Raul Ramirez Diversity in Journalism Internship at KQED
Deadline: Nov. 18, 2022, 5 p.m.
The Journalism Department at SF State welcomes pitches from journalism majors and minors for a special KQED internship to further the goals of longtime journalist and instructor Raul Ramirez. The internship seeks to promote work that reflects the experience and points of view of diverse individuals.
Raul Ramirez championed diversity in journalism throughout a long and distinguished career.
He was gay and Latino at a time when members of both groups were not particularly welcomed in mainstream newsrooms. Ramirez rose to be the executive editor at KQED while also teaching classes at San Francisco State and UC-Berkeley. Before that, Ramirez spent 23 years at several of the nation's largest news organizations, including the San Francisco Examiner, Oakland Tribune, Washington Post, Miami Herald and Wall Street Journal. For Raul, “Journalism had always been about the power of voices.”
Raul died in November of 2013 at age 67, just four months after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Before his passing, he gave $25,000 to create the Raul Ramirez Diversity in Journalism Fund at San Francisco State University, which recognizes journalism students whose work promotes diversity. The fund has since grown through contributions from colleagues, friends and family.
Internship Description
The Raul Ramirez Diversity in Journalism Fund is used to support an internship with KQED News. The 17-week internship program will run from January through June, two days a week (8 hours a day) at KQED and includes a three-day orientation in January. This is a paid internship. Interns are paid hourly, San Francisco minimum wage. Students will also be awarded a separate stipend from the Raul Ramirez Diversity Fund.
For the period of the internship, the student will pitch, develop and execute a long-term project that highlights and encourages discussion of an issue affecting an underrepresented community. The project medium is the intern’s choice but should have an online-first focus. It’s recommended students complete JOUR 300GW Reporting prior to the start of the internship.
To receive the internship, a student must be enrolled at least half time as an undergraduate journalism major or minor at San Francisco State University during the academic year in which the award will be disbursed. (Students graduating in December 2021 are eligible to apply.) Recipients must be in good academic standing, as determined by San Francisco State University, at the time they apply and at the time of the internship.
How to Apply
To apply, email (in a single PDF) the following to Amber Wehrer at amberw@sfsu.edu with the subject line: Raul Ramirez Internship by Nov. 18 at 5 p.m.
- Name, student ID number, expected graduation date
- A 500-word-or-less pitch for an online journalistic project that highlights and encourages discussion of an issue affecting communities that are under-covered. Include how producing this could impact public perception or public policy. The pitch must show evidence of research to support its feasibility.
- Links to or clips of previously published work (college publications included).
- A current resume
To learn more about the project, the following links will also help you understand the importance of diversity to Raul Ramirez and to this project.
Final Words from Raul Ramirez
Restless Raul Ramirez Journalist Refused Stenographer