Q. I'm a second-year college student who's been working as a general assignment reporter and arts critic for a daily student newspaper for almost a year. This summer, I did a great internship at a daily, 30,000-circulation hometown newspaper, walking away with about two dozen clips.
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Now it's almost time to think about applying to that vicious cycle all over again. Argh.
1. Recently I've been thinking my personality may be better suited to working for a magazine than a newspaper, though I love both dearly. So I was considering applying to magazines, just to see if that environment/pace actually does fit me better. I could also make some connections in the magazine industry (which, to me, seems nearly impossible to break into). However, I get the feeling that if I did land an internship there, I would write very little. What do you think? On that note, I know your column is geared mainly toward newspaper advice, because newspapers are still the best places to gain a lot of experience at my young age. However, given the rapidly changing nature of journalism, do you think it is wise to apply to different kinds of media (magazines, radio, Web), or should I focus on honing my craft through print first?
2. My student newspaper publishes on a semiweekly basis during the summer, and I would have the option of applying to be an assistant editor or editor for that term. I could gain not just a lot of clips, but leadership experience. I am considering this because editing during the regular school year is an absurd time commitment (about 50 to 60 hours a week on top of being a full-time student). For future job opportunities, does it look better to demonstrate a lot of leadership experience at your student newspaper, or spend your summers interning at publications elsewhere?
Thanks again!
StudentA. You are asking smart questions about your career options.
As a sophomore, you have time to try many options. Given your interest in magazines and in leadership, you should take a crack at both.
Many people who have worked magazine internships say they did not get to write much, so do the best you can to find one that will allow that, but be content to do a lot of your learning by observation.
I understand the extreme time demands at many high-quality college papers. If you can land a magazine internship in the fall or winter semester and move your studies to the summer, when you would work on the campus paper, you can achieve all your goals within the coming year.
The entire media industry -- newspapers, TV, magazines, music, visuals and design -- is going through a wrenching transformation. It has many elements. They include globalization, audience fragmentation and emergence and rapid-fire technology changes. Learn as much as you can about emerging media, audience and technology. All the while, base your work on solid journalistic principles.
I think you're going to be fine.
Grimm on internships:
"Breaking In: The JobsPage.com Guide to Newspaper Internships."
Coming Monday: He wants to be near a friend who has cancer and is considering how a delay in working would affect the start of his career.
