks.

Role Overview

The Houston Chronicle is looking for a curious and versatile student journalist to join its Audience team as an Audience Intern for the summer 2027 internship program.

Audience journalists help determine how journalism reaches people—and what makes them want to come back. You’ll work alongside editors, reporters and audience strategists to help shape coverage, craft compelling headlines and social posts, engage readers across platforms and use data to understand what matters to our audience.

You’ll gain experience at the intersection of journalism, storytelling and digital strategy while helping the Chronicle reach hundreds of thousands of readers across Houston and beyond. You may help package breaking news, promote enterprise reporting, build newsletters, identify search opportunities, analyze reader behavior and develop new ways to connect with audiences.

This position is designed for motivated student journalists who want to build careers in audience journalism and gain hands-on experience in a major newsroom. Past interns have gone on to full-time roles at the Chronicle as reporters, producers and editors across our newsroom and audience teams.

Hybrid: This hybrid internship is based in Houston, TX and requires working in the Chronicle’s office at least 3 days per week.

What You’ll Do

Monitor real-time analytics and identify patterns in what readers are viewing, sharing and returning to.

Help editors and reporters frame stories for maximum clarity, relevance and impact.

Write and refine headlines, social copy, push alerts and other promotional language with attention to SEO and news value.

Create social posts and contribute to strategies for platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Reddit and more.

Assist with newsletter planning, writing and audience-focused story selection.

Help package stories for the homepage and other digital platforms.

Research search trends, audience interests and emerging platforms.

Pitch ideas for reaching new audiences and deepening connections with existing readers.

Collaborate across the newsroom to translate Chronicle journalism into useful, compelling digital experiences.

What You’ll Bring

Juniors, seniors or recent graduates with prior experience at a college news publication or professional news organization.

A personal laptop and Wi-Fi or hotspot access.

Must obtain housing in Houston.

Internship Details

40 hours a week for 10 weeks, from early June to early August. Interns will be paid $15 an hour.

Interns will work Monday through Friday, with occasional weekend coverage based on news demands.

The recruiting committee will assign all interns a mentor from the newsroom based on their interests.

How to Apply

Please submit a portfolio of 5 audience-related clips (social media posts, newsletters, alerts, etc.), a resume, and a 1-page cover letter addressed to the recruiting committee detailing your passion for journalism and what you hope to achieve through this internship.

Deadline to apply: October 25, 2026

Ready to apply?

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