(New York, NY) – 77 WABC, an iconic New York City radio station, is known for its rich history in talk radio, breaking news coverage, and high-profile personalities.
The station and its network is proud to offer a deeply rewarding internship program that provides students with hands-on experience across departments. Interns are valued for their creativity and eagerness to learn. A summer spent at WABC allows students to gain firsthand insight into the inner workings of a top-tier radio station.
The program emphasizes collaboration, professional development, and mentorship, preparing interns for careers, communications, and beyond.
This summer WABC offered an internship to seven students.
Intern Rob Russo has been a key part of our social media team for the past three summers. Russo is a 20-year-old rising junior at the University of Florida. His days at WABC typically begin with editing videos from Sid Rosenburg’s show. He assists with various projects, including producing paid podcast content for networks. He shoots videos for social media and researches analytics to help develop sales packages for media clients. Russo says he is grateful for the rewarding and valuable learning he gets at WABC.
Another returning intern is Lauren Hagen. This is her second year with WABC. She works with the social media team. Hagen is entering her senior year at SUNY Purchase. She starts her days doing graphic design projects before getting into her busy afternoon of editing audio, clipping video and managing the revamped merchandise store including tracking sales and designing promotional materials. She is appreciative of this fulfilling, collaborative job that has brought her growth and adaptability.
Layla Blatt is working in public relations — the only intern serving in that capacity. The 20-year-old starts her day at WABC working on a variety of responsibilities including creating graphic design projects, press pickup reports and writing one of our four newsletters.
“I am always running around,” Blatt said.
Blatt studied communications at University of Delaware and is now shifting to working full time, and looking into finishing her degree in NYC.
Mackenzie Raftery is an 18-year-old rising sophomore at the University of South Carolina. Her last two months spent interning at WABC has shown her the dynamic blend of research, client interaction and hands-on learning in the business world. Starting at 9 a.m., Raferty researches companies that share similar demographics with WABC and sends emails to these companies aiming to make deals. She sends emails and follows up to secure meetings which she attends alongside account executives. She listens and learns while sometimes contributing to the discussion.
She uses software including Niselsen, HubSpot and Zoominfo.
Raftery is a management major planning to switch to international business – she’s interested in becoming a global connector for businesses and bridging cultural gaps.
Chad Lopez Jr. is a rising Junior at Long Island University studying entrepreneurship. His days interning at WABC consist of searching for and emailing companies. Lopez Jr. has been working on a project to give students a platform that aims to bridge the generational gap in understanding political issues to foster better connection and reduce misinformation.
“This internship has given me real-world experience,” Lopez Jr. said.
Hard work and collaboration are two of the most important elements to the success of the interns at WABC. When asked about the best part of their internship – each said the other interns have made this incredible learning experience better than they imagined.
Haley Kenny also contributed to this report
