Internship opportunity – Archives Unit

If you wish to make a difference in places where free media is under threat or does not exist, RFE/RL offers eligible, qualified students the opportunity to engage with professionals and to learn more about our mission. In doing so, you would acquire direct, practical experience with the support of a mentor. Internships are a competitive process and are unpaid. We offer skills development and an opportunity to contribute to an exciting media project.

Our Archives Unit Team is seeking a Prague-based intern for assistance with ongoing and finite Archive projects during the whole year. The selected intern(s) would be expected to assist on the projects from 10-15 hours per week. Days per week are flexible and depend on the agreement with the mentor and the students’ schedule. The expected length of the internship is 1-3 months.

The internship will provide broad overview of the Production and Editorial processes of a Broadcast Media organization, as well as specific focus on Archive management and Collection Development. The interns will learn Library and Information Management skills and principles specifically in relation to a broadcast media company, but also applicable to any other organization that produces a large number of files and data with multiple departments and stakeholders. Please note, this is not a Production internship. The intern will not perform journalistic duties such as reporting, writing, pitching articles or videos, publishing or distribution of video or audio.

You will learn:

* about the work of the Archives Unit team.

* about archiving principles of collection development and management, principles of cataloging and records management and principles of data modeling and metadata management.

* how to select media for archive based on RFE/RL Collection Policy and media formats.

* how to identify video formats.

Expected duties may include all or some of the following:

• video selection for archiving.
• cataloging of video for archive, creating original catalog records in English and another RFE/RL language.
• research on particular stories, identification of the key information from articles to create catalog record and metadata.
• research on best practice for interoperability of metadata.
• translations of texts, articles.
• contribution to ongoing Archive projects (possible participation in the installation of a Broadcast Asset Management system in Prague).
• interfacing with various RFE/RL Stakeholders: Producers, Video Editors, Service personnel; Bureaus and Services.
• creating surveys or inventories of legacy media in RFE/RL Services in Prague or in Bureaus.
• documenting workflows as needed.

Minimum requirements are:

• Enrolled university student or recent graduate – must be in good standing.
• An educational background in Library Science or Archiving or work experience in this field is requested.
• Ability to review and critically assess texts in English. Fluency in written and spoken English is mandatory.
• Knowledge of Russian or another language from RFE/RL’s broadcast regions is a plus.
• Experience with Microsoft Office 365 (Word, Excel, Power Point, etc.).
• Ability to apply critical thinking skills to problem solve and identify solutions.
• Previous cataloging experience is desired but not mandatory.
• Keen interest in history (European, Russian, Central Asian) and/or journalism.
• Good communication skills and ability to work and engage with a variety of stakeholders with a professional attitude.
• Ability to multitask and to work in team.
• Interest and awareness in news and current affairs from RFE/RL’s broadcast regions.