-Leah, Winter 2017
Editing / Writing Articles
Calling Businesses
Conducting Interviews
Event Planning
Layout & Design
Archival Research
Advertising
Assisting Editorial Tasks
Social Media Marketing
Photography
Working at a community newspaper is one of the great learning experiences an intern can have. IGS has a long history of helping students publish original articles during their internship. Students have published restaurant reviews, theater openings, political events like Hillary Clinton’s visit to Australia, and the effect of climate change on the local harbor and businesses.
In addition to storytelling, there is a strong marketing component. You will work with the staff to promote the paper using a wide range of media platforms. Uploading content to social media, promoting Facebook pages, sending out “tweets” are all part of the marketing process. A couple of our interns were key in opening up a new territory in the city for the paper. They met with local businesses and negotiated rights to display the paper on the premises.
The beauty of community newspaper work is that it provides an in-depth look into a foreign culture from the inside out. You get to see the issues that are important to the city and its citizens. Comparing that to your home paper and local concerns is a cross-cultural experience that few have.
Working at a community radio station is a great way to immerse yourself into a local community. We work with a station that features local artists and a number of groups from the Aboriginal community. As such, there is a real opportunity to learn about the challenges that face that community through the lyrics of their songs and the on air interviews. You have to wear a lot of hats to make a small station thrive.
Our students have helped with booking on air talent, event planning, digital marketing and updating social media pages. The feedback we have had from students is that they really enjoy the staff. Working side by side with people who know so much about local music and politics provides special insight that the average visitor will not see.
I was more interested in the marketing side of the newspaper. My job duties include expanding our publication into a new district in the city. This is fun work as I get to learn all kinds of new things about the area. Approaching businesses is real-life work. I see the results immediately when I get a sale and it’s a good feeling to succeed in the real world.”
-Jack S., Winter 2018
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““I worked at a radio station in Sydney that focused on local artists and Aboriginal music in general. It was neat to see local singers and groups come into the station to promote their music. My job at the station was to help book the talent. So I reached out to the agents or singers themselves to schedule times to come in. I also helped coordinate events for the station. This required me to reach out to local businesses and people in the community which I liked. Watching how a radio show is put together was a valuable learning experience. There is a lot that goes into it and I got a chance to be part of it all.”
-Alison R., Winter 2018
