I'm a sophomore at a prestigious journalism school in the Midwest. I've been offered a summer internship for school credit at a top-200 circulation paper.
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I'd really love to take it, but one of my main concerns is having no source of income. Is it completely bad form to ask if they'd be willing to pay, or do you think it would be feasible to have a second, paying job?
Thank you!
Alex 
People should be paid for working. And your university, which will charge you tuition for working for free, should earn that money -- beyond requiring you to write a paper.
I don't think it is bad form to ask. But it sounds as though this newspaper has made it clear that it doesn't plan to pay interns.
See if you can get any help at all -- housing, mileage, a stipend -- something. Maybe you'll have to negotiate a shorter internship -- 10 weeks instead of 12 -- that will still give you the experience but leave you time to make some money.
I think people ought to be paid for their work, and I see unpaid jobs as another barrier to people who are struggling to make it financially. However, my advice to you is to get an internship in any way you can. It would be a big boost to your career, and they are hard to get this summer. That, of course, is why some companies offer them. They know they will have takers.
Coming Thursday: This career-switcher is considering internships and freelancing as ways to break into journalism.
