KALW Audio Academy: An audio journalism program for adults

The KALW Audio Academy is a unique nine-month radio journalism training program for adults at KALW Public Radio, an NPR and BBC affiliate in San Francisco.

This program is designed to give participants a professional audio production and journalism education, tuition-free. And, for the first time this year, we're offering participants a stipend of up to $9,000 for the duration of the program.

We are looking for:

• Creative thinkers, great writers, audiophiles who dream in sound & story
• Anyone who is hungry to break into the world of audio journalism
• People with a passion for covering a diversity of communities
• Ideally, people who are knowledgeable about the Bay Area
• Team players ready to work hard in a supportive newsroom
• Fans of workday dance parties (appreciated but not required!)

About the program

You will be an integral part of the production of our award-winning daily news show,Crosscurrents. Our show is known for telling nuanced, sound-rich stories. You will be trained on daily newsroom tasks like fact-checking and research, while also getting to pitch and produce radio features in our supportive, collaborative newsroom.

In addition, you will receive in-depth training in audio journalism and production through weekly evening seminars taught by KALW reporters, engineers, and special guests. Seminar topics include: interviewing; field recording; writing for radio; voicing; and editing in Protools. Every Audio Academy fellow also receives mentorship from Crosscurrents staff as well as shadowing opportunities.

Commitment and timeline

Between September and June, participants are asked to commit 16-20 hours of work per week. This includes one regularly scheduled eight-hour shift in our newsroom and another eight hours working in the field, producing your own stories.

Participants will also be asked to attend weekly evening seminars (6:00 to 8:30 p.m.) on Wednesdays from September to December and then every other week (6:00 to 8:30 p.m.) on Wednesdays from January to June.

The academy includes a two-week break in late December and two flexible vacation weeks for each participant.

Enrollment in a college or university is not necessary to participate. We discourage applicants who are currently full-time students due to the time demands.

This is a free in-person training opportunity. Participants must be willing to travel to our popup studio in downtown San Francisco at 220 Montgomery and our studios located at Phillip & Sala Burton High School at 500 Mansell in San Francisco.

Compensation

We are now offering participants a stipend of up to $9,000 for the duration of the program, from September through mid-June. The stipend is dependent on meeting the requirements of the program.

How to apply

To apply, please submit the following:

• A cover letter that tells us why you want to be in the Audio Academy; how you hope to use the training that we provide; and why your perspective is one that needs to be represented in the world of public radio and podcasting
• A resume with any relevant experience
• Links to two samples of your creative and/or professional work. This can be audio you've produced, short films you've made, articles you've written, creative fiction or nonfiction, a poem, a blog post, etc. It can be something you made for a class or have had published. Anything that shows us what you're storytelling interests are. Either include URLs to work already online or upload your work to SoundCloud or Google Drive. 
• Link to an original audio work (optional but highly encouraged). This can either be an audio story you’ve already made and you didn't already include in your work samples above, or one that you craft for the application that tells us something about yourself. It doesn’t have to be technical, award-winning, or rich in sound design. We want to learn about you as a person and how you’re beginning to think in audio. Please either include URLs to work already online or upload your work to SoundCloud.

Submit your application materials through our online form.

Application deadline: Sunday, April 21 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.

If you have questions, please email Victor Tence at victor@kalw.org.

KALW encourage applicants of all backgrounds and we want you to show us your authentic self in your application. We strive to be a workplace where everyone feels that they belong, that their voice matters, and that they are challenged and supported to do their best work.

KALW is known for its unique training opportunities. We also host a summer podcasting institute for high schoolers and a summer journalism training program for adults. You can learn more about all our programs here.