Philip Merrill College of Journalism | University of Maryland

JOUR 399 Supervised Internship
Summer 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.
Two positive job evaluations from job site supervisors. These are sent directly to the supervisors by me and will be discussed with the interns. The results of the evaluations are factored into students' grades. See Professional Demeanor below for additional information on performance and behavior on the job.
Participation in a class blog: Each student will be required to post responses to specific topics. Students are also encouraged to comment on each other's blog entries.
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 by Friday, June 20. The final, edited version of the resume and cover letter, along with the work samples, are due by the last day of summer classes, Friday, Aug. 22.
Signed time sheets, due by Friday, July 11 and Friday, Aug. 22.
Conference with me, in person or by telephone, between Monday, July 21 and Friday, Aug. 22.

Grading

Resume packet, completion of 135 hours, on-site job evaluations and conference with me – 50 percent.
Class blog entries – 50 percent

Participation in Class Blog:

Because JOUR 399 students meet only with the instructor, the blog will serve as our virtual classroom. Students will be required to check the blog regularly and post responses to topics raised by the instructor. Students should also read each other’s responses and are encouraged to respond to one another. You will receive the blog URL and complete instructions, including deadlines, before the start of the summer session. Points will be deducted for late blog entries.

These topics are to be addressed in your blog entries:

Introduce us to your employer: Provide 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 unique visitors, and discuss the target audience. In a paragraph or two, tell us the history the and mission of this company.
Describe 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? Describe the skills you've 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.
What have you learned 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 advice would you offer your replacement?

You will rely on your own observations for your blog entries, but some answers will require research. You may interview and quote co-workers and supervisors, as well as rely on information from a company Web site or manual. Feel free to include links in your entries. It should be clear to the reader where you got the information you cite. Credibility and integrity are hallmarks of what we do as journalists, so you must be stringent about crediting your sources in order to receive full credit.

A note about blogging: Blogs by their nature are more casual than academic papers and printed news columns. I encourage you to write in first person and to be creative but to also remember your journalism training. All your entries should be written professionally, in complete sentences and should address the topics raised. Write with the same care you would an assignment to be handed in. This blog will be read by others, so be honest in your assessments but take great care with facts. Do not unfairly criticize your employer or co-workers or publish unsubstantiated information. A good rule of thumb is never post anything on the Internet that could hurt you professionally.

Grading Rubric. Your blog entries will be worth a total of 50 points. They will be graded using the following criteria:

All 50 points: The enties are engaging, entertaining, fun to read and may include more than text (such as links or pictures.) They not only answer the questions thoroughly but give the reader a sense of the employer, the intern's role and the workplace culture. The information you provide is well-sourced, well-written and has virtually no punctuation, grammatical, spelling and style errors.
40 to 49 points: The entries answer all the questions thoroughly; the writing is above average. The information is well-sourced and has very few punctuation, grammatical, spelling and style errors.
30 to 39 points: The entries skim the surface and do not give enough insight into the workplace. The writing is adequate but it is not always clear where the student got the facts he or she provides. There are punctuation, grammatical, spelling and style errors.
20 to 29 points: The entries do not answer all the questions or give the reader a sense of the workplace or the student's understanding of the employer. The material is not adequately sourced. The writing is poor and has punctuation, grammatical, spelling and style errors.
10 to 19 points: The entries are off topic, poorly written and lack supporting facts and sources. The text has many punctuation, grammatical, spelling and style errors.
No points: Entries were not posted or were posted after deadline, included factual errors or unprofessional and/or offensive material.

Assessment Requirement:
Students are required to fill out an online survey on their internship experience. The survey will be posted on Blackboard, www.elms.umd.edu, by midsummer. 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 summer session. 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

June 20.

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 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.**

URLs for online students: Students working for Web sites may e-mail me links of pages they have produced. Examples of work may be stories you have written or copy-edited and posted with headlines, audio slide shows and/or videos you have shot. Students also can receive credit for monitoring discussions and creating interactive materials.

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.

Time Sheets:
Bring in, mail or fax the time sheets by July 11 and Aug 22. 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 July 21 and Aug. 22. Please e-mail me to arrange this appointment. Students who are outside the Washington, D.C., region may call in, but they still must have an 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 result in a three-point deduction 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 Associate Dean Olive Reid 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.