During the summer students gain media savvy and business know-how through news-related internships all over the world-from the Los Angeles Times to Bloomberg News in New York City to even Coastal Television in Ghana.
Check out their experiences below, and learn more here.
Summer 2012 Interns————————————————————————
Ashley Alman, T’13
Editorial Intern, New America Foundation
Washington, D.C.
The New America Foundation is a non-partisan public policy research institute in D.C., and I had the great fortune of working in their editorial department for the summer. My biggest tasks were on the web, creating content for their presidential campaign blog, and managing press content. I also assisted with The Sidebar, their weekly podcast, and contributed to a partner publication. I felt incredibly valued as an intern at New America, as I was given many opportunities to improve and showcase my writing and communication skills. The experience was the perfect balance between politics and journalism, and exposed me to an intellectually stimulating city that I’d one day love to call home.
Contact: Elizabeth Weingarten, Editorial Assistant,
ten.aciremawennull@netragnieW
Read and listen to a few of Ashley’s pieces:
“You Aren’t Imagining Things“, 6/5/2012
“The Missing Link“, 7/20/2012
“Saving the Next Generation“, 7/20/2012
“The Sidebar: Goes Back to School“, 8/24/2012
“A Summer in Review“, 8/16/2012
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Amanda Egan, T’13
Research Intern, DeWitt Wallace Center for Media & Democracy
Durham, NC
This summer I had the opportunity to intern with Professor Hamilton at the DeWitt Wallace Center. I worked as a research assistant on his upcoming book about the history of investigative journalism. I learned a lot about the journalism industry’s past and where it is headed today through interacting with accomplished journalists and conducting my own research. For my final project, I wrote an article comparing the initial reaction to computers to the current reactions to social media in the industry. I used materials from Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE), scholarly articles and data from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. This experience gave me a unique insight into how journalists handle paradigm shifts in newsrooms and gave me a medium to present my findings.
Position: Intern, paid
Contact: Shelley Stonecipher, DeWitt Wallace Center, Duke University
Read Amanda’s research article, Journalists vs. Computers.
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Rosalie Forman, T’13
Intern, CBS Evening News: Weekend Edition
New York, NY
My internship with CBS News far exceeded my expectations, and made me realize that media is the career I wish to pursue. I owe this to my incredible Weekend News team members, who were more than willing to take the time and teach me how to write scripts, produce original research, conduct thoughtful interviews, and work a camera. Through all of this, I’ve learned what it takes to put together a strong broadcast package from beginning to end. I highly recommend this internship for anyone seeking a practical, hands-on experience in the media industry.
Contact: Katie Curcio, Internship Coordinator,
moc.swensbcnull@5cc
Read the pieces Rosalie helped report:
“Pa. Voter ID Law on Trial,” 7/28/2012
“Judge Keeps Pennsylvania Voter ID Law Alive,” 8/15/2012
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Stefani Jones, T’14
Communications Intern, Governance Studies Program; The Brookings Institution
Washington, DC
This summer I had the privilege of interning with the Brookings Institution in Washington DC, where I worked with the communications team for the Governance Studies program. As a communications intern, I edited and formatted reports on a wide array of issues, ranging from manufacturing policy to domestic and international drone surveillance. I also assisted the Governance Studies program in drafting press releases, planning events, and managing their social media presence. I thought this was a really fantastic internship, and I’d recommend it to anyone!
Pieces Stefani helped format and produce:
“Understanding ‘The Loop’: Hum-ans and the Next Drone Generations,” Aug. ’12
“Building an IT Economy: South Korean Science and Technology Policy,” Sept. ’12
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Emily Sobel, T’14
News Intern, WTOP Radio
Washington, DC
I worked as a news radio intern for WTOP Radio, the D.C. area’s most listened-to news radio station. For the first part of the internship I assisted reporters in researching and writing their stories and reported with them on the scene at different events around D.C. Eventually, I was basically treated as a reporter and was allowed to come up with and produce my own stories. This meant I learned audio editing skills as well as basic journalism skills. I particularly enjoyed the internship because my bosses allowed me a lot of freedom to pursue the stories I was interested in. I even got to interview the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate on my own in his office in the Capitol. For the second half of the internship, I was able to work with the station’s political correspondent in the Capitol. I attended Senate and House committee hearings on a variety of topics and took notes that went directly into my boss’s on-air pieces. Overall, the internship was a great hands-on experience and a wonderful introduction into the world of radio news and journalism in general.
