Journalism Internships

Cat Salerno '08 Editing intern, Concord Monitor What I got from my internship * A big boost in self-confidence. * A lesson in working with all kinds of people. * The realization that I can handle a LOT of responsibility. I did the whole World/Nation section of the paper on my own – chose the stories and photos, laid out the pages, wrote the headlines. I was proud of myself and proud that I got good at it, when in the beginning I thought I’d never learn it at all. * A feeling of accomplishment. Now I know I can make it in the real world.

How to Apply  |  Requirements  |  Credit, Pay, and Cost  |  Evaluation  |  Placement  |  Voices

Overview

The English/Journalism major at UNH requires that you do an internship, usually as a full-time reporter or editor at a daily newspaper, for one semester or a summer. (Magazine, online, and broadcast internships are also possible; keep reading.) The experience will improve your writing and help you decide whether you want to be a journalist. You'll also come away with lots of clips, published stories, which are essential in looking for a job. And you'll have a blast. Most students find the internship the most valuable part of the journalism program.

It's difficult to get a job in journalism unless you've done an internship. The UNH journalism program is unusual because we find the internship for you; we don't just say, "Go get experience." Better still, we send interns to the same places every semester. That means you can be confident that you're going to a newsroom where the editors will consider you a full-fledged staff member, with as much chance as any other reporter to make the front page each day. Because these news organizations take UNH interns each semester, they have a good sense of students' abilities. They won't think you're a dummy capable of nothing more than answering the phone or making photocopies (and believe us, this happens at some internships elsewhere), and they won't expect you to be ready to win the Pulitzer Prize tomorrow. They'll give you the support you need to do the best job you can.

An internship is exciting, rewarding, and fun. But it’s not easy. Full-time journalism work is demanding and never runs only from 9 to 5. On the other hand, it's interesting and important work that changes every day, which is more than you can say for most jobs. Some of the places where we send interns are not within commuting distance of campus. You'll be expected to have a car, to move to the newspaper's community and find a place to live (most of the papers will try to help you, or you may be able to take over the apartment of the previous intern), and to be available for work whenever the paper needs you. Part of the experience is becoming an independent professional, and it's hard to do that if you're returning each night to your parents or your partying roommates.

To do an internship, you don't have to take a blood oath to stay in journalism forever. Nobody knows what they want to do with the rest of their lives, so it's unrealistic to think you'll know that as a college student. There are a million paths you can follow with the experience and clips you’ll get from an internship. (Check out the Alumni Roster for an idea where our graduates go.) But if you're not at least seriously considering a career involving writing or editing, you may have trouble finding the motivation to do the work an internship requires.