So I got an internship at my local newspaper, should I do it?

I am in High School and I'm a senior. I'm going to be majoring in journalism soon, would this help my resume for future jobs although I am just a high school student?

 

Yes. As long as you aren't paying them to do it <crossthread>
Why would you not do it? It's not often that high-school seniors get that chance. Though I should ask what you will be doing.

 

It's a non-paid internship. Thanks for the advice.

I am being assigned to high school games (basketball, football, etc) and I have to write a story on the game.

 

Absolutely. Hopefully they will give you some guidance, but it sounds perfect to get some clips and have a head start. I didn't really have anything published until my junior year of college. Maybe that's why I ended up as a copy editor.

 

Actually, I received no guidance at all haha. I was just told to go to the game tomorrow and write up a story while conducting interviews as well.

 

Uh oh. Maybe they'll give you some guidance after the fact. But hopefully they looked at your clips first, so that's a good sign that they have faith in you. No offense, but I'm not sure I'd send a student out solo to cover their first game. Go get 'em!

 

If you are writing stories, they should pay you. Just my 2 cents.

 

Congrats... but are unpaid internships legal in your state?

I've been contacted by a very interested high school athlete with clips, and the powers that be have no idea what to do. We can't have an unpaid intern, and she doesn't think she can be paid for freelance writing due to potential NCAA conflicts. (I have no idea if that's accurate, but I wouldn't want to cost her a scholarship!) I'm trying to set up opportunities for her to shadow reporters in the field.

Any other ideas?

 

There should be some sort of benefit to the internship, at least college credit or something of monetary value. It can't be "work for us for free" so you can have "experience." I would do this a few times but I would check them out with the Better Business Bureau or a state employment agency to see if they can legally do this. If they publish your work and display it prominently, I wouldn't work for free for long. Internships usually last 3 to 6 months. I wouldn't do it any longer than that. After six months, I'd quit if they claimed it was a 12-month internship or something and I'd tell them I'm available as a stringer and charge them per story. I'm not even sure I'd do six months in your current setup though. Looks like to me they are just trying to get free work and will turn around and find another high school student to do the same once you quit. Hardly an ideal situation. We hire part-time reporters and we pay our interns. I would not invest much time with this newspaper.

 

She should be able to have a job and get paid a little, but who knows with the NCAA. Could she check with her school's compliance office?

 

Call her a volunteer then instead of an unpaid intern.

 

Make them give you guidance, otherwise you're just providing free labor.