Colleges paying newspapers for exclusive internships

[JLawson]

I heard from one of my journalism professors that colleges are starting to pay newspapers for the exclusive rights to have their students as interns. This prof seems to know someone at every newspaper so I know the info is legit. Has anyone else heard about this? And what do you think the impact is going to be? Is this fair?

I know my school, even though it has a good internship program, couldn't compete with other schools to get a similar deal. I think this is going to take prime internship opportunities away from perhaps more deserving students. It also lessens the competition for these positions.

If this continues it's only going to benefit big time colleges and the newspaper's bottom line.

 

[The Springfield Shopper]

I read something about this a few weeks ago and it sounded like a good deal (well if you went to those colleges). And they weren't really taking anyones space because the paper wasn't going to offer a paid internship anyway. I would have loved for my school to set up programs with area papers, so the connections would have been there post-graduate time. I'll go look for the link.

 

[for_the_hunt]

I could be wrong, but I've heard before that the Harrisburg Patriot-News has a deal with Penn State, and The Philadelphia Inquirer has a deal with Temple ...
Sucks for other students in the state.

 

[chazp]

Are talking about paid interns, or the summer interns who work and are given a grade from the ME that applies to their college transcript?

 

[for_the_hunt]

Paid ... As a college student, I can tell you the "work for a grade" internships are basically last-ditch attempts at smaller papers to get some free work. I know Harrisburg pays, and I would think the Inquirer does, too.

Still, I was thinking about doing one of those unpaid internships (I'm sure as hell not above Podunk Daily)... until I realized I had to pay for it like it was a class. Working 40 hours a week typing in agate and writing Little League games AND having to pay for the "privilege" of doing that? No thanks.

Quite frankly, I don't like the idea of newspapers catering to a particular school. Call me old fashioned, but I think newspapers should take the person most-qualified for the job --- not just the student who lives closer ...

 

[spnited]

So nobody has a question about the ethics of a newspaper being paid by a college to give students exclusive access to potentially valuable internships?

 

[The Springfield Shopper]

Here is the link. It's Notre Dame that paying the students during the internship. I don't think the paper is making money. But I know in the past, schools have had deals with schools to send interns there, maybe without the pay before so that's not new. I think its what schools are supposed to do, help their students get experience and jobs. http://www.nd.edu/~ndmag/su2007/newsinterns.html

 

[spnited]

I have no problem with colleges helping their students get internships, esperience,jobs etc.
I do have a problem with any newspaper that allows a local college to BUY exclusive rights to those internships, and deny equally or more qualified students from other schools the same access.

 

[chazp]

I have no problem with colleges helping their students get internships, esperience,jobs etc.
I do have a problem with any newspaper that allows a local college to BUY exclusive rights to those internships, and deny equally or more qualified students from other schools the same access.

I'll second that.

 

[JLawson]

Absolutely. As a college student and an intern I'm afraid what this could do to future intern opportunities. After this internship I want to apply to bigger papers for next summer, but will I be able to get one? I want to learn from the best in the business, but this business is becoming just that- a business. Just because you go to a bigger school, doesn't make you the most talented or even the most dedicated.

 

[Meat Loaf]

I've been laid off twice in this business. One time came as a part-timer. I and all the part-timers were laid off, and we were replaced by unpaid interns from the university. So I have no doubt that said paper would welcome such an arragement where IT gets paid to staff with interns, instead of the traditional internship.

**** that paper.

 

[Lugnuts]

Wow - newspapers will do anything for a buck these days.

Newspapers really are getting every bit as whorish as TV.

Welcome to the brothel, my friends! :D

 

[IGotQuestions]

Just like how hospitals pay TV stations to do exclusive stories at their hospitals?

 

[Elliotte Friedman]

I'd like to see proof of that.

 

[Lugnuts]

Just like how hospitals pay TV stations to do exclusive stories at their hospitals?

I wouldn't doubt it.

 

[Write-brained]

Just like how hospitals pay TV stations to do exclusive stories at their hospitals?

AKA advertising.

 

[IGotQuestions]

They do it for that reason. CJR did a story on it a couple of issues ago.

 

[STLIrish]

Absolutely. As a college student and an intern I'm afraid what this could do to future intern opportunities. After this internship I want to apply to bigger papers for next summer, but will I be able to get one? I want to learn from the best in the business, but this business is becoming just that- a business. Just because you go to a bigger school, doesn't make you the most talented or even the most dedicated.

There are much bigger threats than this to "future internship opportunities." Lots of metros all over the place have whacked their internship programs out of budget concerns, or gone to the free-internship model, which is pretty economically exclusive. If this is what it takes to keep college kids getting paid to intern, I'll swallow hard and say it's OK with me.
You're right, it reinforces educational elitism, and that sucks. But it's better than the alternative, which seems to be no internships at all.

 

[Birdscribe]

Quite frankly, I don't like the idea of newspapers catering to a particular school. Call me old fashioned, but I think newspapers should take the person most-qualified for the job --- not just the student who lives closer ...

Of course they should.

But how is this different from the common trait of many SE's, who take the path of least resistance and hire only from their geographic region?

 

[I'll never tell]

This is something that surprised me a long time ago, and still surprises me today.

In my home state to become a teacher, you have to teach two semesters in a real high school class and you DO NOT get a dime for it. It's been like that for at least 15 years.

Many other internships are unpaid. Why do we think we're above them?