- Home
- Internship opportunities
- Journalism internship information
Journalism internship information
FAQs on UQ Journalism Internships - (JOUR 3801/6661/7802)
What is an internship?
It is an industry placement designed to give you the opportunity to obtain professional experience in a journalism-focussed organisation or in a setting that gives you insights into how news organisations operate. It is also designed to give you the chance to reflect analytically on that experience. For UQ purposes, an internship involves working eight-hours a day for a minimum of ten days. Placements can be for longer, but a minimum of ten days of placement will be assessed.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain placements at one news organisation that last longer than one week (or a maximum of two). Why? Because the demand is so heavy (e.g. QUT, Griffith, Bond, Sunshine Coast and USQ are competing with UQ).
Undergraduates: Current final-year BJ students who have gained the permission of the JOUR3801 course coordinator. All internship students must have completed the following courses and achieved a GPA of at least 5 in the below courses:
| Commenced Study in 2006, 2007 or 2008 | Commenced Study in 2009 or 2010 |
|---|---|
| COMU1311 Identity, Culture and Communication COMU2311 Communication for Social Change [JOUR2211 News & Mass Communication Theory [or [COMU2233 Mass Media and Society JOUR1111 Introduction to Journalism and Communication JOUR1112 Reporting [JOUR1710 Journalistic Investigation [or [JOUR2710 Journalistic Investigation JOUR2221 International Journalism & Mass Communication JOUR2711 Editing & Scripting JOUR2811 Journalism in Text JOUR2822 Journalism in Sound JOUR2833 Visual Journalism |
COMU1311 Identity, Culture and Communication COMU1999 Introduction to Visual Communication COMU2233 Mass Media and Society JOUR1111 Introduction to Journalism and Communication JOUR2722 Convergence in the Media JOUR1112 Reporting JOUR1710 Journalistic Investigation JOUR2711 Editing & Scripting JOUR2811 Journalism in Text JOUR2822 Journalism in Sound JOUR2833 Visual Journalism |
Postgraduates: Diploma of Journalism and Master of Journalism students who have successfully completed the compulsory courses as per their programs and obtained the permission of the Internship course coordinator.
How are internship placements organised?
The coordinator can arrange placements and in some instances the employers mandate this. We have special arrangements with many organisations which must be processed through the coordinator. However, students are encouraged to seek their own internships. If you do so, then the internship must meet the coordinator’s approval which must be given before the placement begins, and you are required to keep the coordinator informed of the progress of the negotiations for the placement.
Internship Information form:
As soon as you think you are interested in entering the course, submit the application form to the SJC reception. These documents are the coordinator’s starting point, and you cannot be enrolled in the course without first submitting all of them. They inform the course coordinator whether you qualify for the course, what placement/s you want, when you want to do it/them and your contact details.
Do you still need to enrol electronically via My-SI-net as in any other course?
Yes. Once you are permitted into the course/s you will receive an email from the school confirming this and advising you to enrol as per the usual procedure.
What about insurance coverage?
UQ insures you during your placement – as an individual and for public risk – and so the coordinator sends an insurance letter direct to the news organisation. It specifies your name, student number, the news organisation’s name and the dates you will be serving your placement there.
Is there a Course Profile for the internship course?
Yes: available through Blackboard and at www.uq.edu.au/study
What about my other study commitments?
Interns must manage the impact of their placements on their other semester study commitments. It is strongly recommended that only one week of the two mandatory placement weeks be taken during class time. Depending on the semester in which you enrol, the other week/s can be taken out of class time eg. before semester starts, during mid semester and mid year breaks, or during the end of year break.
The responsibility for managing your studies lies with you. In the event of interns missing classes, staff do NOT provide catch-up advice, let alone special counselling. You cannot use the work experience to vary the requirements of other courses.
Interns are advised to carefully plan work experience arrangements so as not to impact on study responsibilities and obligations to fellow students.
What about assessment?
These are Pass/Fail courses.
Assessment tasks (details follow):
- Pre-placement self assessment, and
- Post placement report; diary; portfolio, evaluation form (included in course profile and available on this site). Due within two weeks after the end of your internship/s, but if you finish your final placement during the exam period (June or Nov), the coordinator needs it by the end of the exam period.
- Do NOT submit your reports etc. in a plastic-sleeve folder.
1. A 250 word self-assessment by the student: You submit this at the same time you submit the Journalism Internship Information Form and the Study Record.
Only one self-evaluation essay is required regardless of the number of placements undertaken. It must be submitted along with the Internship Information Form and your study record. In the self- evaluation, you analyse and reflect upon what you believe are
- Your journalism-related strengths and weaknesses
- Areas to be worked on to build those journalism strengths
- Your plan to achieve this
- Your personal aims for the internship.
