Philip Merrill College of Journalism | University of Maryland

JOUR 399 Supervised Internship
Spring 2008

Penny Bender Fuchs
Director of Career Placement and Professional Development
3116 Journalism Bldg.
Phone: 301-405-2796
Fax: 301-314-9166
pfuchs@jmail.umd.edu

This is a one-credit course that may be repeated for up to three credits. One credit is mandatory for the completion of a journalism degree.

Course Requirements:

At least 135 hours of service in an approved internship that lasts a minimum of 10 weeks. Work must occur on the job site or on assignment. Work performed at home will not count toward hours of service. Students may begin recording their hours on the first day of the semester. All hours must be completed by the last day of classes. What counts for journalism credit? Read No. 2 under the application process on the College of Journalism Web site.
Positive job evaluations from job site supervisors. These are sent directly to the supervisors and will be discussed with the interns. The results of the evaluations are factored into students' grades. See Professional Demeanor for additional information on performance and behavior on the job.
Midterm report demonstrating knowledge of employer due by 4 p.m. Friday, March 14. This may be faxed or submitted in person. No electronic submissions accepted.
Final report evaluating the experience due by 4 p.m. Monday, May 5. This may be faxed or submitted in person. No electronic submissions accepted.
A resume packet, consisting of a resume, a cover letter and 12 examples of work done on this internship only. Students must submit a rough draft of the resume and cover letter with the midterm report on March 14. The final, edited version of the resume and cover letter, along with the work samples, are due with the final report on May 5. (Work samples are due with the final, not at the midterm.)
Signed time sheets, due March 14 and May 5.
A one-on-one conference with me between March 14 and May 5.

Grading

Resume packet, completion of 135 hours and on-site job evaluations – 50 percent.
Midterm report – 25 percent.
Final report – 25 percent.

In addition to content, all assignments are graded on the quality of the writing and attention to AP style, grammar and spelling. Be warned -- points will be deducted for grammatical errors, misspellings and sloppy prose, so proofread your work before handing it in. Please refer to the grading rubric given to you at the start of the semester if you have questions.

Meeting deadlines is crucial in this profession. No work will be accepted after the deadline for any reason. If you fax your work, please do so before 3:55 p.m. on the day it is due or it will surely not arrive on time. Once you have faxed your work, call or e-mail to confirm it arrived and save your confirmation sheet as proof you sent the materials in by deadline.

Note: Grades, an optional discussion board and a mandatory online survey (see below) will be posted on Blackboard, www.elms.umd.edu.

Midterm Report:
In three to five double-spaced pages, demonstrate your understanding of your employer and what goes on in your workplace. A copy of this report will be available to students in the college’s career center. Cover these topics:

A description of the organization, including the type of medium and who owns it. Is this a weekly newspaper, a Web site or a network affiliate, for instance? Give the circulation, market size or daily unique hits and note the target audience.
History and mission of this company.
A description of the personnel and the management – how many employees work there and who reports to whom?
Note the diversity of the office in terms of race, gender and job type. You will likely need to get these facts from your employer.
What is a day like in your office? How do the deadlines work – describe the process of putting out the publication or getting the show on the air.
How did you get this internship and what is your role there?
At the end of this report, include the employer’s contact information for students who wish to apply for this internship.

Citing your sources: The sources you use to write this paper must be cited clearly within the text. You may use footnotes or provide attribution in newspaper style, but it must be obvious to the reader where you got your facts. Credibility and integrity are hallmarks of what we do as journalists, so you must be stringent about crediting your sources. Facts stated without attribution or footnotes may result in an F on this paper.

Final Report:
Write a memo to your replacement. The text can be creative, but the final product must be three to five pages double-spaced. Remember, some -- but not all -- internships are raving successes. The point of this exercise is to provide a critical analysis of the experience. Demonstrate what you learned that you can apply to the next internship or job. Cover these topics:

Describe the skills you gained -- journalism skills as well as real-world skills, such as building relationships with supervisors, interacting with co-workers and managing work and school responsibilities.
Evaluate yourself and your employer. Be critical and honest. What went well and what could have been better about this experience?
What did you learn about the culture of the workplace and how professionals interact on the job? What surprised you?
Did you have a mentor? Did you cultivate relationships with supervisors and co-workers? How will these relationships help you in your career?
What specific advice would you offer your replacement?

