Fall Internships - Rivals.com/PaPreps (Pennsylvania)

Mods, feel free to move this to the freelance board. I wasn't sure which category this fell under.
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PaPreps, part of the Rivals.com high school network, has several internship opportunities available for the 2011 fall semester.

PaPreps (http://papreps.rivals.com/) covers high school sports throughout the state of Pennsylvania, focusing heavily on recruiting and feature stories. Football season is fast approaching and PaPreps needs a few interns located throughout the entire state to help provide coverage to the Rivals.com network.

This is an unpaid internship. While we won’t be able to provide compensation for your efforts, we do offer several unique opportunities that make this a quality experience.

The benefits:
- This is a guaranteed opportunity to write and cover high school football in one of the best football states in the country. No data entry. No lengthy phone calls taking swimming agate. No coffee or food runs. You’ll be a pure writer/reporter.
- You’ll get a regular byline in the Rivals.com network. That means you’ll be part of the largest sports Web site in the nation. Yahoo! Sports, which owns Rivals, is the nation’s leader in online sports content, and we regularly have stories on both the Yahoo! Sports main page and the Yahoo! front page. This is potential exposure you won’t find at your campus newspaper or even your local newspaper.
- Anything and everything you need to enable you to earn college credit for the internship. We’ll provide regular feedback on your work, offer tips and pointers, and guide you through the process of online journalism. We’re hands on. We’re not going to give you an assignment and simply throw you to the wolves.

The requirements:
- We are looking for interns based throughout the state, especially in high traffic areas with multiple quality high school football programs. Those areas include the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia metropolitan areas, as well as Erie, Harrisburg/State College, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and more. We’ll review every application no matter the location and hire based on the quality of the application and the need for a reporter in that area.
- Adherence to the Rivals.com code of ethics. This is a professional gig and it requires professional decorum on the job. You’ll have access to a wealth of information and you’ll be expected to conduct yourself accordingly. That means professional dress, professional manner, and absolutely, positively, no cheering in the press box. You’ll sign a form that details additional requirements as it pertains to gathering recruiting information.
- Transportation. This is not a gig where you can simply walk from the dorm to the campus stadium or take the bus to a downtown corporate office. You’ll be required to drive off campus to a local high school on a regular basis. You will NOT be sent halfway across the state, but an occasional drive of 20-30 miles is possible in some areas.
- Available from early September through early December. PaPreps will ensure that all final assignments and necessary documents are completed before your school’s final exam week.

All interested applicants should email PaPreps publisher Andrew Chiappazzi at achiappazzi@yahoo.com with the following information:
- Resume
- Cover letter detailing not just why you’re the right fit, but your location, availability, and travel flexibility.
- Most important, three writing samples. This is a writing intensive job. The best applicants will have experience at their campus newspaper and/or Web site or with some other regular publication. We need to know what you bring to the site. We do not do regular game stories with chronological play-by-play. We need you to track the best stories – potential state championship contenders, top recruits, unheralded players who are having breakout seasons, etc. Your samples do NOT have to be sports oriented, but they should showcase a style that would work for a sports site. Intensive technical writing is impressive, but it won’t fly with us. Word document attachments, PDF files, in-line samples, or links to published works are all acceptable submissions.

Thank you. Feel free to email or PM PaPreps publisher Andrew Chiappazzi with any questions.

Applications will be accepted until the end of August.

 

As someone who spent over 4 years with the Rivals network, any college folks in the area should consider it. I know some editors who appreciate seeing "Rivals.com" on the resume, especially if you're going to cover high school athletics in the future since recruiting is such a hot bed for coverage in this day and age

 

Update:
I've received a good number of applications for this, so much so that I'll probably close the listing early. Any last minute takers, get your stuff into the above email address by the end of this week and you'll be considered.

 

Update. Listing is closed. Thanks to all for their interest.