Reporting Intern, California (Spring 2027)

About the role

POLITICO is seeking exceptional college students and recent graduates for its Spring 2027 reporting internship in Sacramento, California reporting from the State Capitol. The intern will play a critical role in our coverage of the state legislative session and the governor.

Details: Posted September 25, 2026. Internship runs January–May 2027 in Sacramento, CA. Application deadline: Monday, October 26, 2026 at 11:59 pm EST.

Responsibilities

• Work with our California Playbook team to write and produce our daily newsletter on politics in the nation’s largest state
• Be involved in all aspects of content creation and production, including research, reporting, writing, editing and aggregating
• Some of this work may occur during the early morning hours or late in the evening
• Contribute to the reporting of a dynamic team covering policy and politics of California for both in-state and national audiences
• Cover spot news in policy and politics in and around the State Capitol

Requirements

• A passion for politics and policy and a thirst to learn about California politics and government
• The ability to work early mornings or late in the evening to help with California Playbook
• Strong foundational reporting and writing skills
• Excellent news judgment
• Ability to work quickly and efficiently under deadlines
• Entrepreneurial mindset
• Proven experience in a newsroom. At least one professional news media internship or job preferred.

Benefits

• Cover the biggest CA politics stories as they unfold, with a behind-the-scenes view of how news gets made
• Be a full-time reporter. Work independently (and with your team) on breaking news, enterprise, newsletters and more
• Report in the field as needed
• Build your skills through biweekly intern-specific trainings, newsroom sessions and direct feedback

Pay

$23/hr

Schedule

Hybrid, full-time 40 hours/week

About Us. POLITICO illuminates the forces shaping global power. Since 2007, we have delivered intelligence that anticipates tomorrow's headlines, not reports on yesterday's news. As politics has increasingly become the defining force of our era, our work has never been more vital. Cabinet secretaries and Ministers start their mornings with our analysis. CEOs shape strategy around our reporting. Advocacy leaders rely on our insights to move policy. We deliver the straightforward facts and clear-eyed analysis they need to navigate the most complex political landscape of our lifetimes. Our 1,100+ publishing professionals across the world's key democratic capitals—Washington, Brussels, London, Paris, Berlin, Sacramento, and New York—form the world's premier politics and policy newsroom. We tell the story of how power really works by explaining who wields it and how they plan to exercise it, connecting dots others miss and delivering scoops from sources others don't even know exist. Innovation has always been a core tenet