Guidelines for a Western Herald internship for WMU journalism majors
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Students majoring in journalism are required to complete a 3-credit internship at a news organization prior to graduation.
(1) Up to five journalism majors each semester be allowed to do a writing/reporting internship at the Herald provided each meets at least the following minimum criteria:
(a.)Successfully completed JRN 210
(b.) Have successfully completed a probationary period of employment at the Herald. The probationary period requires publishing three articles prior to being allowed on staff. Students should seek out the Herald Advisor (currently Mr. O’Ryan Rickard) to declare their interest in an internship after completing their three published stories. The Herald Advisor must sign the student internship application form to approve of the student’s eligibility before the student contacts the journalism faculty advisor to apply for a Herald internship.
The first five eligible students to successfully complete and submit internship application forms receive Herald internships. As soon as a student in eligible, he/she may submit an application, even if it is a semester prior to the student’s actual internship.
(2) If in the event a Herald editor has not already completed a writer/reporter internship, the editor can receive internship credit provided the following criteria are met:
(a.) All of the criteria for a writer/reporter internship have been met
(b.) The editor provides appropriate work product to the faculty supervisor. This would vary from job to job, but as an example, an assigning editor would have to provide assignment lists and supporting materials, a copy editor before and after stories, a lay-out editor layouts, etc. This needs to be determined by the faculty member and student before the internship can begin.
(c.) Other requirements as detailed by the faculty internship advisor.
INTERNSHIP PROCEDURES
The journalism program within the School of Communication is seeking professional oversight of interning students that would include consistent and credible feedback on student work while at the news organization. This oversight will include the following:
The Herald Advisor will provide a written evaluation of each intern at the end of the internship period. The employer evaluation form can be downloaded from the journalism internship homepage that links to the School of Communication homepage ( Students cannot be graded for their internship until the written evaluation is completed.
Every three weeks during a Herald internship, student interns must hand in a copy of their final story drafts along with a copy of their published stories to the Herald Advisor for review. Editors must submit edited pages for review. These reviewed stories and accompanying feedback forms must be part of a student’s final portfolio that is submitted at the end of the semester’s internship.
Feedback form for Western Herald interns
Student interns: Please submit this comment form along with a copy of your final story drafts and your published stories to the Herald Advisor every three weeks during your internship. Prior to submitting this form, please complete the top portion and staple your stories to the back of the form. You must complete a form and meet with the Herald Advisor a minimum of three times during your internship. Failure to do so will affect your internship grade.
Student intern name:
Date:
Story topic/descriptions:
Name of story editor(s):
Please share any questions/concerns/problems you had while working on the stories. If you had none, please share what you think went particularly well in reporting and writing the stories:
Feedback on Stories (to be completed by the Herald Advisor)
Grammar/syntax: (Is the story grammatically correct? Are there errors in spelling, verb tenses, syntax or other problems with overall English language usage?)
AP style: (Does the copy conform to current Associated Press style guidelines?)
Leads: (Do the first through five graphs of the story answer the necessary elements of the 5Ws and the H? Does the lead accurately reflect the nature of the story topic? Is the lead interesting?)
Story organization: (Is the story clearly presented? Do ideas flow smoothly? Are there transitions from one idea to the next? Is there an ending?)
Sourcing: (Did the reporter talk to the best sources for this story? Is there an important viewpoint missing from the story that should be there? Are the sources quoted fully introduced and their comments correctly attributed?)
Accuracy: (Is the story well-sourced? Is all information attributed? Are all documents used clearly referenced? Is there any material that raises concern about its origins?)
Other comments:
Herald Advisor signature:
Student signature:
Date feedback form completed: