Q: I know you're a busy guy, so I'll try to keep this brief. I have two questions:
1. In your opinion, what are some of the nation's best summer internships? I'm trying to plan ahead for next summer and I want to aim for the top. I'm interested in newspaper/magazine news reporting/copy-editing.
2. Do you know any professionals who would be willing to look at some of my articles and offer suggestions for improvement? I'm trying to improve my writing and build relationships in the process.
Thank you for the advice. Keep up the good work on your web site. It's helped a lot.
Keegan
A: The best internships tend to be at the best papers, with one caveat. Avoid situations in which interns do not get to do real work. While a lot of those do-nothing internships have been stopped, largely because of pressure from young journalists, some still exist at magazines.
So, choose good papers, check their Websites to see if they list former interns and then look up work on-line by those interns or find them and ask them.
A list of the best internships would be long, as each person has different requirements and qualifications. I do not have simple answer of 30 names.
I know of no professionals who can easily take on the task of writing free clip critiques. A good one takes a couple of hours and, of course, professionals are busy doing their jobs. I would suggest you cultivate some of your college professors, who are already on your payroll, or perhaps an editor at a newspaper that you see as a legitimate destination. An editor may take the time to critique work by someone who, with direction, could wind up at that paper.
If your college puts on a job fair, that may be an occasion to ask for help, too.
