Overview

Civic Leadership, Grassroots Media & Public Trust Internship Voice Up Civic Leadership Pathway Internship Type: Academic Credit Internship / Fellowship Industry: Civic Leadership, Grassroots Media, Journalism, Community Engagement, Public Service Duration: 8 12 weeks (optional 9 12 week advanced extension) Time Commitment: hours per week Format: Fully Remote with Local Community-Based Reporting Eligibility: Undergraduate, Graduate, Seminary, Gap-Year, and Mid-Career Leaders Internship Overview The Civic Leadership, Grassroots Media & Public Trust Internship prepares emerging leaders to strengthen democracy through ethical civic leadership and community-rooted storytelling. This internship recognizes that local journalism, narrative framing, and information integrity are essential civic infrastructures. Interns learn how grassroots media can build trust, surface lived experience, and support informed public decision-making without becoming partisan, sensationalized, or extractive. Rather than training political operatives or traditional reporters alone, this program forms civic leaders who understand media as a public service and journalism as a tool for accountability, inclusion, and community health. Program Foundations This internship is grounded in: Voice Up Five Core Principles Collaboration Humility Precision Patience Empathy Applied Civic Leadership Framework Stewardship of power, transparency, and accountability Grassroots Media & Community Journalism Ethics Accuracy, dignity, consent, and non-extractive storytelling Fuller Method Reflective Mentoring Narrative identity, purpose, and leadership discernment Public Trust & Information Integrity Media as civic infrastructure, not influence machinery Learning Goals Participants will develop: Understanding of grassroots media as civic leadership Skills in ethical community-based journalism Ability to gather, verify, and synthesize community narratives Literacy in local governance and public systems Capacity to translate civic issues into clear, accessible public stories Professional identity as a civic communicator and public-trust steward Specialization: Grassroots Media & Journalism This specialization equips interns to produce trustworthy civic media rooted in lived experience rather than ideology or spectacle. Specialization Competencies Ethical interviewing and consent-based storytelling Community listening as journalistic practice Fact-based reporting without polarization Narrative framing that informs rather than inflames Translating civic processes into public understanding Media accountability and transparency Internship Structure & Weekly Flow Weeks 1 2: Civic Calling, Media Ethics & Public Trust Introduction to civic leadership and grassroots journalism Ethics of power, media, and narrative control Fuller Method reflective mentoring Mapping local civic and media ecosystems Journalism as public service vs. propaganda Key Focus: Why storytelling is a form of civic authority Weeks 3 4: Governance Literacy & Civic Reporting How local government functions (councils, boards, budgets) Identifying underreported civic issues Public records, meetings, and transparency Translating policy and process into plain language Avoiding misinformation and oversimplification Key Focus: Making civic systems understandable to the public Weeks 5 6: Community Listening & Grassroots Journalism Ethical interviewing techniques Listening across difference Capturing lived experience without exploitation Verifying community-sourced information Synthesizing multiple perspectives responsibly Key Focus: Reporting with communities, not on them Weeks 7 8: Applied Grassroots Media Project Interns design and complete a civic journalism project, such as: A community issue brief or explainer A series of grassroots civic stories A local governance media guide A public trust or transparency report A multimedia civic education resource Key Focus: Producing journalism that strengthens civic understanding Op