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.

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.”

Market yourself
Quigley said that when it comes to marketing yourself as a journalist, stressing good qualities and sticking by them during your internship is the best way to go.
“You want to stress that you are dependable, good on deadline and a great communicator,” she said. “Do not flake out during the internship by calling out all the time. Bosses hate that, but my students constantly do it. Then they are surprised when they get a bad evaluation from the boss.”

Photo courtesy of emilykostic.com

Twitter can actually help you
Emily Kostic is the current editor-in-chief at Rowan University‘s student newspaper, The Whit. She has had three internships during college, and recently finished her internship at BBC Worldwide in N.Y. City. Kostic said that although this was her first corporate experience, it was her favorite.
Kostic is well-versed in the digital world, and used her skills at BBC last summer. Kostic understands how important social networking can be to the digital world of journalism, but she also used her internship to learn more about the digital world.
“I learned what the world “corporate” means, and I learned that’s it’s not all bad. BBC‘s offices were very formal, yet they were fun. I learned so much while there,” she said. “I learned much more in depth video editing on final cut, about social media marketing, corporate communication, and most importantly – how to make Web pages from scratch in Dreamweaver. That was the most definitive thing that I learned there.”

Photo courtesy of Mat Boyle

Don’t forget the simple skills
Ashley Zazzarino, senior radio/television/film major and The Whit arts and entertainment editor, interned with the popular ABC television show, Wife Swap. As a production assistant, Zazzarino worked for the parent company, RDF Media USA and said she took care of “all the small things that need to be done that are easily overlooked.”
But Zazzarino said she feels better prepared to graduate college and apply for “real-world jobs.”
“It has helped me because I feel more confident as I move forward to graduation. I made great contacts that I feel I could fall back on when looking for a job,” she said. “I also think I improved my social skills, phone skills, and time management simply through the day to day jobs I was given from various workers around the office.”

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons

Display a genuine interest in both print and media
Jessica Beym is the City Editor of the Gloucester County Times in Woodbury, N.J. When hiring interns, Beym said the GCT looks for interns that not only meet credit requirements (it is not a paid internship) but also have a genuine interest in print journalism
“Students who have taken the necessary courses and can show that they know how to write a news or feature story, those who have curious personalities and proven writing skills are the ones who will stand out among the others,” she said. “Being published in the student newspaper or other publications is also a benefit.”
Jeff Schwacter, editor of Atlantic City Weekly, said digital media skills are becoming more important when hiring interns for the publication.
“I look for students with published clips, strong writing and computer skills as well as any web publishing/video production/video editing skills, the latter of which are becoming more and more important for us in particular with regard to our ever expanding Web site,” he said.
According to Schwachter, interns provide a fresh prospective to the changing world of journalism. He said he has had interns begin social networking for the publications, and has had interns involved in the relaunch of their Web site through producing media, video editing and audio editing.

Do more than one internship to develop your confidence
Beym also said that the GCT has had good experiences with students that have already gone through internships.
“They’ve had experience in a newsroom, know how to craft a story on deadline, and know what’s expected of them in most cases. They also seem to be more comfortable and confident when starting out and don’t need as much guidance,” she said.
According to both editors, when it comes down to it: knowing how to write and be a strong journalist is what matters.
“We prefer to hire people who are confident, strong, self-motivated writers who don’t need a lot of hand-holding and are ready to dive in. An internship can really help a student prepare for the real world,” Beym said.

“Immerse yourself in the web, and all of its relations to modern journalism.”
Schwachter gave advice to new interns: don’t scoff at opportunities. Writing is important, but he said that students should not limit themselves.
“Depending on what your goal is (and make sure you come up with one) immerse yourself in the Web and all of its relations to modern journalism; fool around with iMovie, take a class, familiarize yourself with Twitter and Facebook and how the media is using it to enhance its Web presence,” Schwachter said. “Also, familiarize yourself with whatever publication you’re interviewing for — there’s nothing worse than even on the intern level, someone coming in for an interview with no knowledge of the paper. In today’s world there’s no excuse. Check out the Web site at least.”

“Because you won’t get a job without one…”
There is a lot of advice circling journalism students right now. The bottom line is, the more experience the better. All experience, good or bad, will make you a stronger journalist. And creating your own, unique path can only make you stand above the rest in the job market.
“All publications are struggling these days,” Quigley said. “Just do your best, learn as much as you can, and make contacts.”
Get an internship, do it well and do it often.
“I honestly would have interned [at BBC Worldwide] more,” Kostic said. “I only interned there three days a week, and if I could go back and do it over I would up it to five. I loved working there and learned so much, I’d be curious to know what I could have picked up that I missed.”
Remember that this is why you are going to school and you are doing what you love. And if you end up not loving it, this is the time for trial and error–when there is no salary and no health benefits on the line.
If you walk away with one piece of advice from this blog it would be to take risks and learn as much as possible. “What happens next?” should not be an unanswered question.

