Learning from Day One: My Internship at Current

By Dean’s Intern Gabe Ferris at Current

This fall, I have been enjoying my internship with Current.org. We report on public and noncommercial media, like PBS, NPR, their affiliates, and community radio and television stations throughout the country. And as an editorial intern, it has been my job to learn as much about the industry as possible so that I can report onstories like Current’s full-time reporters do.

That learning started on my first day. I was quickly assigned a story about a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting enabling 14 stations to combat COVID-19 misinformation and vaccine hesitancy in their markets. That was an insightful first assignment, as I had to learn about public media funding. I also had to identify the stations that wereusing the funds in creative ways, so I could contact them to secure interviews. Within a few days, I was on the phone with a handful of station executives who were eager to tell me about their plans to use the money. I am proud to say that that story –– and my second one –– made it into our September/October print edition.

My SOC Dean’s internship at Current has been all I wanted and more. I have gained bylines and much experience that comes with reporting. I am fortunate to have the best editors: their commitment to public media is inspiring, and they make sure every mistake I make is an opportunity to learn and grow.

You can read my work by visiting https://current.org/author/gabe-ferris/.