The University of Rhode Island
Department of Journalism

Newspaper internship brings classroom lessons to life

January 28, 2005 --Ashley Lopes, a senior from Tiverton, writes about her newspaper internship last summer.

My experience as a correspondent for the Standard Times in New Bedford can be described as nothing but positive.  I started there as the nervous and intimidated "new girl" with only a general understanding of how a newsroom operates. Through this internship process I learned proper style and editing, how to find stories, what constitutes a story, getting information from sources and making use of available resources. I also was able to witness firsthand how a newspaper is put together. The Times provided me with the hands-on training and proper guidance that I needed to get a firmer grasp on the fundamentals of journalism and workings of a newsroom.

During only my second week at the paper, I was assigned a story about an AFS student from Brazil named Catia Cividini, who was graduating from Bristol Community College with a 3.9 GPA.  For my story I had to set up a one-on-one interview with her, something I had little experience with.  I was nervous about being thrown into the field to fend for myself, but I think this was the best way to learn.  Being placed in an unfamiliar situation forced me to adapt quickly, and the more I did it the more comfortable I became talking to people and with the whole interview process. 

In preparing for an interview I always had my notepad with notes and questions jotted down, but I went to each interview prepared for anything.  An interview about one topic could reveal another story lying just beneath the surface, leading the interview in a completely different direction.  Finding this story within a story sometimes took a lot of probing, which my supervisor, Carol Costa-Crowell Lee, taught me how to do.  General topics such as President Reagan's death also led me to other stories I was able to localize.  I did a story on a New Bedford native, Francis B. Morse, who met Reagan on a few occasions and helped him campaign and win the popular vote in southeastern Massachusetts.  This all tied in to Reagan's death and how it had affected Morse.  This was my story within a story.

I was also taught the technical aspects of journalism.  In addition to teaching me proper style (or this particular newspaper's style), Carol walked me through the editing process.  She taught me how my stories should be structured and how to write a lead that would capture a reader's attention. She helped me distinguish what information was most important, and what constitutes a story.  By the end of the summer my stories needed little editing.

I got to witness how a newspaper comes together by sitting through a few staff meetings.  These meetings set up the layout for each page, and gave us an idea of what the finished product would look like.  Meetings were also an opportunity to brainstorm story ideas, and everyone, including me, got to contribute.

The people who work at the Times were more friendly and supportive than I could have hoped for.  Though I was on my own most of the time, Carol was always there if I needed her help, and I felt comfortable approaching anyone on the staff.  They were always quick to tell me that I did a good job, and that my work there was appreciated.  The overall atmosphere was welcoming and made me feel at home -- which is what I liked about it.

The only downside I could possibly think of, and this is if I had to find one, would be that almost all of my stories were human interest.  I would have liked to have gotten a feel for different types of reporting and a greater variety of topics.  We had discussed possibly sending me to meetings at the City Hall, seeing that I had prior experience in my JOR 320 class, but that didn't pan out.

In summary: Reading a book may teach the fundamentals of journalism, but applying what you learned is where it gets difficult.  It takes practice.  This internship gave me the opportunity to put my fundamental skills to the test, and helped broaden my knowledge in the process.  It was a great learning experience. 

If you have questions for Ashley, you can e-mail her.

If you have questions for Meghan, you can e-mail her.