Indiana's NewsCenter offers college juniors and seniors, with an interest in Multimedia Journalism, year-round opportunities for internship.
Why an internship can help you in your career.
Someone once said that one of the hardest things you'll ever encounter is getting a job when you graduate from college. The marketplace is flooded with grads looking for their first break. An internship can help you break through the clutter!
What if I were to tell you that an internship enhances your career choice in an increasingly competitive television and news information job market? Indiana’s NewsCenter – centered in Fort Wayne - is the news entity of ABC affiliate WPTA, NBC affiliate WISE-TV, and NBC WeatherPlus+, MyTV FortWayne and The CW. We offer excellent year-around unpaid internship opportunities in a variety of journalism and television production disciplines, regardless of where you go to school. While most of our interns are communications or journalism majors, we encourage any student who meets our requisites - regardless of major - to consider an internship with Indiana’s NewsCenter.
And even if an internship at Indiana’s NewsCenter doesn't work out for you, we strongly encourage you nonetheless to do an internship somewhere. That's because an internship will let you see up close the real world you are want to make a career - pitfalls and all! An internship is also very valuable because it lets you network with people working in the business who can offer you valuable guidance, share professional knowledge, and become resume references for you!
Why your internship experience with Indiana’s NewsCenter will be special.
Our approach is to provide you with a professional broadcast environment where you will apply what you've learned in the classroom or in your campus broadcast station.
To make this happen, we have structured our newsroom internship so that it's broken down into specific disciplines. So rather than doing a general internship where you are doing a variety of tasks, Indiana’s NewsCenter internships are specific: we offer eleven different internship disciplines, a description of each is found below. Your experience as an intern with Indiana’s NewsCenter will expose you to many different facets of television news gathering and production. As a result of their internship experience, some students have actually changed their career focus to a different and new aspect of television broadcasting.
What do I have to do to be considered and accepted as an intern with Indiana’s NewsCenter?
You should be at least a college junior, be a really good student, generally have experience with your college media outlet, and you must already have very good skills. You have to be enrolled for credit, and the number of hours you spend as an intern each week depends on the number of credit hours for which you are enrolled.
For each internship area, we have established minimum criteria, which you must meet. See the category breakout below.
Once you have read our internship guidelines, discuss them with your academic advisor. A letter of recommendation from your academic advisor verifying that you meet the requisites of the specific internship category for which you are applying is required. Send that, along with your a letter explaining your desire to do an internship to "Indiana’s NewsCenter Internship", 3401 Butler Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46808. Remember, because we generally accept only one intern at a time per category, a key to being accepted is to follow the instructions completely and to apply early.
Once you have applied and we determine you may be a good internship candidate, we will conduct telephone interviews and / or an interview on site to make a final determination. Television news is very competitive - and news managers are always looking for good people. An internship with Indiana’s NewsCenter can help you get a head start on the competition.
Sincerely,
S. Peter Neumann
News Director
Indiana’s NewsCenter
Click Here if you have questions about Indiana's NewsCenter internships.
Indiana’s NewsCenter Internship Categories 2009ASSOCIATE PRODUCER:Work closely with newscast producers in writing of stories, teases and transitions; writing from wire services, telephone beat calls and fax or email releases; write or rewrite stories for weartv.com; help evaluate video to be used; developing line-ups and rundowns; assist in production of satellite interviews and assist in production of news graphics. REQUISITE: must have course credits in a college newsroom, be an excellent writer and be in the upper half of your broadcast, communication, or journalism class. Writing test may be required.
DESK ASSISTANT:Work with assignment editor and producers in story research, selection, and story screening. Extensive work and contact with public and potential interviews; helps set up interviews for taping. Will do general information gathering and story planning. REQUISITE: experience in student operated campus newsroom; be effective in communicating with people both in person and on the phone to get information; an understanding of local government, regional issues and politics helpful. Internet research experience is an asset.
INTERACTIVE WEB PRODUCER:Work with web producers in content production for our interactive website www.indianasnewscenter.com. Duties will include data entry, encoding streaming video, placing graphics and general website maintenance for news as well as programming and information pages. Requires basic knowledge of HTML. Provide examples of your work. REQUISITE: Must be at least a junior, in the top half of your class, be goal oriented, and have excellent writing and language skills. Experience with college and outside electronic or print news gathering a significant plus. Previous experience with PhotoShop graphic software required.
PHOTOJOURNALIST:Working with photojournalists shooting stories for news and sports and edit them. REQUISITE: You must have prior experience in shooting and editing for college produced or commercial newsrooms. A non-returnable tape containing samples of your work must be submitted with your internship application.
