Maximizing Your Internship Experience

Here's a repost from the young journo blog Ten95:

One-third of the Ten95 crew participated in a panel during UNITY called "Paying it Forward: How to Maximize Your Internship," as a part of the all-star crew that included recruiting phenom Joe Grimm, radio guru Doug Mitchell and reporting superstars Chloe Hilliard and Marlon Walker. Veronica moderated and I was a panelist. The room was packed. The kids were eager. The advice was super sound. Below are a few pics from event and our Top 20 lists of things to do -- and not to do -- while on a summer internship. The tips were written from a print perspective, but are applicable across mediums.

1. DO learn who is who on the staff.


2. DO understand that each staff is a living organism that you should easy your way into SLOWLY. Assertiveness is great but sometimes misplaced enthusiasm can rub some the wrong way.


3. DON'T blog (Facebook or MySpace) about your internship. Your employer is watching and reading.



4. DON'T feel a sense of entitlement while you're in a newsroom. Just because there are front page stories (or great packages) without writers, don't think that one is going to be yours.


5. DO watch your editor to determine his or her work pattern and the best time of day (or week) to seek guidance and feedback.


6. DO arrive 30 minutes early every day to get the best assignments. The early bird gets the worm. There are stories that your editor is probably waiting to assign as people come in for the day so make sure you're in the mix!


7. DO cultivate a few relationships with people who understand your thought process well enough to be excellent references in the future and collect their business cards.


8. DO offer to help out in any little way with a big story.


9. DON'T jeopardize your credibility by having a romantic relationship during your internship --- especially not one with a permanent staffer.


10. DON'T ever be hard to reach. Questions and opportunites can arise at any time.


11. DON'T take criticism of your work personally. Work with your supervisors to make it better.


12. DON'T say "I don't want to," and don't hesitate to say, "I'm not sure how, but I want to learn."


13. DO make sure that you understand your assignment and ask detailed questions before you head out to report. You can write the best story in the world, but if its not what your editor requested, it won't earn you any points.


14. DO make or beat your deadline.


15. DO chat up other reporters. If you see a story someone did and you liked it or are interested in the process, ask them out for coffee or stop by their desk.


16. DON'T forget to check every name, age, address and fact in your story, in addition to running spell check. No one likes messy copy.


17. DON'T turn your nose up at any assignment. Small stories lead to bigger opportunities.


18. DO ask for feedback. Midway through your internship, schedule a sit down with your editor/supervisor to discuss your performance to-date. What areas need work? In what areas are you excelling? What does your editor want to see going forward? Take the feedback to heart and work on the areas that need improvement.


19. DO set tangible goals. Make a list that will serve as the roadmap to your internship. What skills do you want to learn? What particular stories or topics would you like to cover?


20. DO come up with your own story ideas and pitch them to your editor.

(Photo captions from top to bottom: Talia answering a question on the panel; Chloe and Marlon dropping knowledge on the interns; Veronica keeping us all in line.)

UCABJ Sponsors Minority High School JRN Workshop

Plans have been finalized for UCABJ's first minority high school journalism workshop on Saturday, August 16. Eight student leaders from the newspapers at Hughes and Withrow high schools, two of Cincinnati's inner-city public schools, will spend a half day learning the basics of newspaper writing. The workshop will also include a panel discussion with some of UC's top student journalists. "Getting younger students interested in journalism as a career should be one of the goals of any journalism organization, even at the collegiate level," said Aiesha D. Little, the group's professional adviser. "This is an important partnership that I hope UCABJ is able to continue annually for years to come."

Facebook, Where Have You Been All My Life?

OK, so I finally took a friend's advice and signed up for some online networking sites. You can now find me on LinkedIn and Facebook. Yes, yes, I know. “You’re just getting around to that?” you’re asking. Well, you know that person who sees a movie on DVD a year after it came out and then tries to tell friends who saw it in the theater how great it was? That’s me so please forgive me if this post sounds passé. With that said, Facebook is great. Case in point: I was looking for a new magazine intern recently and was able to contact my Facebook friends for potential candidates. Several students turned up as a result. I hope to use it more like this in the future, but I'm still worried about how much of our lives should be readily accessible online.

I routinely check the Facebook and MySpace pages of potential interns. Why not? If you put the information out there, why shouldn't I or other potential employers read it? NOTE: if you're interested in working for me, make sure your Facebook and MySpace pages are set to private. If I see a picture of you peeing on the sidewalk or read that your favorite hobby is smoking weed, I will naturally be less inclined to hire you. Why? Because your online presence is just as important as your actual physical presence and both of those can be called into question when you're representing my publication. I know it's just the times in which we live that make us so willing to share our innermost thoughts with strangers halfway around the world, but is that a good thing?

Aiesha D. Little
NABJ Adviser
University of Cincinnati Association of Black Journalists

Lucky In Our Enemies

Has anybody seen Patrick Buchanan's recent column about UNITY? Check NABJ's here. Les Payne says does a very good job, I think, but I thought I'd add my own two cents anyway.

Buchanan really hates the whole idea of the UNITY convention, which is strangely gratifying to me. You may know Buchanan as the columnist that frequently condemns multiculturalism, like he does here and here, and laments the demise of a "Western civilization" dominated by Caucasians, as he does here. Views like these might help explain why he opposed a federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In his response to Barack Obama's speech about race in March, Buchanan explained how blacks should be grateful to America because slavery did us a favor. But that's not all...

He dealt with persistent (and justified) charges of antisemitism during his campaigns for president in 1992, 1996 and 2000 - charges that have resurfaced following his recent book about WWII, Churchill, Hitler, and "The Unnecessary War."

I haven't read it, but judging from columns he's written about it and the comments others have made, it seems that Buchanan argues that WWII is Great Britain's fault and sort of blames the Allies for the Holocaust. He also grieves the loss of Britain's often-repressive empire. Check out what Newsweek's Christopher Hitchens has to say about it here.

Buchanan has got some really heart-warming stuff to say, doesn't he?

I have to confess that I'm only half joking here. People like Buchanan make me feel needed - they remind me that there really is a desperate need for people who care about truth, justice and forging an "American way" that isn't so steeped in hatred.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that when Pat Buchanan has nasty things to say about the diverse and multicultural things we do, it must mean we're doing something right.

We've joined the long list of people Buchanan doesn't like. Congratulations, folks.

~Geoffrey Dobbins
Vice President, UCABJ

A TRIP THAT WE CAN NEVER FORGET

MY EXPERIENCE AT UNITY

What seemed like forever came in an instant! UNITY 2008 was here. What others had said about UNITY was nothing that could possibly compare to what it really was. I met some of the best and brightest in the journalism field.

I went to many panel discussions and workshops that thought me a tremendous amount about topics. These are just a few: How to Deal With Your First Internships, AIDS Research and Violence In the Media.

Chicago was wonderful! It reminded of New York but not as intense. The people were friendly, and the food was GREAT! (That part is kind of important to me) The shopping was wonderful.

This UNITY trip also thought me many things about myself and the plans that I have for the upcoming year for UCABJ. For the first time ever I met people who were my "competition" and who inspired me at the same time.

-Alicia Gaynor
UCABJ President

UCABJ Represents!

UCABJers and other University of Cincinnati journalism students are featured in the McMicken College of Arts & Sciences online bulletin this week. Way to go!