Reporter intern

The Monitor, a growing local news organization in western Montana, is looking for an energetic and ambitious emerging news professional to join our team for the summer of 2026.

The Monitor, founded in 1907, is anchored historically in Jefferson County, Montana. In 2025, we expanded to nearby East Helena, launching a new site and monthly print paper. We are moving our audiences gradually to online; forming an advertising cooperative with neighboring papers; and pointing toward an eventual restructuring as a community-led non-profit organization.

The intern will work in the thick of this transition, reporting and writing stories for our online and print products in both markets, producing daily and weekly news stories on local government and events as well as multiple enterprise stories over the course of the summer. Ideally, we would want the intern to take ownership of a significant, multi-story enterprise project that advances one of our core coverage areas. (In recent years, those have taken the form of deep, prize-winning investigations.)

The intern will be exposed to all aspects of local journalism – and, more important, will play a significant part in what amounts to an experiment in small-town newspapering. We will rely on their creative input and distinctive perspective to inform this experiment, and hope that they will feel comfortable trying out new ideas. Indeed, while we expect them to benefit greatly from the experience, we expect that the Monitor will benefit greatly, as well.

Compensation: $560/week

Dates: We're looking for a 10-12 week commitment. Start and end dates are flexible.

Qualifications

Currently enrolled in college, or recent college grad. Some journalism training and experience desirable but not required. Our core requirements: Curiosity, intellectual ambition, and dedication to fact-based reporting.

The intern will report directly to David Lepeska, the Monitor’s editor, an accomplished senior journalist who has reported in the U.S. and around the world. They also will be advised by Keith Hammonds, the Monitor’s owner/publisher, who has worked in senior roles in multiple national news organizations. The intern will be trained to do solutions journalism – critical reporting on the responses to social challenges – which is a core component of the Monitor’s editorial strategy.

While they will be expected and encouraged to work independently, the intern and Lepeska will have regular calls, in addition to our weekly team meeting, to discuss story ideas and coverage approaches. The Monitor believes strongly in continuous feedback: Lepeska and Hammonds both will provide regular reviews of reporting and written work, and we hope that the intern will feel comfortable asking for advice and reactions at any time. At the close of the summer, the intern will have a formal exit interview with Hammonds to discuss learning and insights that can inform future internships.