Assessment Requirement:
Students are required to fill out an online survey on their internship experience in addition to filing these written reports. The survey will be posted on Blackboard after the midterm. Participation in this survey is mandatory and is required by the university and the college's accreditation board as part of our curriculum assessment. The survey must be filled out by the last day of the semester. Answers on the survey will not affect a student's grade. However, students who do not fill out the survey will not be awarded a grade in the class.

Resume packets:
A resume packet will consist of a cover letter, a resume and a packet of clips or other examples of work. They are a crucial part of your professional education, and you will be graded on your efforts. You should submit all your work for consideration, but a minimum of 12 clips or other examples must be turned in.

Resumes and cover letters

resume-writing tips

example 1

example 2

cover letter-writing tips

example of a good cover letter

Clip packets for print students: A clip packet should include stories you have written, examples of copy editing, page layout or graphics you have done on your internship. (Stories without bylines will be considered on a case-by-case basis.) Fancy binders are not necessary. Simply photocopy your work neatly on 8.5-by-11 or 11-by-17 sheets. The Web site also offers a tip sheet for putting together a successful clip packet.

Portfolios or logs for broadcast and online students: Students may submit resume tapes, audiotapes of news reports or copies of scripts you have written. Because broadcast interns seldom get hands-on experience, I will also accept a detailed log of your activities. Describe your assignments in a paragraph, explaining what you did, how long it took you and how it contributed to the production of news. Examples of things that can be logged include research and interviews for prospective stories, logging tapes, going out with crews to cover spot news, running camera and other technical and production tasks. Keep notes throughout your internship so you can provide a detailed summary at the end.

**Logs may also be prepared by print students working for weekly or monthly publications, where the opportunities for clips are less frequent.**

Please note -- work samples demonstrate performance on the job site. They are mandatory. Two points will be deducted for each work sample not submitted. Twenty-four points will be deducted from the grade for failure to turn in any work samples.

Feedback on clip packets, portfolios and logs will be provided. If you would like your examples returned to you after grades are posted, you may pick them up from my office or submit them in a manila folder with your name and mailing address on it so that I may send them to you.

Time Sheets:
Bring in, mail or fax the time sheets by March 14 and May 5. Be sure to total the hours and have your supervisor sign them. You must have a minimum of 135 hours of service over 10 weeks to get credit for this class.

Conference with internship coordinator:
This is mandatory and should occur between March 14 and May 5. Please e-mail me to arrange this appointment. Do not wait until the end of the semester to schedule – I may not be available due to the large number of students I see. These meetings typically take 15 minutes, sometimes longer if you have many questions or if there are problems with your internship. Punctuality is crucial in the professional world. Missed appointments may not be rescheduled. If you are more than 10 minutes late, I consider it a missed appointment. A missed appointment will cost you three points from your final grade. To cancel or reschedule an appointment, e-mail and/or call me at least a few hours ahead of time. If you are having trouble parking, have overslept, got out of class late, etc., and you know you will be five or 10 minutes late, it is your responsibility to call and let me know.

Professional Demeanor:
By enrolling in this class, you are entering the professional world of journalism and serving as emissaries of the college and the university. As such, you are expected to act with maturity and professionalism. Failing to meet professional standards in appearance, performance and attitude may cost you the job and result in an F in this course. Unacceptable behavior on the job includes disrespectful or improper communication with co-workers, an uncooperative attitude, failure to perform required tasks and failure to report to work on time. Please note that employers make the decisions to hire and fire students, not the college. But an intern who is terminated before completing the 10-week, 135-hour course requirement will not pass JOUR 399.

Academic Integrity:
Along with certain rights, students also have the responsibility to behave honorably in an academic environment. Academic dishonesty, including cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty and plagiarism, will not be tolerated. Any abridgment of academic integrity standards will be referred directly to the dean and the university's Office of Judicial Affairs. Confirmation of such incidents can result in expulsion from the university. All students will be required to sign an academic integrity pledge at the beginning of the semester that will cover all assignments in the course.

Equal Opportunity:
The University is an equal opportunity institution with respect to education and employment. The university's policies, programs and activities are in compliance with pertinent federal and state laws and regulations on nondiscrimination regarding race, color, religion, age, national original, sex, sexual orientation and handicap. On your apprenticeship site, if you perceive any problems related to the above or if you believe you have been the target for sexual or other forms of harassment, contact me or Olive Reid, Director of Undergraduate Programs in 1117 JRN. I want this to be a valuable learning experience for you. If you or your site supervisor has any questions, call 301-405-2796 or the Student Services Office, 301-405-2399, Mon. - Fri., 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.