People For the American Way – Washington, DC
Every day was full of a variety of assignments — enough to make things challenging and exciting. It’s fascinating and pretty fun, as well.
— Taylor Ansley, Davidson College
People For the American Way is a nationwide advocacy organization that mobilizes its members and activists to fight for public policies that reflect the values of freedom, fairness, and equal opportunity; to champion constitutional protections and civil rights; to hold public officials accountable to those standards; and to promote strong democratic institutions, including a federal judiciary that upholds individual rights.
The affiliated People For the American Way Foundation conducts research, legal, and education work on behalf of First Amendment freedoms and democratic values; monitors, exposes, and challenges the Religious Right movement and its political allies; identifies, trains, and supports the next generation of progressive leaders through its Young People For youth leadership programs and its Young Elected Officials Network; and carries out nonpartisan voter education, registration, civic participation, and election protection activities.
Our communications and media relations department responds to media inquiries, generates news coverage, informs the media about the activities of the radical right, provides strategic communications advice, and supports the efforts of our allies and coalition partners.
Internships in our communications department provide students with a unique opportunity to see national and regional communications strategies at work. Our interns are an integral part of our communications team. Interns are called on to write news releases and other materials, plan events, conduct research, and pitch stories and events to reporters at top national media outlets.
Applicants for this position must be strong writers. They should have a basic understanding of the American politics and/or the news industry and be eager to learn more. Applicants should be effective team members who are willing to work hard to advance a progressive political agenda and who want to have fun while doing so.
Internships are unpaid, though academic credit may be available.