MDDC Press Foundation

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The future of journalism is on the line and we need your help. At its heart, journalism depends on fresh blood – bright young people who want to do more than just blog from their basements.  


MDDC’s Reese Cleghorn Internship Program offers these young people the opportunity and the training to launch successful careers in the profession. That’s better for them and for all of us who rely on solid reporting and editing to make informed decisions as citizens in these challenging times.  


Democracy is in crisis. Local news is the best source of accurate, timely information about communities that citizens need to make decisions about how we are all going to live together in a civil society. By developing the journalism talent of the future you can contribute to the rebuilding of local news. 

About the program

Since its inception in 1999, the program has provided paid 8-week, “real world” summer experiences for 145 (and counting!) college students from across Maryland, Delaware and the District.  A survey of program alumni indicated that more than 70% went on to a full-time position in journalism. They joined news organizations like CNBC, POLITICO, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Daily Record, The News Journal (Wilmington), The Frederick News-Post, The Herald-Mail (Hagerstown) and The Capital (Annapolis).


My MDDC internship was my first experience in a professional newsroom and provided me with the clips necessary to land subsequent internships. Those combined experiences afforded me my first job. Additionally, my editors from the MDDC internship continue to be mentors to this day.” 
-Steven Overly, currently covering global trade and economics for POLITICO 

“I have no complaints about the process, program or internship itself. I think I got extremely lucky to have all three be fantastic. I think this internship allowed me to see and experience real-world journalism outside of an academic career. It’s stressful working at a student newspaper and trying to be a student, but this internship gave me a more real world perspective on what day-to-day work and life would be like. I loved it.”  says Clara Niel, now a reporter at Frederick News Post where she interned.

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“This internship was going to make or break journalism for me. After a few short weeks, I realized this is what I wanted to do.”


-Clara Niel, 2021 intern

MDDC news organizations often hire the interns after graduation, citing the students’ practical experience and skills in reporting, editing and multimedia. 


“They have more experience than most recent college grads, and they understand the expectations,” says an editor at one newspaper. “We have found the interns are well-prepared and energetic. They have been capable of tackling fairly challenging assignments and provide a great boost to the coverage in our newsrooms,” says another.  

Apply to the program

If you are a college student looking to jump start your journalism career, you can get more information and apply for an internship here. 

How to help

If you’d like to support the program – and the future of good journalism – you can make a tax-deductible donation. Please consider sponsoring part or all of a student’s life-changing summer experience! More money raised means more internships provided.  Each internship  – which includes student stipend, personal mentoring, writing coaching, and ongoing training — costs about $5,500. 



The MDDC’s Reese Cleghorn Internship Program, named after the former dean of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, is an initiative of the MDDC Foundation, which is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit, so all donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. 

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More than 70% of interns continue a career in news media

Our partners

The Foundation has been supported over the past years by dozens of donors.  Our partners include: The Nutting Family Foundation, Delaplaine Foundation, Delaware Humanities, The Gannett Foundation and SNPA.

Press Foundation governance

Tom Linthicum is the current president of the Press Foundation. The current Board of Trustees may be found here.