Summer intern team attends Democratic National Convention

A group of interns who worked out of the National Press Club for Weiner Public News concluded their summer by attending the Democratic National Convention and helping with media relations efforts at the event in Chicago.

Led by Robert Weiner and senior editor Patricia Berg, the team of summer interns included Jonathan Person, Ashleigh Fields, Olivia Ardito, Kailynn Bannon, Catherine Walker and Tomas Alves. Over the summer, the interns produced 26 op-ed articles that were published in major national news outlets including the Chicago Tribune, the Charlotte Observer, the Dallas Morning News, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, The Afro, The Amsterdam News, the Pulse Institute and OpEdNews, among others. 

The team volunteered at the DNC doing media logistics They helped staff the morning press briefing room at McCormick Place, expedited media access to various caucus council meetings and checked press credentials to cover the nightly speeches at the United Center.

“It was such an enriching experience to be surrounded by successful journalists and to hear speeches from our country’s biggest political leaders,” Bannon said.  

The Weiner team posted on X, formerly Twitter, each night about speeches and other convention highlights.

Person said the convention was a little chaotic in terms of logistics and scheduling but “really well done” overall. “The convention showed that Democrats united under a candidate and did not become a party of chaos” as some had anticipated.