Are you a budding journalist? Do you want to spend years learning the compexities of journalism, ethics, and fair coverage only to land a job where you are required to read a script that bizarrely targets fake news while every other talking head in your position at Sinclair is required to read the same exact thing?
If so, good news: Sinclair has dozens - and in some cases, hundreds - of unpaid internships available. We pulled the comapny's hiring data over the past couple years and filtered for jobs marked as "Intern". Here are the results:
As you can see, there were massive efforts just this fall to bring in as many unpaid interns as possible.
Hiring unpaid interns isn't terribly unique, especially in journalism where media budgets tend to be tight. But in light of recent events, this hiring spree - and massive recent uptick - of interns at Sinclair is very telling.
The internship listings are all very similar. Here's a recent posting for an internship position posted on February 27, 2018. As of today, it remains open:
Make your mark in Broadcasting and Digital Media. Sinclair Broadcast Group and Sinclair Digital Solutions are dedicated to making Sinclair a communications powerhouse! We are the largest and most diversified television broadcasting company in the country. Sinclair owns and operates, programs or provides services to more television stations than anyone and has affiliations with all major networks. Sinclair Digital group is focused on bringing the most engaging content to web, mobile and over-the-top broadcasting to audiences all over the country! Our success is the result of extraordinary employees and an exemplary management team who believe in a vision and are dedicated ensuring a great future for our employees. Whether you are an industry veteran or a just starting out, you can find it at Sinclair! We are advancing the world of Broadcasting and we want YOU to join our winning team!
WPBN/WGTU has a great opportunity for you! We are looking for interns for our News Department for the 2018 summer semester. Qualified candidates should also be planning and preparing for a job in news. We are looking for highly motivated, dedicated students who are looking to get the most out of their internship experience. You must be eligible to receive college credit to participate in this internship, and be at least 18 years of age. This internship is unpaid. Credit Verification forms will be provided.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and Drug Free Workplace!
At least you get school credit.
Over the weekend, Sinclair came under massive viral fire after a video surfaced that showed dozens of local affiliate networks reciting the same script that claimed they stood against "fake news". The YouTube video (see below) description describes the message as "everyone in the media is lying to you except us".
For the deadly curious, you can read the full script here.