-”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.

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.

2. Don’t be afraid to say no. Don’t over-extend yourself. Prioritize. If there is a story to be covered for the school newspaper, but you know you have a busy week, say no to the newspaper. You are in college to get as much experience as possible, but not to stress yourself out so much that you are overwhelmed. You are juggling a lot, and you have to strike a balance. It took me a long time to learn this, especially when I began juggling my internship. But, believe me, saying no is liberating.

3. Make lists. I will admit, I am a to-do list addict. I have a list for almost every part of my life. My internship, classes, The Whit, groceries. No one should go overboard like I do, but there is nothing wrong with having a plan. Prioritize your lists. The most important things should be done first. In my opinion, classes are the most important things. You are paying to be at college, (or you will be paying the bank when you graduate) and it should come first. If your internship is making your school work suffer, shift things around. Talk to your boss. I cannot speak for all editors, but my editors have been extremely understanding when I say my schoolwork has to come first.

This is finals time for Rowan University, and I have scheduled my days thoroughly. Every day, I tackle different things. I make sure the lists are doable, and that there is time to sleep, watch TV, read, or do whatever I want with spare time. Lists won’t work if they are overwhelming–they are meant to have you tackle one thing at a time.

4. Relax! Take a load off. Read the newspaper, go to a movie. When you are done working at your internship for the day, get coffee with a friend. Don’t go straight back to work. If you are steady with your schoolwork and diligent in the office, there will always be time for a little procrastination. Remember, you are in college. You are supposed to be slacking off a little and going to parties and having a good time. College is just as much about the learning as it is about life experience. So don’t forget to have fun.

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.

According to Carr, communication industry job loss has skyrocketed since 2000. A mix of digital media, new ideals, and outdated business models.

That carnage has left behind an island of misfit toys, trains whose cabooses have square wheels and bird fish who are trying to swim in thin air. The skills that once commanded $4 for every shiny word are far less valuable at a time when the supply of both editorial and advertising content more or less doubles every year.

Carr ends his article with an important, and often ignored words of wisdom. Our generation has the opportunity to make something of the wreckage–we’ve got the daily training, the ideas, the skills in the digital world. We have to make new paths into journalism. There’s no more waiting for the luck of the draw in a human resources department.

Now, more than ever, students need to market themselves. They need to become unique. They need to blog, to create media that has never been thought of. Students need to understand and play into the interactive world of digital journalism.

For every kid that I bump into who is wandering the media industry looking for an entrance that closed some time ago, I come across another who is a bundle of ideas, energy and technological mastery. The next wave is not just knocking on doors, but seeking to knock them down.

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

MLB Advanced Media

MLB Advanced Media, L.P. (MLBAM) is the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball. MLBAM manages the official league site, www.MLB.com, and the 30 club sites to create the most comprehensive resource for Major League Baseball on the Internet.

NOTES:
30 openings. US Residents Only.
Additional Salary Information: $500/week

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.

News internship:

“Our News department internship involves shadowing beat reporters on assignments, learning basic, daily newsgathering techniques, attending events – with and without a beat reporter – and writing stories on deadline. We use every opportunity to introduce our interns to as much of the news reporting business as possible. In the past, News interns have reported on bank robberies, serious car wrecks, escaped prisoners and other breaking news stories. Interns will also be introduced to reporting on routine community events and assembling longer enterprise pieces.”

Features internship:

“Our Features department internship involves working with our small Features staff assembling regular print features and reporting on more involved health, food, and lifestyle and arts issues. Features interns are also introduced to some traditional straight news writing opportunities and may be asked to write stories for the News section.”

Photo internship:

“Our Photo interns work with our professional staff of photojournalists, gathering striking images to complement our news stories for print and Web production. Our photojournalists often are the first responders to major crime scenes and breaking news and are trained to quickly gather basic news facts to report to the editorial staff. Photo interns accompany our photojournalists on these assignments and will be introduced to the techniques needed to handle both aspects of photojournalism. Interns are given a range of assignments – features, sports, news – to help them build a more complete skill set.”

