How to act during summer internship?

I'm delving into a new line of work and have given myself a rule that I think would apply for an internship as well. I was starting to think I was asking too many questions, so I've told myself this: Before I ask a question, I exhaust all methods I can think of to answer it myself. Often that ends up being a quick Google search that gives me the answer within 60 seconds. Maybe elementary, but if you get into the habit of blurting out every question you're going to start to ask some that don't reflect well on you.

 

I was on sidebar duty at a baseball game when I was weeks out of school and I asked our baseball beat writer if they had suggestions what I should do my sidebar on and he told me to talk to a certain player. Our national guy even told me a couple questions to ask him.

I went down there not knowing that said player had threatened to kill the next writer from my paper who even tried to talk to him. I nearly got my head ripped off and when I tried again a few minutes later, the beat writer from our competing paper told me the background. He then walked up to the player in question and told him I was new and wasn't even at the paper when the incident he was still mad about had happened. So, the guy wound up talking to me.

My dickhead co-workers were in with the manager when the exchange happened so when I went back up to the press box, both of them came in like two little kids and said, "SO, HOW'D IT GO?"

I said, "It went fine." and provided no further details.

A year later they did something similar to an intern and just about destroyed him.

 

I was the designated "intern wrangler" for three years at my first job. It was one of the most rewarding things I've ever done and one of the most frustrating things I've ever done.

 

Be proactive in helping out. Offer to grab phone calls during crunch time, ect.

Keep on your toes to drum up an enterprise story idea or two.

Chat up anyone who has time to chat. Deskers, columnists, coaches, parents in the stands (well, reasonable ones).

 

I worked as an intern over the summer with a Gannett paper and it was a great experience -- I was treated almost as if I was a regular staff writer. All of my assignments I went out and did on my own, covered a lot of events at various levels and even had a copy edit / design shift one night a week. For a Denver Broncos training camp story I did, one of the full-time writers went down with me, but I pretty much did my own thing, got my own story idea and asked all the questions in the interviews (didn't wait around for another reporter to ask the question I wanted to hear).

It was a great experience and I did get a lot of editing tips, even if they were simple, that really paid off (as obvious as it should be, being careful choosing between "its" and "their" when covering a game. For instance, when referring to Denver as the team, use "its," but when referring to Broncos, use "their.)"

It did benefit me that I already knew the entire sports desk and the guys were familiar with my work, which gave me more freedom.

Just make sure you're OK with doing every story you're assigned. Also, even if you're not given a deadline, get the story done ASAP. For my feature articles, I wasn't generally given a deadline, but if I got them done early, I could work with the SE in case there was a particular angle he wanted that I didn't go over, and that way there was more time for follow up interviews.

 

Some good advice here, and I will add this: Be a good employee. Not just a good journalist, but a good employee.

Show up to work on time. Wearing the right clothes. Ready with a notebook/pen/USB drive. Remember your passwords once you've been assigned them. Do your timecard correctly. If someone from work calls you, call them back ASAP. Keep your desk neat. Take personal phone calls outside. If you have to miss a day (illness, funeral, jury duty, etc.), call your editor ASAP.

I love interns who ask questions. I hate interns who ask questions over and over about stuff that, had they taken notes when I told them the first time, they would know the answers to.

 

Good advice. I probably wore a sports coat and slacks more times during nine months (over three summers) than I did in 12 years as a full-time staffer.

If you have to sit at someone else's desk, when you leave, make sure it's cleaner than it was when you sat down. Watching an intern leave In N Out Burger crumbs and chocolate milkshake spills on the desk of a copy editor with OCD was one of the most entertaining/painful things I've ever seen.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone. I appreciate it.

 

Oh, and don't drink while on assignment. At a semipro soccer game I covered this summer I had the other intern come with me (he didn't have any prior reporting experience). There was a hospitality tent with beer and he decided it would be a good idea to drink one while watching the game. I wasn't his boss, obviously, but I told him to put it up. It seems like common sense, but you'd be surprised.

 

First off irnsdn, kudos to you for looking for an internship this early. I only did one internship and that was before my last semester in college. Getting early internships will help you.
There has been plenty of good advice so far, especially Moddy's response. In response to your questions:
1. Personally, I prefer interns who ask questions. Especially questions that are solid and show a reasonable amount of thought has been put into the question before it was asked. If you're unsure about something, whether it be how to fill out your timecard, office dress code or writing style, it's better to ask first as opposed to guessing and guessing wrong.
2. Keep the attitude that you're a sponge and you'll do just fine.
3. It depends quite a bit on the size of the paper. If you are my intern, you'll be doing some reporting because we have 1.5 writers on staff, including me. At a large daily, you could be donut dude. Or anywhere in between. In any case, do you best. That task/assignment, however menial it may seem to you, was assigned because it serves an important function.
We had an intern with us who busted his butt covering sports. When we found a little bit of money, we hired him on because his ability and work ethic impressed us that much. Other interns left without warning and without finishing stories assigned to them. In all honesty, I wasn't that upset because I was glad they left.
If the intern-turned-reporter asks me to be a reference for him, absolutely I will. One poster on this board can testify to that. If the latter type of interns asked, all I'll say is this person interned for us in this particular time period. Potential future employers will see the difference.
Remember, you aren't just doing something that last three months and then is done forever. You are also building connections and relationships that can help you for many years to come. Do a poor job or not put in the effort and you're starting your career behind the proverbial 8-ball.

 

Don't much time at all making personal calls or surfing the internet. People will notice. I was at one paper where an intern who was excellent in every other way was not considered for a full-time job because she spent hours on the phone with her boyfriend while at work.

It sounds self-evident, but that was an Ivy Leaguer and she didn't know better, so....be careful. Of course, I was also a paper where a staffer got an intern pregnant. I'd hope I wouldn't need to warn anyone about that, but here again, it happened.