HOW AN INTERN

CAN HELP YOUR

NEWSROOM
GATEHOUSE NEWS & INTERACTIVE DIVISION
The agenda

Who are interns in 2010?

Interns and the law Wayne Braverman
Managing editor,
Recruiting ideas GateHouse Media
New England,
Preparing for your interns Metro Boston unit
When your intern arrives
Creative story ideas for interns
Online/multimedia ideas
Intern school Chris Biondi
Manager of
How to provide feedback newsroom
Saying ‘goodbye’ development
GateHouse News
Q&A & Interactive
Who are interns in 2010?

College undergraduate students

Graduate students
International students
High school students (be aware of child labor laws)
All looking for real experience in journalism
We’re looking to help them, but also for them to
help our newsrooms
Interns and the law

All internships in Massachusetts, contact

HR in Needham
All internships outside Massachusetts
must be approved by corporate legal.
Contact: Tracy A. Borrosh, employee relations:

tborrosh@gatehousemedia.com
585-563-9265
Need to ensure compliance with law
Intense path to follow
Must be a learning experience
Testing criteria is pretty strict
Interns and the law

Fair Labor Standards Act test for unpaid interns

Educational
Benefit of the intern
Cannot displace an employee
No immediate advantage
Intern not entitled to job
Not entitled to wages

Contact:
Tracy A. Borrosh, employee relations:
tborrosh@gatehousemedia.com
585-563-9265
Recruiting ideas

Connect with local colleges

Talk with journalism professors, English professors
Talk with career counselors
Offer to be a guest speakers
Connect with the students
Let the colleges know we are looking for interns
Put ads on their Web sites
Post on college career bulletin boards
Put ads on your Web sites
Be clear what you are looking for
Don’t be afraid of high schools
Recruiting ideas

Attend internship fairs

Sell the program - what do you have to offer?

Why are you different?
Why will interning with you help?
Find out what students are looking for
Get resumes and keep notes on the resume
Give the students your business card
Following up is key - do it fast
Competition for interns is tough
Line up interns before they register for class
Know students will change their minds
Preparing for your intern

Interview your intern in advance

Clear expectations for you and them
Know what school requires
Get the paperwork done in advance
Have a plan
Must know what they will do
Make sure staff knows intern is coming
Get ready to be a teacher and a mentor
The will ask lots of questions
Preparing for your intern

Interns want to know

What is start and finish date?

Work hours?
What will they be covering and/or doing?
What’s the dress code?
How many stories a week will they write?
When your intern arrives

Get to know them

Start them slowly
Send them out with reporters
or take them out yourself
Be clear about your deadlines
Make their first story easy
Set aside time to go over their stories
When your intern arrives

Tell them what they did right

and what they could do better
Help them to grow
Play to their strengths
Challenge them
Make sure they get Web experience
When your intern arrives

What not to do with your intern

Don’t expect perfection

Don’t use them to fetch lunch or dust and clean
Don’t ignore them
Don’t humiliate them
Interns are not opportunities for dates
Creative story ideas for interns

Interns can help build community Brownie points

Have them do in-depth stories
‘Evergreen’ stories
If you have more than one: group projects
Build photo archives: buildings, public officials
Creative story ideas for interns

More ideas

Supermarket price checks

Rush-hour races
Issues involving young people
Take advantage of language skills
Creative story ideas for interns

More ideas

Launch News Cube Q&As

Help build source list
Make contacts for calendar and events
10 things you didn’t know about series
Working series; know your neighborhoods
Creative story ideas for interns

Help prepare for fall

New teacher profiles

Individual school profiles with supply lists
Athlete and coach profiles
Calendar of fall news or entertainment events
Fall series on education topic
Rec department plans for fall
The shape of your schools series
Candidate profiles
Polling place information
Online/multimedia ideas

Help launch Facebook

page and build fan base
Make contacts for
calendar listings
Help maintain/compile/
promote callouts
Photo galleries
Video
Internship school

Why bother?
Keeps the program legal
Shows we are doing something to teach
Schools love it
Interns get time to interact
Helps the interns grow
Internship school

What to teach

How to get quotes

How to shoot photos
Ethical issues - what if you were the editor
Interviewing techniques
Page design
Internship school

How to make it interesting

Hint: Interns like to eat

Contests and games can be educational and fun
Use fellow staffers as guest speakers
Role plays work great
A few games that work: The Quote Game,
To Tell the Truth, Design a Page, The Interview
Game
Wrap-up

Upcoming webinars (go to ghnewsroom.com)

Google Analytics basics

When: Wednesday, July 21, 3 p.m. Central [4 p.m. Eastern]

Covering the Gulf oil spill

When: Thursday, July 29, 3 p.m. Central [4 p.m. Eastern]

cbiondi@gatehousemedia.com
wbraverman@cnc.com
Corporate legal:

Tracy A Borrosh, employee relations:

tborrosh@gatehousemedia.com
585-563-9265
HOW AN INTERN
CAN HELP YOUR
NEWSROOM
GATEHOUSE NEWS & INTERACTIVE DIVISION