Contact Mae Waldron () to request information about these programs. Click here to download a Foundation brochure.

Internship Scholarship Program

Since 1989, the Foundation's Internship Scholarship Program has awarded 85 internship scholarships to students in high school or college. Students intern for at least 240 hours at a community newspaper that is a member of Washington Newspaper Publishers Association and receive a $1,000 stipend upon completion. The number of scholarships offered each year is determined by the Foundation Board of Directors. The board calls for nominations in winter.

Applicants must be nominated by a journalism or communications department at a college or university in Washington or by a WNPA-member newspaper. College students interested in applying should contact their journalism department.

Some scholarships are funded by the WNPA Foundation. Others are by specific donation: The Bruce and Betty Helberg Internship Scholarship was established in 1988, the Verizon Northwest Internship Scholarship and the Richard W. Gay Internship Scholarship in 1990, and the Jim and Kay Flaherty Internship Scholarship in 1993.

2009 Internship Scholarship Winners

Clayton Bracht, a high school student nominated by the Grant County Journal in Ephrata, received a WNPA Foundation scholarship for a summer internship at the Journal.

Maks Goldenshteyn finished his junior year at the University of Washington in spring 2009. He interned at the Kirkland Reporter.

Devon Mills, a University of Washington senior, is winner of the Bruce and Betty Helberg Internship Scholarship. She interned at Pacific Publishing Co. community newspapers in Seattle: South Seattle Beacon, Capitol Hill Times, and North Seattle Herald-Outlook.

Zubrod Legislative Reporting Internship

This internship, available in odd-numbered years to third- or fourth-year students, requires a high level of self motivation and strong interest in learning about legislative issues of concern to newspapers in Washington state. It involves working with the executive director of Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington, a lobbyist, during the legislative session in Olympia, Wash. The intern receives a $1,000 stipend. The Foundation invites journalism programs at Washington state universities to nominate applicants in the fall. In addition to journalism students, students majoring in communications, law or political science are encouraged to apply.

This internship honors Jerry Zubrod, who retired in 1988 after serving as WNPA executive director 23 years. He died in 2001. The $10,000 endowment was established in 2005 with donations from many of Zubrod's former colleagues and friends in the industry.

Christina Smailes 2009 Zubrod Legislative Reporting Intern Pacific Lutheran University student

Christina Smailes, a senior at Pacific Lutheran University, is the 2009 Zubrod Legislative Reporting intern. Smailes is working on a degree in communications with a concentration in conflict resolution, and minors in political science and Spanish. Her journalism experience includes working as a reporter on The Mast and for KCNS News@9, a live, student-run news program.
Recommended by PLU associate communications professor Joanne Lisosky as "a highly motivated student with a strong interest in learning about legislative issues in Olympia," Smailes also has working knowledge of national and state political processes.
She was a volunteer assistant to KPLU's Austin Jenkins on election night in November 2008, and served as a campaign intern for the Congressman Larsen Re-Election Campaign.

Previous Zubrod interns are Jennifer Henrichsen (2007) and Aaron Brauer-Rieke (2006), both of whom are graduates of Pacific Lutheran University. Henrichsen is a Fulbright scholar pursuing a degree in international relations in Geneva while freelancing at the United Nations. Brauer-Rieke is in his final year at University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.

Educator-in-Residence Program

The Foundation launched the Educator-in-Residence program to provide high school and college level teachers with hands-on work experiences at community newspapers. Since the program's successful first year, 2000, the Foundation has funded nearly 25 Educators in Residence.

The teachers intern for 80 hours at WNPA-member newspapers during the summer. When they return to the classroom, they have fresh, real-life experiences in community journalism with which they can inspire and inform their students. Educators in Residence receive a $1,000 stipend, of which 75 percent comes from the Foundation and the remainder from the host newspaper. Applications are due in February of odd-numbered years.

Download an application here.

Publisher-in-Residence Program

Under the Publisher-in-Residence program, ongoing since 1981, community newspaper publishers visit university journalism programs, spending up to three days. Depending on the school's needs the publisher discusses newsgathering, ethics, advertising, business management, career opportunities or other topics. The publishers also typically meet with the student newspaper staff. Participating publishers are encouraged to make a donation to the Foundation, which assumed administration of this WNPA program in 2006.

Contact Mae Waldron, (206) 634-3838 (e-mail address at top of page), for information about these programs.