Shorenstein Center Student Research Assistants
Current Openings
Research Assistant Positions for the
Documentary Film in the Public Interest Program
Research Assistant for Documentary Film Fellow Abby Sun:
Abby Sun is the Director of Artist Programs and Editor of Documentary Magazine at the International Documentary Association. Her writing and speaking on the politics of film festivals, documentary film ethics, and the health of media ecosystems have been spotlit at Toronto, New York, Berlin, Rotterdam, and Locarno’s international film festivals. Previously, she edited MIT Open Documentary Lab’s Immerse and was a film festival programmer.
During her Shorenstein Documentary Film Fellowship, Abby will investigate how a lack of government regulation and oversight in streaming has eroded fundamental audience and impact support structures for documentary films and local media. She will also develop and present policy recommendations that will provide mechanisms for supporting distributed, local, independent, and diverse documentary media infrastructure. Abby is looking for a research assistant to assist with the following projects:
- Researching, drafting memos and briefings, and compiling existing media policy
- Transcribing and analyzing interviews with field leaders
- Field mapping and data visualizations
Ideal candidates will have:
- Knowledge of US media or cultural history
- Interest in and knowledge of independent film and documentary
- Interest in legislative and regulatory policy
Time Commitment: Up to 14 hours per week, starting ASAP through January 6, 2025
Pay: $22/hour
To apply, please email a resume to Abby Sun: abby@documentary.org
Content Management and Social Media Research Assistant Positions
The Shorenstein Center is looking for students to gain practical experience working in web content creation and social media management. These two positions will work directly with the center’s core Communications and Events team, focused on two particular channels of the center’s communications outputs.
Social Media Research and Production Assistant:
The Shorenstein Center engages directly with its core external audiences of journalists and policy makers primarily through email and social media channels. We are looking for a very digital-savvy, creative Research & Production Assistant to join the team to help monitor our current social media channels, create native content (posts, graphics, and short video clips), and maintain a regular cadence of scheduled posts about our work and upcoming events, as well as helping the Communications team with launch campaigns for new publications and other research products. This person may also help with media monitoring and tracking interviews and other media hits for Shorenstein Center affiliated faculty, fellows, and staff.
Successful applicants for both roles will have an interest in media, technology, and/or public policy relating to the information ecosystem, be highly organized, reliable, and able to work independently between regular check-ins with the manager and team, and have excellent written and verbal communication skills. Students with experience in communications, digital media, and/or journalism are encouraged to apply, but we also encourage applications from people without this direct experience, but an excitement to learn from and be part of a collegial communications team.
RAs may work up to 20 hours per week, but we expect the average workload to be approximately 10-12 hours/week. RAs may start at any time during the semester, but are expected to stay in the position for at least 3-4 months (one semester) or more.
Pay: $22/hour
To apply for either role, please fill out this form. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Work with a 2024 Shorenstein Fellow! Research Assistant for Nationally Recognized Democracy Funder and Strategist, Taylor Holden
Taylor Holden is the CEO of One for Democracy, a funding network unlocking resources to build a healthy democracy by fostering meaningful relationships between philanthropists and the democracy leaders of our time. One for Democracy has moved significant funding to impact elections and policy since its founding. Taylor has shepherded hundreds of millions of dollars to invest in election modernization, rights restoration for formerly incarcerated people, nonprofit journalism and community-owned media in areas devastated by the decimation of local newsrooms, efforts to foster civic culture and social cohesion, and much more.
While at the Shorenstein Center, she will research and report on the current state of American democracy philanthropy–a multibillion-dollar enterprise–and how philanthropy must shift to adequately address intersecting challenges facing communities, elected officials, and institutions.
She is looking for a Harvard student (undergraduate or graduate) to work as a Research Assistant who will provide crucial support during her fellowship.
The Research Assistant may assist with any or all of the following tasks and projects:
- General research
- Transcribing interviews with practitioners and funders
- Field mapping and data visualization
- Sourcing and distilling data on charitable and electoral giving over the last decade
Ideal candidates will have:
- Interest in and knowledge of American democratic institutions, norms, and processes
- Familiarity with shifts in campaign finance law and funding trends
- Interest in and knowledge of comparative politics
- Familiarity with 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), and 527-permissible activities
Logistics:
Time Commitment: Up to 14 hours per week, starting ASAP
Pay: $22/hour
To apply for the role, please fill out this form. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.