This is where online editorial interns come in. Hiring interns for the web is a win-win—for your publication and for budding journalists. Whether you have the means to pay interns or just offer them school credit, journalism students (graduate and undergraduate) and others looking to break into the field are seeking valuable experience in the growing world of online journalism. These guidelines serve to help you make the most of an online internship program.
Getting the word out
If you already hire interns at your magazine, then you know that the first step to a great internship program is selecting and hiring your interns. But before that, you need to get the word out that your publication is offering online internships. Direct your efforts at colleges and universities with journalism schools and media job boards (i.e. mediabistro.com). If there are universities with journalism programs in your area, email the career services directors or sign up for a booth at an internship fair.
Hiring
Seek out interns with solid writing skills (ask for clips from a student newspaper or magazine, etc.) and an expressed interest in web journalism. It’s worth taking the time to interview prospective interns; as with any new hire, someone who seems great on paper may not be the best fit for your team. Although they’re not full-time hires, you still want to make the most of your internship program (both for the interns and for you), so selecting the right candidates is important.
Consider timeframe
Length of internship is an important consideration. Ideally, the internship period shouldn’t be too short. An internship that spans just a few weeks would be ineffective, because there is always a learning curve and once interns have gotten the hang of things, it’s time for them to move on. Three-month summer internships are probably the shortest periods that are still worthwhile for interns as well as for you. Consider offering six-month internships or even a year-long “fellowship” to students or recent grads; in this period of time your interns will truly become experts of your website and able to take on more responsibility.
Designate an intern supervisor/coordinator
When web interns start, there should be a dedicated point person on your staff for them to report to during the course of the internship. If you hire interns exclusively for the web, ideally this person would be the online editor or an editor taking chief responsibility for online content. This person will give interns their assignments or direct them to other members of the staff who need extra support for online projects.
Balance the workload
In online as well as in print journalism (or any field for that matter), there are some fairly mundane tasks that are essential to produce a quality product. Online, this might involve uploading content (especially time-consuming if you are launching a new website) or posting daily events listings. Interns are a great source of manpower for this type of work, but make sure to balance it with more “fun” and stimulating jobs, such as writing blog posts for the site. Up-and-coming journalists will always be motivated by opportunities to write. Hopefully, you have read clips in the hiring process and selected interns who are strong writers. If you’re happy with their work, the more blog assignments you give them, the better -- and this helps to feed your blogs with fresh, frequently-updated content! Make sure your interns feel valued as a part of your team, and they will in turn have motivation to work hard.
Encourage ideas
Have weekly meetings with your interns to exchange ideas for the site. This makes them a valuable part of the process, and these bright young minds you’ve hired probably have some good thoughts to share about how to make your website better.
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