The House announces political journalism internship
The House magazine, in partnership with PoliticsHome, will be running a regular paid political journalism internship for school leavers.
The move follows the success of a pilot scheme which took place this summer, when Bahar Dag, a student from Haggerston school in Hackney, east London, became the magazine’s first intern. During a four-week programme, she was given lessons by the team in news writing, media law, investigative journalism, policy formation, social media, video journalism and more.
She also spent time at an MP’s constituency surgery, watched a select committee hearing, met a select committee chair, and was taken on a “top secret” trip with a reporter to meet sources.
Dag, who is now heading to the University of Southampton to study law, said: “This internship at has been amazing. It allowed me to have a greater understanding of journalism and how interesting it really is... I even got to interview Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the Commons!
“My favourite part had to be writing my own articles: doing research and interviewing people.”
The House/PoliticsHome political journalism scheme will run three times a year and is open to applications from all school leavers.
Meg Hillier MP, who provided support for the pilot scheme, said: “I’m delighted Dods has enthusiastically set up a scheme to give young people a taste of the publishing industry. For many young people in my constituency and across the country, a top quality work placement is just not within reach. Dods’ inclusive approach of a paid and accessible placement should help the school leavers of today become the journalists of their generation.”
Alan White, editor-in-chief, added: “Improving access to journalism is something I feel passionately about, so
I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve announced this scheme.
“I want to give my sincere thanks to Meg Hillier, without whose efforts this scheme would never have got off the ground. She and her office have been beyond generous with their time.”
Details of how to apply will be announced later this year.