Tuesday, July 10, 2007

An unfortunate turn of events for journalism interns is here...

Notre Dame's JSchool, has apparently decided to start funding internships with a number of newspapers...Read for yourself (click on the title because all my tech savvy isn't allowing me to insert a link mid-post...go figure). Then you can proceed to my rant.

Did you read it? Great, well anyone who knows me won't be surprised that I find the practice of purchasing internships by a University to be despicable. Newspaper interns produce publishable content. Interns certainly churn out work at a slower pace than the seasoned staffers next to them--but that is reflected in their pay scales.

It's important to note that I do not support unpaid internships. I view them to be a privilege of those who can afford to work for free. In a field that claims to be clamoring to diversify, choosing candidates who have parents that can afford to support them significantly limits access to the profession.

I am shouting on my soapbox right now. Feel free to roll your eyes, and tell me how none of us will have jobs in two years anyhow...

At which time, I'll wish I had gone to Notre Dame, so I could call them and ask if they would buy me a job.

PS- Thanks to fellow Mizzou JSchooler Jonathan Rivoli for the heads up on this.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't worry - when I read it, I yelled at Kevin.

Jeronimo Nisa said...

Totally agree. We'll make it though...