Students at the Walter Cronkite School will have the opportunity to intern at one of NBC’s top headquarters throughout the country beginning in the fall 2011 semester thanks to a new partnership between the Cronkite School and NBC News.
Up to four students will be selected for internships in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Burbank, Calif., or Washington, D.C., according to a Cronkite School announcement.
Interns will get first-hand production experience on shows like “NBC Nightly News,” “Dateline NBC” and “Today.”
Applicants for the internship must meet certain requirements and be at least a junior at the Cronkite School.
Michael Wong, Director of Career Services at the Cronkite School, said it’s a great experience any time a student gets the chance to work for a major news network. Selected interns are learning at a higher level, adding to their resume and making professional connections that can open a lot of doors, Wong said.
“Students will be going into a job market with great experience,” he said. “These connections and this exposure could be very beneficial.”
Proficiencies acquired throughout the internship include sharpening writing skills, working with digital media and seeing what networks are doing with different kinds of news-coverage platforms, Wong said.
Scholarships of $2,000 will also be provided to assist students with expensive costs that can come with out-of-state living.
Broadcast student Ryer Ulland said money is a big issue when it comes to internships that are out-of-state, and said it’s great that the school is willing to help out.
“Money is a big issue that sometimes holds people back from big opportunities like this,” Ulland said. “A scholarship along with an internship is a great thing that people should take advantage of.”
Melanie Alvarez, executive producer of Cronkite NewsWatch, said the opportunity for the partnership presented itself in 2009 when Brian Williams, of NBC News, accepted the 26th annual Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism. Alvarez said that NBC observed NewsWatch students and was impressed that they were “trying to do the right thing early on.”
“To be able to come back their senior year with that (internship) under their belts and that type of experience and change in world view is just beyond words,” Alvarez said.
Being in a non-typical work environment, students will be able to see how the world works at a professional level, opposed to a student level, she said.
While the Cronkite School is already considered a prominent program throughout the country, partnering with NBC News adds more prestige to the name and other opportunities at a national level, Wong said. Other companies will observe what the school is doing, and might also consider partnerships.
The internship will help returning students and graduates alike with their journalistic skills and provide students with the opportunity to network and make strong connections in the industry.
“It’s not about what you learn, it’s about who you meet,” Ulland said.
Contact the reporter at sharpole@asu.edu
