I started my first journalism internship this week, which I both love and hate. I needed the internship for school, but I wanted to get one regardless because I wanted to find out whether or not working at a newspaper was actually something I wanted to do with my life. So here I am, loving and hating it.
(Background on where I am– it’s a small newspaper group that runs 13ish weekly local paper and operates a website with daily news. And when I say local, I mean completely local. They believe localism is the only way small newspapers will survive, and IÂ think they may be onto something. I heard someone here say, “If the newspaper industry ever does die, we’ll be the last ones standing.”)
Now, I hate it for a few reasons (always best to start with the negative and work up from there).
1. I’m getting the vibe that the people who work here kind of hate their jobs. Needless to say, that does nothing to inspire morale. On the first day, my supervisor told me he’s left several times, but always finds his way back. He finds his way back, though, not because he keeps returning to his first love, but because he’s more or less stuck. “It’s like a disease,” he said. A bit cynical? Absolutely. That’s probably the most common issue with people in this trade (note: I did not call it a profession– that was for Dr. Baker).
2. It’s quiet. Most people keep to their cubicles. I imagine that has a lot to do with the fact that they don’t run a daily newspaper, so the natural hubbub and urgency of a newsroom is somewhat (if not completely) lost.
3. Starting salary here? $19,000 a year. Ouch. It’s not that I plan on making a career at this particular location, but it is a general, haunting reminder of what my future holds. Most starting salaries I’ve seen are more in the 20-30 grand area. Slightly more acceptable, but not exactly enticing. Now, no one goes into journalism because they want to be rolling in the dough. That’s certainly not why I’m doing this. I’ve already come to terms with the fact that I’m going to be poor. I would just like to not live at my parents house until I’m 35. But as one of my journalism profs reminded us in class, when it comes to money and the news media, a very small group of people make a ton of money doing this, and everyone else makes next to nothing. There is almost no journalism middle class.
4. And speaking of money, the internship itself in unpaid. This is not unusual these days. There’s been a lot of talk about the issue of unpaid internships in recently months. Feel free to educate yourself on the plight of the unpaid intern.
And why I love it:
1. There is a Wawa on the way here. Never underestimate the importance of coffee that is both inexpensive and quality! It gets me through the day.
2. It’s my third day and I’ve already written two stories, conducted interviews and done some layout work. Which means that I’m actually doing journalism, not fetching coffee. Experience and clips are invaluable.
3. Going off number 2, I will ad that I actually know how to do the work they want me to do. For some reason, I thought I would be clueless and lost. But I’m not. Turns out that school thing has actually done a pretty good job training me how to do this stuff. I feel prepared to do this job, and I didn’t realize that I would until I started here. Props to my Cedarville Professors.
4. The hours are extremely flexible… probably because they don’t pay me so they can’t fire me… And everyone wears jeans. My revolt against professionalism is fostered in this environment.
Stay tuned for more updates!
Great post. I am glad you are seeing the working world. People are cynical no matter where you work or what you do, but I understand how it can be a drag on you. Stay positive and remember God didn’t put you there by mistake.
Glad you are getting to do real work, even if the pay isn’t so great. Please email me the links to your stories.
Thanks for the shout out!
And I’m glad you get to wear jeans. I used to work desk shifts in shorts, T-shirts and sandals, especially on the weekends.
Yay for Love it #3! And yes, the starting salary is stinky 😦 Hopefully we’ll all be able to find something that both suits us and pays real money! Hey, a girl can dream… I have always loved fairy tales! haha
I’m glad to hear that you have jumped in feet first and are conducting interviews and writing stories. That–plus developing contacts as you begin networking with others working in the field–are the most important aspects of your internship.
One of the advantages of working at a small newspaper or broadcast station is that you are much freer to gain a lot of practical experience. At a larger operation, sometimes interns can do little more than observe what’s going on because of union rules that severely limit what they can do. There’s always a trade-off between prestige and hands-on experience. That’s one of the reasons you aren’t just getting coffee (except on the way to the newsroom :^))!
A blog such as this also raises the important point that a blog is, by its nature, open for everyone to read. Some reporters have gotten in trouble because of things they have posted in their blogs–either because they break the semblance of “objectivity” by expressing opinions about the stories they are writing and people they are covering or because they say something negative about the workplace. So, keep that in mind as you share you experience! :^)
I remember something one of our professors said. Be critical but don’t be cynical. (I know myself well enough to know I’m going to struggle with that in the future.)
I’m so glad that you don’t feel clueless! That gives me hope for my internship.
Excellent. Good observation on the localism. There’s a useful term for that: “hyperlocalism.” Saw a blog post today about that, as a matter of fact: http://commonsensej.blogspot.com/2011/05/hyperlocal-two-things-to-read.html
Re: 3 of the “why I love it” section — I’ve had similar experiences. During a breaking news exercise at WJI last year about a fictive apparent murder, just about everybody in the class wrote that “person x murdered person y” … and I knew (and we know, from Intro to Media Writing) that rendering was potentially libelous. it was a pretty cool “hey, I can *do* this” moment, very similar to your’s, I’m sure.
I think we just naturally assume that we’re incompetent once we’re surrounded by “experienced” journalists in the “real world” (though you and I are pretty alike, Emily, it might just be our personalities). It’s easy to be intimidated.
also, good thing you wrote positive things about the Cedarville program, considering both of your profs read it. maybe you already knew they would read it (that’s called a “chilling effect,” yeah?)
“they don’t pay me, so they can’t fire me.” maybe that’s not the best wording 😉
Speaking of Hyperlocalism, ever heard of Patch.com? One of the reporters where I’m interning was leaving the paper for Patch. Interesting concept.
As far as the “chilling effect” goes, 1. that made me laugh. 2. I actually emailed them the link! Ha.
And to your very last comment, Andrew, that was more or less a quote from my supervisor. “We don’t pay you, so we can’t fire you.” 🙂
Dr Baker: good point about blogging– I’ll be careful! 🙂
Enjoyed your post. You have all three of your profs stalking you. Scary?
I’m glad that you are getting some good experience, and I will echo what Jeff said. People are cynical everywhere. I don’t think a job exists that has 100% satisfaction 100% of the time.
Keep up the good work. Keep making connections, even if it is not where you want to ultimately end up. Definitely keep up on the blog!