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 2011 Interns————————————————————————
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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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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