Sports internship:

“Our Sports internship involves working side-by-side with our professional staff of sports reporters. The Daily Journal places a premium on local sports coverage and our staff writers excel at delivering complete local sports coverage. Sports interns shadow our staff writers at game assignments, produce briefs and box scores for print and Web production and develop sports enterprise stories. Sports interns are also given the opportunity to cover game assignments on deadline.”

Requirements:

“Interns at The Daily Journal are under the direct supervision of skilled editors with years of journalism experience and a dedication to producing quality news each day. Our editors understand well the challenges facing young journalists and strive to create the most productive learning environment for interns.

The internship program here is geared toward junior and senior journalism majors with a demonstrated skill and knowledge in basic newsgathering. However, non-journalism majors with a proven interest in news reporting and journalism will be considered.

The Daily Journal only offers unpaid, for-credit internships. Please see your internship or field experience coordinator for any prerequisites.”

Contact:

Students interested in interning at The Daily Journal should contact Metro Editor J. Staas Haught at jhaught@thedailyjournal.com.
856.563.5246 – Office

Dear Editorial Internship Applicants,
Here’s a great opportunity to enjoy the beautiful Jersey Shore while gaining some valuable experience (and academic credit) interning in the editorial department at Atlantic City Weekly.

Atlantic City Weekly, is a free newspaper based in the Atlantic City area since 1974. Atlantic City Weekly is the source for what’s happening in South Jersey. Published every Thursday, it covers entertainment, casinos, dining, movies, nightlife, gambling, news and photos of the local Atlantic City region’s scene. Our Web site ACWeekly.com is updated daily with video, blogs, photos and stories.

The AC Weekly intern will get a chance to learn the ins and outs of the newspaper business — and its Web site — while gaining experience at all levels of the editorial process. While interns will specialize in fact checking and updating cultural and entertainment listings, there are opportunities for video production and editing, writing by lines, and the internship can be done for academic credit. The internship is unpaid. The intern can also gain experience with Web-based content for our Web site acweekly.com.

Qualifications:

AC Weekly is looking for interns to work flexible hours 2 days a week this spring. If you are interested, send a letter, resume and any published clips to:

Attn: Internship Program
Atlantic City Weekly
Bayport One
8025 Black Horse Pike, suite 350
West Atlantic City, NJ 08232
609.646.4848 ext. 23
jschwachter@acweekly.com

Application deadline: Jan. 15, 2010

Jessica Beym, city editor at the Gloucester County Times is looking for spring and summer interns. Below are requirements and what the publication is looking for in its interns, in Beym’s words.

We’ve only recently formed a relationship with Rowan University to start bringing interns here and so far it has been extremely beneficial both to our publication and, I believe, to the students who’ve come here looking for real world experience. Many of them have walked away with a strong variety of clips — some of them being front page articles.

We have five departments in which a journalism student could possibly gain intern experience: New, Features, Sports, Photography and the Copy Desk (which isn’t just copy editing. It’s mostly layout on Indesign, writing headlines and also light editing).

In an intern:

• Someone who has experience reporting and who has clips to show for it, such
  as within the college’s newspaper. These applicants will be preferred among
  all others.
• Someone who is ambitious, a motivated self-starter and not afraid to jump
  right in and get their feet wet.
• Someone who is familiar with the Gloucester County area and our publication
  and is willing to bring their own ideas to the table.
• Someone who has experience, or isn’t limited, to learning about all aspects
  of the editorial department such as writing breaking news stories, writing
  features, blogging news on our web site, or even taking photos.

Requirements:

• You must be enrolled in the college’s field experience course.
  Unfortunately we don’t have paid internships and can only offer college
  credits. We can’t have you work for nothing.
• You must be a journalism student or, at least a communications major who
  has taken journalism courses and has a strong interest in learning about
  print.
• You must have a car and a valid driver’s license. You will be asked to go
  out on assignments.
• The student must have good availability within their class schedule, or
  regular work schedule  to complete the 120 hours required.  The hours for
  each department differs. For example, sports or copy desk may need someone
  who can work nights and weekends. For news, features and photography
  interns, we prefer the intern to work during the day, at least two
  consecutive days, with at least three or four hours to spend in our newsroom
  each day. Otherwise, you won’t have much time to get anything accomplished.

Contact:

All requests can be sent to Jessica Beym, city editor of the Gloucester County Times. Please email a cover letter, resume and a few of your published clips to jbeym@sjnewsco.com. Call Beym at 856-686-3642 if you have any questions.

This post, “Low Light Shooting,” is particularly helpful.

Enjoy! And if you get a chance, read through her older posts as well. And then go out and try it!