OAB Summer Internship Support Program
The application window for the 2024 OAB Summer
Internship Support Program has closed.
The Program
The OAB is committed to supporting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at our member stations and promoting increased diversity within our industry by encouraging students of diverse backgrounds to consider careers in radio and television.
As part of this effort, we launched a paid internship program in 2022 that funds $2,500 internships at member stations this summer. For 2024, we will be funding six internships – three in larger markets and three in smaller markets.
The goal of the internship support program is to provide opportunities for students of diverse backgrounds to experience first-hand the operations of a broadcast radio or television station. Our hope is that this program also allows stations that have not previously offered internships the funding to do so.
While it is not a requirement that students hired using OAB internship awards be from under-represented communities, it is our expectation that stations receiving internship awards will broadly promote their internship in an effort to reach candidates of diverse backgrounds.
Internships may be offered in all aspects of a station’s operation, however, the OAB recognizes that stations are particularly challenged in finding qualified employees for sales, engineering and production positions. For this reason, we encourage stations to include aspects of these areas in their internships.
Overview
- The OAB will support six station internships in 2024 – three in larger markets (Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo, Youngstown, Akron, Canton) and three in small markets (all other markets).
- Each internship support award will be a maximum of $2,500, which will reimburse the sponsoring station for the compensation of one intern. This will pay for approximately 160 hours of work by the intern at $15/hour.
- Stations are responsible for selecting, training, and supervising the interns.
- Stations are expected to broadly promote the internship in an effort to reach students from diverse backgrounds, including under-represented or underserved communities.
- As noted above, internships can include all areas of station operations, but stations are encouraged to focus internships on sales, engineering, and production.
Questions?
For more information about the OAB Kids Scholarship, contact the OAB’s Mariah West.