PRODUCTION:Work with the directors learning about technical aspects of newscast production. This includes studio camera operation, teleprompter operation, audio operation and set-up, character generator operation and other facets of pre-production, post-production and live newscast operations. REQUISITE: must have some prior experience on similar equipment and/or production classes. Students interested in behind the scenes of newscast production are recommended.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS:Assists anchors in producing and scheduling public affairs programs and public service announcements. REQUISITE: creative individual with sensitive people skills; background community services encouraged; good writing skills and experience with press releases helpful. Students interested in public relations, marketing and social work encouraged to apply.
REPORTER:Work with other news reporters and photographers in the field and in the newsroom; intern stories may be broadcast on Indiana’s NewsCenter with overall quality and professionalism the determining factor. REQUISITE: must be seniors in the upper half of their class. Curriculum history must include prior experience in a radio or television newsroom. Course concentration must be broadcasting, communications, or journalism. Non-returnable demo tape or DVD of prior television reporting for college newscast must be provided as part of initial application.
RESEARCHER:Conduct research and background work for short-term and long-term projects, including investigative reports and public affairs specials. REQUISITE: must be journalism major (print or electronic); courses in political science, criminal justice and/or public administration helpful. Experience with internet research required.
SPORTS:Assist sports department in gathering, writing, editing and producing stories and reports. REQUISITE: the same as for reporter (see above), but a thorough knowledge of sports stories, sports issues and sports personalities is required. Additionally, intern must have experience with videotape editing. Experience with college level coverage, play-by-play, or color commentary is an asset.
WEATHER PRODUCER:Assist weather services director in hands-on gathering of data, preparation of sophisticated computer-generated weather maps, assists in preparation of scheduled weather broadcasts and special weather reports. Interns work with state-of-the-art computer graphics system and access to weather databases. REQUISITE: must be broadcast or meteorology major with emphasis on earth sciences. Artistic ability is very helpful.
Indiana’s NewsCenter Internship AgreementThis letter constitutes agreement for:
(student name) ___________________________________________ from (school name) ____________________________________ to participate in a student internship with Indiana’s NewsCenter, Fort Wayne, Indiana, beginning on (mo/day/yr) ____/____/____, for a period of _____ weeks, concluding on ____/____/____ (mo/day/yr).
The student will intern for _____ credit hours as a ___________________ _______________________. This equals _____ hours per week interning with Indiana’s NewsCenter.
Indiana’s NewsCenter agrees to provide internship training consisting of practical job experience in the area named above, as outlined in the internship categories.
The internship is unpaid. Indiana’s NewsCenter will provide the intern with the necessary tools or equipment to complete the assigned tasks and to provide a positive learning environment.
The intern will be assigned a staff member sponsor who will supervise him / her on a daily basis.
By this internship, the station does not imply any prospect of employment of the intern after the internship is completed.
__________________________
Student Signature Date
__________________________
Name of Academic Advisor (Print)
__________________________
Academic Advisor (Signature)
__________________________
Advisor's Daytime Telephone Number
Eric D. - DePauw UniversityReporter Intern:
January 2008, January 2009
I never viewed myself as an intern during my time at Indiana's NewsCenter. The group of reporters, producers, and photographers went out of their way to make me feel like a full-time member of the team.
From day one, I was given responsibilities that I never thought I would have as an intern. I expected to make copies, run errands, basically do the typical "intern work." That never happened.
The INC staff showed me what it took to be a successful reporter in a competitive market. They helped me write, shoot, and edit my stories in ways that I have never been taught before. I can easily say this experience has shown me more about the journalistic profession than any class I could ever take at any school.
Going into my internship, I wasn't sure if news reporting was the right career move for me. Now, thanks to the opportunities I've seen and the time I've spent in the field, I couldn't imagine doing anything else. And I can't thank INC enough for that.
Todd D. - Ball State UniversityAssociate Producer Intern:
Summer 2008
Throughout this experience I have been able to observe some of the state's top producers, reporters, and directors execute their jobs with passion and conviction.
I have learned balancing business with friendship which is another important aspect needed to succeed. Allowing laughter and a hard-work ethic to combine in the newsroom yields news that people care about. News stories that impacts each and every viewer.
My time at Indiana's NewsCenter has been an exceptional. This internship has allowed me not only to learn about the news industry, but about myself. I have learned that in whatever career path I choose to take, passion, love and commitment must be shown in order to truly succeed.
Audra F. - Elizabethtown CollegeReporter Intern:
Summer 2008
My time at Indiana's NewCenter was invaluable to my success as a journalist. The INC staff equipped me with the experiences that would shape my skills as a reporter.
Everyone went out of their way on my behalf. Reporters let me know I was able to approach them with any question or problem I had. The Producers took time to review what I wrote for them so that I could hone my writing skills. Photographers game me tips on editing and sound that I never picked up in a classroom.
They had the confidence in me to assign me a story every day. The experience of gathering a news story each day is like nothing I can learn from classes at school, and only grew my passion for discovering and reporting stories.
I will surely be a more confident and competitive candidate thanks to Indiana's NewsCenters' help.
