Military Veterans in Journalism is pleased to announce that NPR has selected military veteran Jeff Dean to join its 2021 fall cohort of interns.
Jeff Dean served as a medevac crew chief for nine years in the U.S. Army before earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from the University of Oregon. Since graduation in 2019, Jeff has worked in West Africa helping to investigate human rights abuses and corruption. More recently, he has been working as a stringer for the Associated Press, AFP, Reuters and Bloomberg, covering breaking news, sports and politics in Ohio and Kentucky.
“NPR is an excellent media organization where I’ll have so many opportunities to learn and grow,” Dean said. Jeff will be working with the Business Desk team for the first half of the program as a reporter and researcher and will then switch to working with the team that programs and curates NPR’s digital platforms including our homepage, mobile apps, smart speakers, social media and newsletters for the second half of the program.
“We are very excited to have Jeff join our team and bring his skills not just as a military veteran but also as a journalist,” said Pallavi Gogoi, NPR’s chief business editor. “His perspective will be invaluable.”
Although he has primarily worked as a visual journalist, Dean said he is excited to strengthen his reporting by learning data analytics and having the opportunity to find, research and produce stories with NPR.
Dean is the second veteran to receive the coveted internship position.
“We’re incredibly grateful that NPR is including military veterans in its internship program,” said Russell Midori, MVJ founder and president. “We need more outlets to step up in diversifying their newsrooms so that their staff is reflective of the diversity of our country.”
“This collaboration with MVJ brings to NPR a critical voice and the valuable perspective of someone who, like so many Americans, has seen life through the lens of military service,” said Keith Woods, NPR’s Chief Diversity Officer. “We’re fortunate, through this fellowship, to be able to bring more of that perspective to our newsroom.”