Contact: Melvin Chase, Public Affairs Director/ News Coordinator, moc.potwnull@esahcm
Read Some of Emily’s Work:
“Kids Race on Capitol Hill in Soap Box Derby,” 6/16/2012
“Silverdocs Rages on With Hot Panels and Screenings,” 6/25/2012
Summer 2011 Interns————————————————————————
Hilah Almog, T’12
Development and production intern, TLC International
New York, NY
I absolutely loved my experience. I would recommend Discovery to anybody wholeheartedly. I worked closely with Jon as his only team member on the TLC International creative team, a channel that was launched the September before my internship began. My responsibilities were twofold: on the development side, I screened the pitches he received, passing along only those I thought were worth his time, and helped him with his idea development for show ideas; on the production side, I went on set several times with him, but mostly helped with post-production editing (not technical editing, we’d watch rough cuts of the shows, make comments, and send the comments back to the production company to change). He has worked in the industry for years, and we maintained a very close relationship afterwards. He taught me a lot about work ethic, media, entertainment, and creativity.
Position: Intern, unpaid
Contact: John Sechrist, Excutive Producer, TLC International, moc.yrevocsidnull@tsirhces_nhoj
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Lilly Chow, T’12
360 Degree Digital Influence Intern, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
New York, NY
Interning at Ogilvy was an amazing experience where I learned an incredible amount about the industry. I provided support to the Digital Influence team in their development and implementation of creative digital strategies for clients. This included researching and then producing reports about clients’ presence in the social media space. I communicated with high influencers, performed conversation management, and measured social media reach and engagement of client programs. Throughout the internship, I also worked on an intern project where we divided up into teams, enjoyed some (friendly) competition, and were tasked with creating a public relations campaign, which we then presented to the actual client.
Contact: Megha Pandit, moc.yvligonull@tidnap.ahgem
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Rosalie Forman, T’13
MTV Networks International Communications
New York, NY
I had the opportunity to work for MTV this summer in New York City. I learned about public relations, mostly managing assets by collecting press clippings of media coverage and organizing press packets. Also, I assisted in planning upcoming international promotional events and devised interview questions for talent. This internship was extremely valuable, as it allowed me to explore the media field as a potential career path.
Contact: Adrianne Andang (adrianne.andang@mtvn.com)
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Jessica Kim, T’12
DC Intern, Talking Points Memo
New York, NY
I got a chance to spend a summer in New York City working for Talking Points Memo. I flagged stories throughout the day, edited online content, and wrote blog posts on topics ranging from North Carolina politics to SmartGrid development in Korea. It was a valuable experience that taught me a lot about the new media world.
Below are three of Jessica’s articles published by Talking Points Memo:
North Carolina GOP Set To Solidify Gains with Redistricting, 07/28/2011
NC Gov. Bev Perdue Vetoes Abortion Restricting Bill, 06/28/2011
North Carolina Lawmakers Nearly Repeal ‘Racial Justice Act’, 06/17/2011
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Sarah Krueger, T ’12
Editorial Intern, Charlie Rose Show
New York City
I loved my experience at Charlie Rose! As an intern, I was treated as a full-time staff member and was given a lot of responsibility, yet also a lot of agency to forge my own path. My main responsibilities were pitching story ideas, conducting research for upcoming shows, and greeting/prepping guests before the interviews. I got to meet so many amazing and influential people –not only those who worked for Charlie, but the many guests who came on the show during my summer there.
