Internship Opportunities at NBC 5 and Telemundo Chicago

Become a NBC 5 Chicago and Telemundo Chicago intern and learn broadcasting and digital from our world-class teams!

NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.

The NBCUniversal paid internship program gives students real world experience, networking opportunities and exposure to one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. Students can intern in a variety of functions including news, ad sales, finance, community and creative services.

Students are placed in internships related to their major and career goals. Skills required vary by internship.

NBCUniversal is an equal opportunity employer. 

Please refer to the following guidelines for applying: 

Spring 2024 Internship Program: 

• Program Dates: January 22 – April 12, 2024
• Resumes accepted through November 17, 2023 at 11:59pm CT

Required Qualifications:

• In pursuit of an Associate, Bachelor or Graduate degree at an Accredited Institution

• Current class standing of sophomore or above (30 credits)

• Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above

• Must be 18 years of age or older

• Must have unrestricted authorization to work in the U.S. without a visa or sponsorship

• At least (1) letter of recommendation from a teacher and/or advisor

• Current Transcript from College/University

• Write a letter of intent listing at least 3 departments you would like to intern in and answer the following questions:

1. What are your career goals?

2. How would an NBC or Telemundo Internship help you achieve your goals?

3. What related experiences or contributions can you bring to NBC or Telemundo if selected for an Internship?

4. Are you bi-lingual (English/Spanish)? Are you fluent: speaking, reading or writing? 

If you satisfy the NBC 5 & Telemundo Chicago internship requirements, you can apply online here.

Program Info:

• Internships are offered during the Fall, Spring, or Summer semesters

• Internships at NBCUniversal are paid and do not require course credit

• Housing/Transportation assistance is not provided by the internship program

Internship Opportunities:

NEWS DEPARTMENT (Telemundo only):

Responsibilities: Assist producers, assignment desk editors and reporters with the following tasks: research stories, listen to scanners, answer news calls, find subjects and book interviews, upload videos on website, contribute story ideas, assist investigative unit with research and calls among other responsibilities.

Qualifications: Must be fluent speaking and writing in Spanish and English. Studies in Media/Journalism or related field, knowledge of digital media, good verbal and writing skills. Self-motivated individual with good work ethic highly desired.

NEWS PLANNING UNIT (NBC only):

Responsibilities:  Research future stories, clip/read newspapers for story ideas, take calls on future stories.  Assist News Planning Producer with breaking news and feature segments.

Qualifications:  Excellent computer skills, phone skills and communication skills.  Good research abilities on computer based sites.  

INVESTIGATIVE UNIT (Telemundo only):

Responsibilities: Will do thorough research on variety of stories with reporters. Responsibilities will include computer research; research in the field; analyzing documents; making phone calls in Spanish and English to track down stories; researching story tips and ideas; talking with viewers and tipsters in Spanish and English; helping with numbers and statistics; tracking down video; logging tape; assisting with web articles; pre-interviewing and field producing.

Qualifications: Must be fluent speaking and writing in Spanish and English. Good investigative interns are curious, persistent, organized and tail-oriented; Work hard to uncover new facts, have especially good research and writing skills. This internship is for someone who is will to go beyond the facts and find the stories behind the data.

INVESTIGATIVE UNIT (NBC only):

Responsibilities: Will do thorough research on a variety of stories with a host of reporters and anchors. Responsibilities will include computer research; research in the field; analyzing documents; making phone calls to track down stories; researching story tips and ideas; talking with viewers and tipsters; helping with numbers and statistics; tracking down video; logging tape; assisting with web articles; pre-interviewing and field producing;

Qualification: Good investigative interns are curious and persistent; Work hard to uncover new facts, are willing to pivot from story to story as needed, have especially good writing skills. This internship is for someone who relishes finding out things that no one else has ever taken the time to find out. It’s a job for someone who can tackle new sources and resources.

NBC NETWORK NEWS:

Responsibilities: Learn how to report a story for shows like the Today Show and Nightly News, from pitching, to shooting, to writing, to editing for air. Assist assignment editors, producers and correspondents in gathering elements and editorial information for news stories. Responsibilities will also include doing research, making phone calls, logging tape and live events, and field producing.

Qualifications: Passion for news. Ability to function in a fast-paced environment driven by speed and accuracy. Solid research, organizational, and social media mining skills. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Journalism majors are preferred but not required.

RESEARCH AND INTEGRATED SALES MARKETING (NBC/Telemundo):

NBC 5 & Telemundo Chicago Internships provide students with real world experience and exposure to working as a media professional in the broadcast TV / digital media industry.

Responsibilities: Assist with the creation and customization of sales presentation materials for advertising partners. Construct research for current / potential clients and internal requests. Compile ratings information, competitive analysis, and use station performance data to craft a story. Assist with fulfillment of sales sweepstakes. Help monitor delivery of on-air and digital campaigns. Attend internal sales meetings and client ascertainment calls, if necessary. Aid sales department with administrative duties.

Qualifications: Eager to learn. Work as a team player. Self-motivated, able to work in a fast-paced environment. Exposure to courses in media planning, advertising research or broadcast journalism preferred. Strong knowledge of MS office applications and email is required. Should possess basic math/statistical skills. Able to work independently, be organized and detail-oriented. Strong curiosity about Chicago's television market, media research and network programming. Bilingual English-Spanish desired.

