Surviving and thriving in your first internship

By Kathy Adams
Special to chipsquinn.org

Posted: Dec. 6, 2007

Kathy Adams

You wake up an extra hour early, put on your most professional outfit, fuel up on caffeine, pore over every word of the newspaper and arrive for the first day of your Chips Quinn internship ahead of schedule.

You fill out a mini-mountain of paperwork, take a tour of the newsroom and then sit down at your desk, hopefully with your first assignment in hand.

Then what?

Your first reporting internship can be a challenging experience, especially when you’re representing a prestigious program that comes with high expectations.

How do you shine in a newsroom full of interns? How do you navigate in unfamiliar territory? In short, how do you make the most out of a 10-week internship?

I grappled with these questions during my 10-week internship as a features reporter at The News Journal in Wilmington, Del., during the summer of 2007. After making my way in the newsroom through both challenges and successes (and witnessing the challenges and successes of others), I learned a few lessons I’d like to pass on to the next generations of Chips Quinn Scholars.

Here are some tips for incoming Scholars whose Chips Quinn internship will be their first. Learn them, love them, live by them.

1. Take orientation to heart. The inspiration and lessons provided by Chips Quinn orientation will carry you far during your internship – if you take them seriously. Pay attention, take notes and listen to the presenters. If you live by the lessons taught at orientation, you will make a professional impression, avoid stupid mistakes, produce good work and have a successful experience.

2. Know your paper. Before your first day, read up! Know the issues that are important to the community where you’ll be working. Check out the city and state governments’ Web sites and get familiar with the main agencies, leaders and state and national representatives. Also, come armed with a binder of demographics, historical information and maps. Know the population, main industries and ethnic breakdown. This information will help you be more informed and infuse your stories with context.

3. Find newsroom mentors. The newsroom’s veteran reporters are a great source of mentorship, so take a few of them out to coffee or lunch. Most are eager to hear your perspective and share theirs. They can also provide advice on navigating the newsroom, a helping hand with writer’s block, some reporting direction and an open ear when you need someone to vent to or run ideas by. Be sure to keep in touch with these people after you leave; they can be continuing mentors and keep you informed of any good opportunities they come across.

4. Get to know copy editors, photographers, designers and other members of the staff. These people are integral to getting your stories into the paper with good play, engaging art and correct information, style and grammar. You can learn a lot from these people. Learning their names and how to work well with them can make everyone’s job easier and ensure you leave with quality clips.

5. Use your perspective to give you an edge. As a journalist of color, you don’t want to be pigeon-holed into only covering certain stories, but you do want to use your unique experiences and perspective to your advantage. Don’t be afraid to speak up (politely and professionally) with story ideas and suggestions for diversifying coverage – it’ll help you to stand out. You’ll also make the newsroom and the newspaper better.

6. Pitch story ideas. Every reporting experience lends the opportunity to find follow-ups and new story ideas. Don’t let your side projects distract you from your assignments, but do some ground work and present solid story ideas to your editor. Include in your pitch why the story idea is timely, relevant to your readers and interesting. These stories can turn out to be your best clips.

7. Think multidimensionally. Suggest sidebars, infographics, Web supplements, audio, video and other multimedia ideas for each story. Your editor will love you for it, and it’ll help your stories get better play online and in the paper.

8. Try new things. Don’t just leave those multimedia ideas to other staff members to carry out. Offer to take photos, collect video and audio and help with other multimedia efforts. Just be sure to ask for some basic training and carry out quality work. After you’re done, ask for some feedback on how to improve. This will give you some hands-on practice in the multimedia skills every media outlet demands today.

9. Don’t be afraid to sacrifice some of your personal time. A reporter’s job never ends when he or she leaves the newsroom. Everything you do is a reporting experience. Pay attention when you drive to work, grocery shop and spend your free time. Your observations can often yield great story ideas and unique sources. Also, don’t hesitate to spend some of your free time working, especially with only 10 weeks to make a good impression. You don’t have to be on “official business.” Read different news sources and blogs, peruse trade publications and take advantage of opportunities to learn and hone your skills.

10. Work hard, but know your limits. In today’s financially strapped and shrinking newsrooms, money is almost always an issue, so editors will give you as much work as you can handle. Challenge yourself to juggle as much as possible, but also know your limits. You don’t want to take on too much and sacrifice the quality of your work, your health or your sanity. Be honest with your editors about their expectations and your limits. As long as you’re working hard, they’ll recognize the effort.

And finally: Use your Chips Quinn connections. Chipster alums have been where you are and want to help, so use the network as a resource.

Back to top