The end.

Today, I gave my final presentation about the blog in my Online Journalism class. Tomorrow, I will have my last day at The Daily Journal.

This blog has been a learning experience for me. It has made my anti-blogging attitude almost disappear.

But the best experience I had this semester was my internship.

If I could change one thing about working at The Daily Journal (besides the amount of gas money I shelled out!) it would be to work there more days per week. The most I got to work in a week was three days, if you included the rare Saturday assignment. My lack of spare time stopped me from being able to go more, but if I could change my experience, I would have taken less classes and focused more on my internship. Real-world experience has helped me more than I ever imagined it would. I have an insane amount of contacts now, and a hefty clip book for future job interviews. I am hoping that The Daily Journal keeps me in mind for freelancing opportunities, because I think that I can continue to learn from working in the newsroom.

So, I will try to update when I hear about internship listings in the area. But I think this is my farewell. Of course, if I get another internship (hopefully a paid one!) I will come back to the blogging world to tell you all about it.

Become the digital future of journalism, learn through your internship

Graduation is within reach, you are ready for the journalism world, and you are suddenly wondering “what happens next? The business of journalism has changed significantly since you began at college, and it will continue to rapidly change. So, if you’ve got the time left at school–start now. Take advantage of the desperate journalism world and let them take advantage of your skills. Get the experience and put your name out there. Do it by getting an internship.

As a student, you have an incredibly fresh perspective to offer the journalism world–and that world can offer you experience.

Create an online portfolio, get your name in the internet
First, create an online portfolio (see my post “Top 10 ways to find and secure an internship”). Put your résumé online, make your Web site strong and easy to find through keywords on search engines. Put your portfolio link on the bottom of e-mails, tell people about it and keep updating it. Join sites like JerseyIntern.com (or the equivalent for your area).
Getting your name online and in people’s minds can be done through blogging as well. If you make your blog professional and keep it accurate and relevant, it is worth putting on your résumé. Many large publications are paying reporters to blog, and most large publications, such as the New York Times, are relying heavily on the blogging world as part of new business models. Show that you understand the digital world by becoming a solid part of it.

Photo courtesy of rowan.edu

Use your campus connections
According to Kathryn Quigley, journalism professor and head of the journalism internship program at Rowan University, the first place to begin searching for an internship is on publication Web sites. Quigley said using connections with professors is also a good way to get contacts and interviews.
“Especially the one in charge of internships for your department,” she said. “They get e-mails and calls all the time from companies looking for interns. I know I do.”

Internship round-up

-Although this does not have much to do with internships, my professor showed me this post from 10,000 words today. “20 Must-Have Gifts for Journalists.” Personally, I would like the Ctrl, Alt, Delete cup set.

-”The Student Life” at Pomona College sat down with Intern Queen Lauren Berger in the beginning of November. Berger talks about her successes in the internship world in “Q&A with the ‘Intern Queen’”

-A great article about weeding out the truth from the fiction in citizen journalism and the blogging world. “He Said, She Said Journalism: Lame Formula in the Land of the Active User” by PressThink is a thought-provoking read. For students, this is a great topic to think about and discuss, because blogging vs. journalism is becoming a deeper and more grey-area debate.

Time management when there is no time to spare

Depending on what school you go to, journalism is called an easy major. At Rowan, professors are laid back and flexible in the journalism department, but the workload is undeniable. We are writers, and writing takes time. We have phone calls to make, interviews to execute and stories to hunt down. Not to mention general education classes and possible part-time jobs and working on student newspapers.

So how do you fit in an internship? How do you even fit in time to find an internship? Here are some things I learned this semester:

1. Combine what you can. For my Enterprise Journalism class, I had to choose a town or county in N.J. to cover for the entire semester. So, I chose Vineland, where I travel every Tuesday and Friday for my internship. If I ever need to cover anything for Enterprise, I am already there for my internship. As an added bonus, my professor is my boss at  The Daily Journal, so he is constantly feeding me story ideas about Vineland for class. Also, I chose to write about internships on this blog for Online Journalism. I have a wealth of material to write about and do not have an extra beat or topic to cover. My case is extreme, I joined three things from one. But, I’m sure that if students look at their schedules, this could be done in many instances.

“The Rise and Fall of Media” by David Carr

The NY Times recently published an article by David Carr, who talks about the different world of journalism us students are getting into. “The Rise and Fall of Media.”

Carr remembers the days when starting at the bottom (interns and rookie reporters) and working your way up was what every journalist did. Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward did it, but can we? Is becoming the veteran reporter good enough anymore? Is just writing even good enough anymore?

Old and new media is colliding, as Carr said. Business models and shifting and the publishing industry is now onto a trial and error way of life.

So where do we come in? We are the students that learn about all the legendary journalists and their Pulitzer Prizes. Their rise to journalism fame. But it isn’t that simple anymore (not to discredit the efforts and successes of top-notch journalists). Now, journalists our age need to speak a different language.

MLB looking for 30 interns nationwide

I received an e-mail from Rowan University’s internship coordinator. Personally, I wish I knew enough about baseball statistics and sports writing to apply for this. There is a $500 per week pay. I wouldn’t mind traveling to work for the Yankees everyday for $500 per week…

2010 Summer Internships

If you have any questions, contact Bill Hill at bill.hill@MLB.com and put the words “Internship Info” in the subject line. No phone calls, please.

Want an exciting summer covering Major League Baseball? MLB.com offers 30 reporting internships to aspiring sportswriters. These internships are designed to give associates the full range of experiences that comes with covering a professional team. Each associate will work closely with a site reporter to give visitors to a team’s Web site all the information they need to follow the team from Opening Day to season’s end. Each Major League team will have one associate.
We will be looking for talented college juniors and seniors, as well as graduate students, for our 2010 Summer Internship Program. If you are graduating in May or June of 2010, you are still eligible. The application deadline is Dec. 11, 2009. We will make our selections by the end of January.
We expect each intern to spend a minimum of 10 weeks in the program, dates determined by a person’s college schedule. The more flexible an applicant is in terms of which Major League city he or she can work in, the better the person’s chances of being selected. Interns will be paid $500 per week.
Applicants should submit a resume, 5 to 10 published articles, a list of references and a 750-word essay on why MLB.com should select you? Your clips ideally will show a variety of work, including game stories, previews and features.
MLB.com also will be offering a limited number of internships for copy editors/producers. Associates are responsible for arranging their own housing and transportation.
Please mail all internship applications to:

Bill Hill
Assistant Managing Editor/MLB.com
Attn: Internship Application
14825 N. 97th Place
Scottsdale, AZ 85260

The Daily Journal internships available

The Daily Journal of Vineland is seeking interns for spring and summer semesters. This is where I am currently interning, and I couldn’t recommend the publication more. Below, Jerry Staas-Haught details what internships are available and what the publication is looking for:

We have multiple internship opportunities in News, Features, Photography and Sports.

The Daily Journal has had considerable success with interns from Rowan University over the past several years.

As an adjunct professor at Rowan – and a College of Communication graduate – I am familiar with the journalism program and the level of education students receive at the college. Our internship here is tailored to complement that education and help young journalists grow into the trade.

We have taken on interns of all skill levels and have demonstrated marked success with each one. Many of our interns have quickly landed full-time jobs in journalism after graduation and have reported their time with The Daily Journal proved the element they needed to become a confident and competent journalist.

The internship program here is a true working internship. Student interns are treated as a member of the editorial staff. They attend news events, conduct interviews and write stories that actually appear in our print and Web products.