DIGITAL EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT (NBC/Telemundo):

Responsibilities: Assist NBCChicago.com editors in creating stories, slideshows and other editorial content to post on the website. Intern will work with the web team to pitch stories, gather content, write stories, interview sources and select photos for stories. This internship will help develop your writing skills and editorial judgment, as well as build practical skills with CMS programs and photo editing. You will finish the internship with a portfolio of online work for your resume.

Qualifications: Must be fluent speaking and writing in Spanish and English, news writing and journalism coursework, AP style knowledge, experience with Internet-assisted reporting, very basic HTML coding, Adobe Photoshop and light video editing. Must have strong writing ability, good news and content judgment, creativity and ability to work in a fast-paced environment. Opportunity to participate in the fastest-growing segment of the journalism industry.

SPECIAL PROJECTS/COMMUNITY RELATIONS (NBC/Telemundo):

Responsibilities: Help plan, coordinate and execute community events such as town hall meetings festivals and parade participation. Assist with writing community calendar, social media posts and business correspondences; help coordinate station appearances; conduct station tours.

Qualifications: Have strong organizational, project management, writing, verbal and interpersonal skills; adept in MS Word, Excel and Power Point knowledge very helpful, telephone etiquette, independent worker. Bilingual English-Spanish desired.

COLLABORATION INTERN (NBC/Telemundo):

Work with the NBC5 - Telemundo Collaborations Team on various projects that support collaboration, communication and teamwork between the two news operations. Intern will get hands-on experience in most, if not all, of the departments throughout NBC & Telemundo.

Responsibilities: Intern will work primarily with the NBC5/Telemundo Collaboration Team, which consists of representatives from both the English and Spanish speaking news operations and is tasked with streamlining collaborations and communication between the two stations. The Collaborative Intern will work with individual members of the team to learn about their specific jobs. These include professionals who work on the assignment desk, the digital team, the investigative unit, news-gathering crews, along with the sales, promotion and marketing teams. Among other duties, the intern will help the promotions department translate copy for community PSA's and test-on-video for both stations, edit on-air or digital segments, and assist during promotional shoots. During rotation in the investigative unit, interns will assist in translating web copy, web elements such as sidebars, maps, and text-on-video, for publication on both NBC5 & Telemundo websites. Other tasks may include helping the assignment desk secure interviews for news reports in both languages. The intern will provide support areas that will benefits both news teams, such as transcribing interviews in English/Spanish, researching topics, and looking for video. The intern will participate in reporting airing on both stations, and experiences the process of working in two languages on one topic. The position will offer first-hand experience in blossoming area of the news industry, as more and more stations blend English and Spanish speaking operations to cater to dual-language customers.

Qualifications: Must be fluent Bilingual English/Spanish, incoming junior or senior with major in communications/journalism preferred but not required. Intern should have strong bilingual skills, with an interest in learning both news and sales operations from inside the Chicago NBC/Telemundo Duopoly.

SPORTS DEPARTMENT (NBC):

Responsibilities:  Get hands on experience in how to plan and execute daily Chicago sports coverage.  Assist Producers and anchors in building nightly sportscasts by logging games, highlight feeds and interviews.  Occasional opportunities to work in the field covering practices and games.

Qualifications:  Studying journalism/media with a preferred emphasis in sports; in-depth knowledge of Chicago sports teams; ability to multi-task; strong writing and communication skills; flexible schedule with the ability to work nights and weekends.

FINANCE (NBC/TELEMUNDO):

Responsibilities:  Work directly with the station finance department to perform analyses of the revenue and expenses infrastructure, assist with financial reporting and other ad hoc project work. 

Qualifications:  Pursuing a 4 year degree in finance or accounting.  Interest in working in finance/accounting department as well as media.  Detailed oriented and experience with Excel. 

TELEVISION AND DIGITAL SALES (NBC):

Responsibilities:  Assist in day-to-day sales team operations.  Research Chicago based corporations and create executives business summaries.  Generate qualified business lead prospects for sales team.  Learn warm calling skills and set client direct meetings.  Design client presentations and conduct presentation to corporate executive leadership.

Qualifications:  Interest in Broadcast/Digital/News Media business.  Must have excellent computer expertise.  Proficient PowerPoint, Excel skills preferred.  Strong telephone and face-to-face communication skills.  Overall energetic, enthusiastic personality and positive attitude.

ADVERTISING SALES (NBC Ad Sales-Chicago):

Responsibilities:  Assist the sales staff in all aspects of the order process.  Assist in the coordination of sales marketing materials.  Answer phones, assist in general administrative duties, send out sales materials on a monthly basis.  Perform necessary clerical functions as required to include compilation and dissemination of various reports to appropriate areas.

Qualifications:  Demonstrate strong interpersonal and organizational skills.  The ability to work in a fast-paced environment and demonstrates a proactive approach.  Experience in successfully communicating at all levels both verbally and in writing.  Proven ability to manage multiple projects and be detail-oriented.

COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION (NBC and Telemundo):

Responsibilities:  Have a strong interest in commercial production and taken coursework or engaged in extracurricular activities to utilize those skills.  In addition, successful applicants will have a can do attitude and willingness to learn from a supportive team of producers.

Qualifications:  Candidates need to have some knowledge of the following skills: writing scripts, shooting with DSLR cameras, basic lighting, photoshop, editing on Adobe Premiere Pro and graphics production.  Knowledge in after effects and experience working with clients are a big plus.