As newsroom jobs plummet along with public trust in media, it’s a tough time to be eying a career in journalism.
“No one goes into it, I think, unless they’re very passionate about it,” said Caleb Kaufman, a photo intern at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. “There are much easier fields to go into, with more opportunities, especially with entry-level jobs.”
Public Source recruited six interns this summer to help tell and amplify local stories. Despite the leaner news media market, they want to find ways to make a living doing journalism down the decades.
They say the rich and rewarding work, and the tug of public service, makes the pursuit worthwhile.
“I can’t just sit here and see everything happening in the world and not do anything about it,” said editorial intern Ember Duke.
Challenges and opportunities
It’s not all doom and gloom in the news business. The demise of legacy news creates space for new ventures – and, for our interns, a dose of excitement to offset the anxiety.
Managing Editor Rich Lord recalls a time when the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette staffed a newsroom of 200. Stagnant pay and benefits cuts helped launch a strike that’s nearing the three-year mark. On the flipside, he said, smaller outlets, like Public Source, bring new approaches to storytelling and news gathering.
Kaufman embraces this. “It seems like a lot of it is going toward smaller or even individual outlets. … You can find a really cool place to work,” he said. “I’ve been seeing more of these nonprofit newsrooms opening up that have more roots in the community.”
Those organizations can build trust where legacy outlets have faltered, Kaufman said, if they demonstrate care and thoughtfulness in their reporting.
Ayla Saeed, an editorial intern, has witnessed firsthand the challenges imposed by dwindling media confidence. During a recent effort to gauge perspectives on the record-setting weather on a muggy day at the Vintage Grand Prix, her inquiries yielded mostly first-name-only comments and lots of skepticism. Even questions about weather drew partisan reactions, she said, in an era during which “If you like this [given activity], then you’re on this side of the political spectrum.”
Standing out from the crowd
For those seeking a place in this narrowing — if diversifying — job pool, the pressure is on to stand out.
“You have to be really savvy,” said Saeed, who is double-majoring in criminal justice to support a law school “backup plan” – a strategy shared by editorial intern Femi Horall.
Hannah Johansson, an editorial intern and recent graduate of University of California Berkeley’s journalism masters program, recommends the graduate path for people seeking a career change or looking to develop an ambitious project idea, but not for every aspiring reporter.
“I tried a few other things, mainly science,” Johansson said. “Then I realized, I really, really want to do journalism school.”
As a student of information systems interning at Public Source, Yari Gonzalez is coming from the other direction. Though not necessarily aspiring to a career in journalism, her audience engagement internship has taught her valuable lessons to apply to other fields.
There’s so much going on, but everything comes together to create a story and then it’s out there!” Gonzalez said. “It’s very interesting to see all of the teamwork that goes into it.”
As our interns face the sometimes “terrifying” prospect of life after graduation, they’re meeting the challenge with determination and a smile.
“Despite the uncertainty, a lot of the ways that the industry is changing do really excite me!” said Horrall. “A lot of my favorite reporting utilizes innovative storytelling techniques, and I love getting to experiment with them myself.”
“I believe journalism will survive,” said Duke. “It has to. … People are more open to new methods of storytelling and are receptive.”
Ember Duke
Summer 2025 editorial intern
Age: 22
Education: Duquesne University (graduated 2025). Majored in multiplatform journalism and digital media arts, with minors in philosophy and creative writing
Dream job: “Becoming an investigative reporter, though I’m still exploring what topics I might like to report on. I also hope to someday be published in creative nonfiction and poetry, which are also central to my identity as a writer.”
Femi Horrall
Summer 2025 editorial intern
Age: 20
Education: Northwestern University (expected 2027). Journalism and cognitive science, with a minor in data science
Dream job: “I really enjoy investigative reporting with lots of visual elements, like data visualizations and illustrations, so my dream would be to do as much of that as possible!”
Hannah Johansson
Summer 2025 editorial intern
Age: 24
Education: UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism (graduated 2025)
Dream job: “I would love to make a living writing long-form magazine articles about extractive industry, the environment and labor.”
Caleb Kaufman
Summer 2025 photojournalism intern
Age: 21
Education: Ithaca College (expected 2026). Film, photography, and visual arts major
Dream job: “I would love to be a staff photographer at the Associated Press or Reuters and cover all kinds of photo stories.”
Yari Gonzalez
Summer 2025 audience data & analytics intern
Age: 19
Education: Carnegie Mellon University (expected 2028). Information systems
Dream job: “IT project manager, where I can improve the lives of others by leading collaborative, technology driven solutions that make a meaningful impact.”
Ayla Saeed
Summer 2025 editorial intern
Age: 21
Education: University of Pittsburgh (expected 2026). Law, criminal justice and society with minor in media communications
Dream job: “Investigative journalism! Conducting research and writing about groundbreaking info.”
Jamie Wiggan is deputy editor at Pittsburgh’s Public Source and can be reached at jamie@publicsource.org.
