Why are internships are so crucial to budding journalists? UPIU’s regional director and senior mentor, Krista Kapralos, was interviewed about that exact topic recently by Tuyeimo Haidula, an intern at The Namibian newspaper. Check out a few of Krista’s insights, excerpted from Haidula’s article in The Namibian‘s YouthPaper.
Real world experience can radically affect your choice of career.
“Sometimes after years of university study, students discover that the job they’ve chosen isn’t quite what they’d anticipated. I was interested in a career as a lawyer, until I got an after school job working for one. I realized then that being a lawyer isn’t always as exciting as portrayed on television! The job, while I enjoyed it immensely, helped me see that journalism was a better fit for me.”
Internships offer intensive training, opportunities
“My company, United Press International, takes interns on a limited basis. We think it’s important to take interns because we want to train the next generation of journalists in an environment where we know they’ll learn strong journalism ethics. Interns bring a fresh perspective to our office. Often they think of strategies and ideas that the regular staff wouldn’t imagine.”
As an intern herself, Krista “worked as much as I could. That time paid off. By the time my internship was over, I’d been honored with an investigative journalism award, and I had a job offer in hand.”
Internships put you a step ahead in your first job
“Without an internship you are crippled in your job search. You won’t have as much experience on your resume as those who took internships and when you finally get that first job, you’re starting from behind when compared to those who have had internships. Classroom activities are important but they can’t compare to real world experience.”
