ABC News Audience Engagement Intern, Spring 2027

Walt Disney; New York (NY); On-site; USD 26,000 - 37,000; Full time

Job summary

Disney’s ABC News Audience Development team is offering a full-time, six-month internship in New York City from January 2027 to June 2027. As an Audience Development Intern, you will gain hands-on experience at the intersection of journalism, analytics, and digital storytelling, supporting initiatives across ABCNews.com, mobile apps, social, and search.

You will learn how editorial judgment, data insights, and experimentation drive audience growth, contribute to headline testing, monitor trends,

Qualifications

• Experience in journalism, news reporting, or digital media through coursework, internships, or projects.
• Understanding of the 24/7 news cycle and current events.
• Proven writing and editing skills through coursework or samples.
• Experience using social platforms, publishing tools, or distribution channels.

Responsibilities

• Support audience development initiatives across ABC News digital platforms.
• Curate content experiences across owned platforms and assist distribution to partners.
• Contribute to headline testing, monitor news, search, and social trends.
• Identify emerging platforms and audience behaviors to inform content strategy.

Skills

Journalism

News reporting

Digital media

Content creation

Social platforms

Analytics

Deadline management

Collaboration

Education

Junior or Senior year

Majors in Journalism, Digital Media, Communications or Marketing

Job description

About the Role & Program

The ABC News Audience Development team is responsible for creating, distributing, curating, and optimizing ABC News content across digital platforms, including ABCNews.com, mobile apps, major social media platforms, search, video, and other distribution channels. The team plays a critical role in connecting audiences with breaking news and original journalism while identifying opportunities to grow engagement across existing and emerging platforms.

As an Audience Development Intern, you will gain hands‑on experience at the intersection of journalism, audience strategy, analytics, and digital storytelling. Working alongside experienced audience development professionals, you will learn how editorial judgment, data insights, and experimentation help drive audience growth and engagement. The ideal candidate is passionate about news and current events, follows digital media trends, and is interested in understanding how audiences discover and consume content across platforms.

This internship is a full-time, six-month commitment in the New York, New York area from January 2027 - June 2027

What You Will Do

On any given day, you will support audience development initiatives across ABC News digital platforms, including ABCNews.com, mobile apps, search, social media, video, and other distribution channels. You will help curate content experiences across owned platforms, support audience growth strategies, and assist in distributing content to external partners to help maximize visibility during major news events. You will contribute to headline testing efforts, monitor news, search, and social trends, and help identify emerging platforms, formats, and audience behaviors. This role offers the opportunity to strengthen editorial judgment, analytical thinking, collaboration, and digital storytelling skills while gaining exposure to how data and audience insights inform content strategy.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Experience with journalism, news reporting, news production, digital media, or content creation through coursework, internships, campus media, or related projects.
• Understanding of the 24/7 news cycle, current events, and breaking news coverage.
• Demonstrated writing and editing skills through coursework, internships, campus media, or published content samples.
• Experience using social media platforms, digital publishing tools, or content distribution channels through academic, extracurricular, internship, or personal projects.
• Familiarity with audience metrics, analytics, or data-informed decision-making through coursework, projects, or prior experience.
• Ability to manage multiple assignments, meet deadlines, and collaborate effectively in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred Qualifications & Skills

• Experience conducting research or analyzing audience, engagement, or content performance data.
• Familiarity with social media management, content publishing, or audience analytics tools.
• Experience creating content for digital, social, or campus media platforms.
• Experience working in a newsroom, media organization, student publication, or related environment.
• Familiarity with SEO, headline writing, or audience engagement strategies.
• Interest in emerging digital platforms and evolving audience consumption behaviors.

Education

• Junior or Senior year preferred.
• Major or coursework in Journalism, Broadcast Journalism, Communications, Digital Media, Media Studies, Marketing, or a related field preferred.

Eligibility Requirements & Program Information

Candidates for this opportunity MUST meet all of the below requirements:

• Be enrolled in an accredited college/university pursuing a degree taking at least one class at time of application OR currently participating in a Disney College Program or Disney Internship.
• Current Disney Interns, College, International, or Culinary Program Participants: You may only work for ONE consecutive year (12 months) in any combination of an internship and/or program.
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Possess unrestricted work authorization

Additional Information

• Able to have a consistent, reliable work schedule throughout the internship
• Fully available from January 2027 through June 2027
• Fully available from Monday through Friday, 40 hours each week
• Able to provide own housing for the duration of the internship program in the New York, New York area
• Able to provide/have reliable transportation to/from work in the New York, New York area

Materials Requested:

• A portfolio review is required for this position. For full consideration, please include a link to your portfolio on your résumé. Applications without a portfolio link on the résumé will not be considered a completed application packet and may not be fully considered for the position. Please visit our support site or additional information.

The pay rate for this role in New York is $23.00 per hour.

• Select benefits may be provided as part of the compensation package, such as medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.

To learn more about our benefits visit: https://jobs.disneycareers.com/benefits.