Long internship

Four month paid editorial journalism internship

Get hands-on experience in all aspects of running a local multimedia publication including your own bylines during our four-month paid internship at across our titles: Roman Road LDN, Bethnal Green LDN, Whitechapel LDN and Poplar LDN.

Journalism internship start dates:

• Autumn: The autumn internship role is occupied by the person who successfully secured a place on our Newsroom Leadership Programme.
• Winter: begins start of December and runs to end of March. AMENDMENT: In 2024 the internship will start January.
• Spring: begins start of April to end of July (IMPORTANT: do not apply if you can’t start full-time and in-office from the start of April)

Application deadline: We arrange internships about six weeks beforehand.

Apply: Click the Apply to Internship button below and use the form to apply.

I started as an intern and then got a full time job at Roman Road LDN in 2019.  As an employer Tabitha Stapely has taught me more than I can say, from effective team management to turning passion for the local area and amazing journalistic ability into something that really does good. Thanks to Tabitha it has stuck with me that communication and empathy are everything, either among colleagues or with people from the community. She is always behind you as an employer – to push you to reach your potential, to educate you from the massive library of her skills and expertise, and to support you when you need help.

I wanted to be part of something that does something meaningful, which is a rare thing in starter journalism job. There is a real freedom here – Tabitha encourages her interns to pursue topics that are of interest to them. In my case this was music, which allowed me to talk to the many grime artists in the area. The editorial team is small so the pace of production matches most nationals, which is why it was such a great learning experience. The level of feedback and encouragement is something that I didn’t even experience at my Masters course…and I paid for that! Under Tabitha Stapely’s watchful eye, I got to do the thing I’m passionate about while learning a heap-load, which will stand me in good stead for the future.

It was important for me to work for a publication that shared my values. I loved Roman Road LDN’s innovative take on local journalism. Their human-interest angle, sustainable business model and hyper-local focus were exciting to me. It was a terrific introduction to journalism. I was writing my first story in my second week and able to pursue my own ideas, one of which led to interviewing a local architect whose work I greatly admired. I was taken seriously as part of the team, and wasn’t “just an intern”.’ Initially, I didn’t have much professional confidence. But thorough feedback from all members of the RomanRoadLDN team my writing noticeably improved and as a result I am now studying Magazine Journalism MA at City University.

Journalism is a notoriously difficult industry to enter, particularly for those without connections or the cash to fund a Master’s Degree. For this reason Roman Road LDN is a rare and wonderful thing: a place to learn the tips and tricks of the trade for those who might otherwise struggle to find a foothold. Here you learn on the job, pitching, interviewing, editing and writing as part of a tight-knit team from your first day. The skills I learned in Tabitha’s office undoubtedly helped me secure my first full-time job in journalism. Sadly, high-quality independent local news outlets are increasingly a thing of the past. Many people across the UK now live in “news deserts”. Against this background, Roman Road LDN is doing excellent work: providing well-researched, original reporting to the community it serves. If only there were more places like it!

Doing an internship at Roman Road LDN threw me straight into the action of a busy magazine newsroom, giving me invaluable hands-on experience of so many different aspects of community journalism. As well as pitching and writing news and feature pieces, I became much more confident in writing for social media, optimising our articles for publication online and uploading them using WordPress. Being part of such a small team was the perfect setting for me to learn these skills and develop my writing and interviewing styles in a setting where I felt supported and valued. Having the freedom to write such a wide variety of articles about different subjects also allowed me to hone my interest in particular areas and experiment with different styles, which i feel is a unique opportunity as an early-career journalist.

Following my NCTJ diploma, it was difficult to find an organisation that allowed me to write about the issues of our time while integrating strong community values. Social Streets stood out in this regard and also appealed in its range of content. I had the freedom to write different kinds of content – from snappy news stories to long-form heritage articles – and this allowed me to develop fundamental skills a journalist. Social Streets helped me to pitch ideas in news meetings and refine what I brought to the table. Working alongside a friendly and encouraging team was the biggest benefit for me. Whenever there was a tight deadline or duties had to be juggled, I knew the job had to be done, but I always felt supported along the way. The team understood each other and helped out wherever possible to contribute to an enjoyable and motivating working culture.