About the Role & Program
Step into the spotlight as a National Geographic intern, collaborating directly with our award-winning, industry-leading team in Washington, D.C. You’ll play a vital role in reviewing television and video content to ensure every detail meets the highest standards of factual accuracy and editorial integrity. You’ll have the opportunity to grow your expertise in non-fiction television by mastering how to assess content quality, identify credible and authoritative sources, and craft edits that guarantee accuracy, balance, authenticity, and fairness throughout the post-production and creative process. You’ll experience firsthand how National Geographic’s editorial standards are developed and refined, working alongside Managers, Research on special projects in research, writing, and administration.
This is a full-time internship, and the approximate dates are from May/June 2026 through August/September 2026. If selected for this opportunity, you will report directly to the Director of Research. A cover letter indicating your interest in the role is required.
What You Will Do
Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Assisting our team with fact-checking of National Geographic documentaries and ancillary content at various stages of development, post-production, and delivery.
- Assisting in researching and writing assessments for new projects under consideration.
- Reviewing, researching, and editing content, such as digital/social copy, promotional facts, quiz questions, and other content, under the guidance of the Editorial Research staff.
- Conducting research and preparing briefs on emerging issues related to the team’s work, such as new research tools, evolving style and journalism standards, and generative AI.
Required Qualifications & Skills
- Strong oral and written communication skills
- High attention to detail, are analytical and well organized
- Majored in a research and writing-intensive field of study at the college level
- Ability to handle and prioritize simultaneous projects and meet deadlines
- Ability to work independently, are self-motivated and resourceful.
- Experience using Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Preferred Qualifications
- Previous academic or internship experience in journalism (print and/or broadcast), television, news and news media production, and/or television news or documentary script writing
- Familiarity with video editing
- Multilingual skills or experience communicating in more than one language
- Experience working with software – such as Airtable and research tools like Nexis, JSTOR, and Google Scholar
Education
- Major coursework in research and writing-intensive field of study, either social sciences or physical sciences.
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 Required Documents
- A cover letter indicating your interest in The National Geographic Content TV & Film Editorial Research Intern, Summer 2026 is required.
Additional Information
- Able to have a consistent, reliable work schedule throughout the internship
- The approximate dates of this internship are May/June 2026 through August/September 2026.
- Fully available from Monday through Friday, 9am to 6pm ET for the duration of the internship
- Able to provide own housing for the duration internship program in the Washington D.C. area
- Able to provide/have reliable transportation to/from work