Host Contact: Neil Goldman, Editorial Assistant/Internship Coordinator, ten.grebmoolbnull@4namdlogn
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Patricia Lee, T ‘12
espnW intern, ESPN
New York, NY
Since espnW is a relatively new site, my internship wasn’t that clearly defined. Most days, I would edit ESPN.com and espnW.com stories, lay out the page, write headlines and captions, and code stories and videos in HTML for the website. I also worked on some fun feature pieces and helped launch the site’s Journeys and Victories page as well as helped drive ESPN’s Women’s World Cup coverage. I had an amazing time, and working for the Worldwide Leader in Sports wasn’t just as awesome as I thought it would; it was so much more. All of the people I met were helpful, enthusiastic, and most importantly, passionate about what they were doing. I had the time of my life, and if I could do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat.
Position: Intern, paid
Contact: Stacy Williamson, Recruiter, moc.npsenull@smailliw.e.yecats
Below are three of Patricia’s stories on espnW:
Mock draft, espnW style, 7/22/11
Mid-summer shuffle, 7/20/11
No doubt, pride are the team to beat, 8/18/11
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Amanda Peralta, Duke 2012
Brand and Communications Intern, D Magazine
Dallas, TX
This summer I worked with D Magazine, a local magazine conglomerate in downtown Dallas. I was able to work for one of the newest departments, the brand / communications department. Its focus is on social media communication and other innovative attempts the magazine has of forging relationships with its readership. Because I’m very interested in learning about how different agents, such as publications companies, are working to incorporate social media into their strategies, this was a really informative internship for me. I worked with many people truly interested in creating a better version of Dallas, and saw how my specific perspective on social media could be helpful to a publication with a much broader view on communications. It was really an educational experience!
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Sanette Tanaka, T’12
Metro reporter intern, The Charlotte Observer
Charlotte, N.C.
At The Charlotte Observer, I served alongside full-time reporters. The Observer gave me an incredible amount of freedom to pursue and shape my stories in the way I saw fit. In a typical day, I would work on one daily piece and one to two long-term pieces. But beyond that, my daily work was hardly routine. My schedule revolved around my sources’ schedules and breaking events. I usually ventured into the city of Charlotte at least once per day to interview a source or investigate a crime scene. My stories touched on murders, deportation hearings, the state of unemployment, racial divides, and community service initiatives.
Below are three of Sanette’s articles published in The Charlotte Observer:
Job Seekers Face a Racial Divide, 08/20/2011
Addison, ‘the prettiest angel,’ laid to rest in Gaston County, 07/31/2011
Cuts will prevent hires, aid at UNCC, 07/07/2011, with Jane Stancil
Summer 2010 Interns————————————————————————
Julia Love, T’11
Intern, Los Angeles Times
Washington, D.C.
“I applied for an internship with the Los Angeles Times and requested placement at the Tribune Washington Bureau, which serves the LA Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun and other papers in the Tribune chain. I wrote daily news and feature stories on a wide range of topics including congressional hearings, education and lobbying. I absolutely loved the job. My editors placed a great deal of trust in me; I wrote almost 20 bylined stories. I also got the chance to attend a White House press briefing, where I worked up the nerve to ask a question of Robert Gibbs. My colleagues were some of the smartest and most talented people I have ever met, yet they were also extremely down-to-earth and willing to help. I felt welcome from day one. Barring extreme circumstances, our deadlines were 4:30 p.m. each day, and I had to work faster than I previously thought possible to meet them. I’m pretty sure I sprouted a few gray hairs in the process. But working at this bureau was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.”
Position: Intern, paid
Contact: Randy Hagihara, senior editorial recruiter, moc.semitalnull@arahigah.ydnar
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Aishlinn O’Connor, T’11
Broadcast journalist and cameraman, Coastal Television
Cape Coast, Ghana
“I was given quite a bit of freedom to pursue any long-term stories I wanted to, while also working with a team of Ghanaian interns to provide regular coverage of development projects and issues in Cape Coast. This freedom gives you lots of flexibility, but there is very little guidance from experienced journalists. You also need to bring your own camera/microphone to use for reporting.”