- Your career aspirations.
2. Daily diary: a very brief description of what you did each day including a sentence describing what specifically you learned that day.
3. Report reflection.
- For Jour3801 students, 700 words;
- For Jour 6661 and Jour7802 students, 1,000 words.
The report should be in essay form (without sub-headings or dot-points) and address the following topics (but not restricted to these topics):
- What you learned about journalism including (but not exclusively): workplace-communication and reporting skills, newsroom operations, journalism work-flow, news values, agenda-setting, gate-keeping, ethical issues, problem solving etc. during your placements.
- What you achieved from the placement. Describe the impact of the placements on the weakness and strengths you described in the self-assessment eg. how are you different/more or less capable post-placements? How did the placements make a difference?
- Describe and give examples of how your taken-for-granted assumptions about journalism and practice were challenged.
- Describe and analyse one critical newsroom or newsgathering event during the placement/s:
- Situation: What happened?
- Affect: What was the impact on you personally?
- Interpretation: What did you learn from this experience?
- Decision: What did you decide to do so as to become a better journalist?
- How will you do things differently in your next internship or work experience placement?
4. Write a job application (one to one-and-a-half pages) for the position you worked in during one of the placements. For example, if your placement was in a newspaper, practise writing an application to that newspaper for the position of a junior-recruit reporter.
Note: Prospective employers want to read what practical reporting and other journalism skills and knowledge you have. At the very least, you need to insert into the letter some specific examples of these skills by referring to the actual tasks you performed during the placement at their organisation. Prospective employers do not necessarily want to read about your ‘passion’ for journalism. Tell them how much you enjoyed working for their organisation and once again back it up with evidence of what you bring to the recruitment negotiating ‘table’. General advice on letter writing can be found at: http://www.askoxford.com/betterwriting/letterwriting/
5. Evaluation form: completed and signed by your supervisor and independently mailed, emailed or faxed to me. The form is available from the Internship Information website. The school’s fax number is: 3346 8299.
6. Portfolio (not mandatory): Examples of draft and/or published/broadcast work.
Note:
- Do NOT submit your written work in a plastic sleeve folder. Simply staple or clamp it with a cover sheet.
- Ensure your student number is clearly written.
- Put your work in this order:
- Daily diary at front, followed by the reflection then the application letter then any published work (published work is not mandatory).
Placements are done in a block of one or two weeks (and rarely one day a week, or two days a week); or as required by the postgraduate programs. You should contact your placement organisations about a week before commencing the placement. You can contact the course coordinator during the placements.
When can you do your placements?
To minimise disruption to class time, it is advised that interns spend one placement in class-time during semester and the other week outside class time. It is the responsibility of interns to manage the impact of their placements on their class commitments in and out of SJC. You should read the additional information on student responsibilities on the SJC website under Journalism Internships.
What are the placement protocols?
On placement, politeness, workplace engagement and punctuality, dress ready to go anywhere: court, funeral, Parliament); participate with interest and enthusiasm; perform to your best standard; seek publication (or broadcast).
Where are interns placed?
Interns can be placed in journalism-focussed workplaces internationally, interstate and within Queensland:
The National Indigenous Radio Service (http://www.nirs.org.au/ click on NINS), in Brisbane, also accepts journalism interns.
ABC:
- News: Radio, TV and Online (these placements are for a minimum of two five-day blocks).
- Local Radio/online programs: limited placements available to students who can demonstrate knowledge of ABC local radio. Placements are for one day a week over 10 weeks.
- The Country Hour: limited placements available to students who demonstrate empathy for rural issues and knowledge of ABC radio. Placements are for one day a week over 10 weeks.
Additional information about ABC Online News:
- ABC Online News has expanded its operations to include dedicated reporting shifts. Examples of work done by some junior recruits can be viewed at:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/16/2846806.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/12/2844150.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/01/2758204.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/07/2763624.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/26/2667626.htm
SJC graduate Nic MacBean covered the aftermath of the Victorian bushfires (09), for which he won the Junior Walkley Award. His work can be viewed at: http://blogs.abc.net.au/events/victorian_bushfires/
Students interested in international placements must demonstrate they can function in the local environment and culture. International students are encouraged to seek placements in their own countries. Interns must meet their own expenses.
- Straits Times
- South China Morning Post
- Jakarta Post
- Bangkok Post
- Vanuatu Post
- ACICIS journalism professional practicum (Indonesia) www.acicis.murdoch.edu.au
- Shanghai Daily
More information in documents below and at http://www.uq.edu.au/undergraduate/leadership-opportunities
Anthony Frangi, Journalism Internships Coordinator.
On this site
- Home
- Internship opportunities
- Journalism internship information
