Internships with loose lips
I tell a story in today’s Sun Media column (Turning Points in the Money Section) about an intern we once had who was very keen and had a terrific attitude about anything and everything we asked him to do.
You might never know it but we rely on a small army of interns for a variety of things, from gathering tape to helping monitor various news sources to, yes, going to buy a tray of coffee. They come from various colleges and universities in and around the city and we are getting pretty good at figuring out who’s going to make it in broadcasting and who won’t.
Those who stand beside our desks around 5 a.m. as we’re in the throes of preparing for our 5:30 a.m. start, rattling off the highlights of their resume after NOT being asked and suggesting they’d like to replace us one day, may be a little immature for the job. One well-meaning and ambitious intern took me aside conspiratorially one day to explain that I didn’t need to “work so hard” and that she was a “great writer” and would be happy to write my news for me so I could “take it easy.” I explained to her that not doing my own job isn’t “taking it easy” it’s “neglect of duty” and that I actually “LIKE” my job!
I’m quite sure she meant well. I know she was just trying to get ahead but she was going about it the wrong way.
We do love the opportunity to have a few extra pairs of hands around the newsroom and to help groom the next generation of broadcasters. But if there’s an intern-ready teen in your family, no matter the industry they’re targeting, I’d love it if you showed them my column today. It would save us all a few grey hairs and perhaps give them an edge on the job.
October 3rd, 2007 at 4:27 pm
I remember my days as an intern at 680News. I’m glad I didn’t try and hype myself up to others and just made sure to learn as much as I could from the seasoned reporters, writers, anchors and editors.
Hey it got me a job with 680 soon after. Now, around two years after leaving Humber College, I’ve developed enough to become Morning Show Reporter for the 680 affiliate in Calgary … 660 News.
It wasn’t without much help from the 680 newsroom … Lisa I just hope I didn’t make you pull out your hair while I was there.