Position: , unpaid
Contact: Selete and Gifty Naomi, moc.liamgnull@vtlatsaoc
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Zach Tracer, T’11
News Intern, Bloomberg Businessweek
New York City
“I wrote articles and blog posts and prepared slideshows for the web and print magazine. It was great exposure to business journalism, which I’d like to pursue in the future. Bloomberg prepares their newsinterns well. It’s a really rigorous internship, and I appreciated the opportunity.”
Position: News Intern, paid
Contact: Tom Contiliano, ten.grebmoolbnull@onailitnoct
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Jimmy Shedlick, T’11
DukeEngage Intern, Relevance, Inc.
Durham, NC
“I researched, designed and coded a news aggregator to help journalists find fresh stories more easily. After meeting with Sarah Cohen to discuss the vision, I designed the project in Ruby on Rails as a web application that can be accessed by users. I learned skills related to coding, how to extract information and cluster similar stories and how to rank articles from a journalist’s perspective. I’ve realized that it is quite a challenge to cluster articles and we are continuing to work towards integrating proven open-source solutions into our algorithm. However, I enjoyed working a Relevance-a software company started by Duke alums-and they were a great help in showing me how production software should be designed.”
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Laura Keeley, T’11
News Intern, Finance Team, Bloomberg News
New York City
“I covered the financial services industry, including large regional and national banks and tax preparation firms. I wrote several different types of stories, including quick hits on plunging stock prices, hires and fires, earnings reports and more. Two of my stories received ‘market-moving win’ tags (meaning the stock price moved significantly right after the story was published) and two were awarded ‘best of week’ designations.”
Position: News Intern, Finance Team, paid
Contact: Tom Contiliano, ten.grebmoolbnull@onailitnoct
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Lisa Du, T’11
Intern, The Charlotte Observer
Charlotte, NC
“My editor gave me stories everyday. At any given time, I had a story on deadline and a long-term one. I also assisted with on-the-side research and reporting for bigger stories. I liked the fact that I did a variety of stories. It was great getting to know a city in my home state, and I had a lot of fun during my ten weeks. If given the chance, I would do the internship again.”
Contact: Jim Walser, moc.revresboettolrahcnull@reslaWJ
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Christin Martahus, T’11
Internship: The Advertising Research Foundation in New York City
Position: Membership Services Intern, paid ($12/hour)
Contact: J. McLoughlin, gro.fraehtnull@j
“As a membership services intern, I was responsible for maintaining relationships with approximately 400 of our member institutions, which ranged from ad agencies (Martin Agency, Ogilvy Mather) to advertisers (Proctor & Gamble, Google) to media organizations (MTV, Washington Post) and to research groups (Neilsen), and for updating/maintaining their contact information in our database. I also helped to edit our quarterly publication, The Journal of Advertising Research (JAR). As a whole, the group of interns developed a reverse mentoring project, giving our generational perspective on privacy settings in different new media platforms (mobile phones, message boards, social media sites) as it relates to future advertising opportunities. As an intern I was also allowed to attend any in-house informational sessions or council meetings and was required to work at our annual Audience Measurement event. I really enjoyed working with my mentor, J, who made a real attempt to diversify my internship and make use of the skills I have cultivated while in school, such as editing, for example. I also really enjoyed the reverse mentoring project because it spanned so many different topics that I find interesting, such as advertising, social media, the changing mobile environment and privacy concerns. Sometimes the internship was a little repetitive, especially in regards to the database upkeep, but, overall, it was a great experience.”
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Samantha Stamler, T’11
Internship: CBS News in New York City
Position: Early Show Intern, unpaid ($10/day stipend)
Contact: Katie Curio, coordinator, moc.swensbcnull@5cc
“I loved this internship. I worked specifically in the consumer/medical unit of the Early Show and gained an understanding of the production process. I researched stories, went on shoots, logged tapes, attended meetings, worked directly with producers, etc. It was a very hands-on work environment and I learned so much. The people were fantastic, and outside my unit the internship program was organized, integrated and cohesive.”
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Carol Shih, T’11
Internship: Al Jazeera English
Position: Bookings Department Intern, unpaid
Contact: Hebah Abdalla, ten.areezajlanull@alladba.habeh
“I booked guests, researched, etc. It was a great experience!”
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