Issue Story 3 Revised

Headline: More Students Take Unpaid Internships in Exchange for Experience
Blurb: The number of unpaid internships is increasing, and students often take these internships in exchange for exceptional experience.

Many students choose to or are required to hold an internship during their time in college in order to increase their experience in their future field of study. Lately, there has been an increasing number of internships that are unpaid, creating a struggle for students.

Economic Influence on Internships
The economic status of the country affects the unemployed, recent college graduates trying to find their first job, and also students looking for internships.

Andrew Harper, internship coordinator at St. Edward's University, said he began to see more unpaid internships beginning in the fall of 2008 when the economy’s status worsened.

Unpaid internships benefit a company by providing free labor, but also benefit the intern by providing hands-on experience.

“The growth of unpaid internships has risen sharply, and will continue to do so,” Harper said.

Harper said not all fields of study have the same number of unpaid internships.

“The communication industry is notorious for having lots and lots of unpaid internships,” he said.

Students Reflect on Past and Current Internships
Senior at St. Edward’s, Melinda O’Cañas, worked at LatinWorks for a summer, but since the internship was not paid, she also had to work another job in order to make an income.

She said her schedule went something like this: work in the morning, grab a quick lunch, then go to internship where she worked rigorously, but did not get paid for that work.

“It was very hard not getting that paycheck,” O’Cañas said, “but I think it’s worthwhile not getting paid because you get the experience.”

Communication major Mikkayla Guillett hopes to one day be employed with the Dallas Mavericks. To get experience working in the industry, she has been working as an intern with the Austin Toros basketball team. She does not get paid with the Toros, but receives school credit for it.

“I absolutely love it,” Guillett said about her job with the Toros.

She said she has gotten great experience in the field that she wants to work in someday and likes it more than her job that does pay her.

“I feel like the fun internships can get away with not paying their interns,” she said.

Fun may be one of the main perks for interns at Clear Channel Radio instead of a paycheck. Alyssa Palomo, intern at Clear Channel, said working station events, getting to sit in station studios, and meeting artists and musicians are all tasks that interns are able to take part in. However, she said other responsibilities of interns are not as exciting. Making numerous phone calls to contest winners and filling out names and numbers for prize sheets are also on interns’ to-do lists.

One week after interns began their term in January of 2009, the first large round of layoffs was made at Clear Channel throughout the country. After that week, an additional four or five interns were hired for the semester at Clear Channel Radio in Austin, creating a higher number of interns than usual. A past intern at Clear Channel Radio, Meredith Joe, said it was times that these that she felt the interns were just free labor.

Importance and Increase in Internships
According to a 2008 study done by The National Association of Colleges and Employers, 50% of graduating college students had participated in internships. At St. Edward’s University, all undergraduate students have the option to take part in an internship in order to receive credit for it. Harper said that out of the 50-55 majors at St. Edward’s, about 10 or 11 require internships.

Harper said one approach to limiting unpaid internships is to stop sending interns to big companies that do not pay interns. However, he said that is not a likely option because students will still be willing to work there.

“Even if the experience isn’t educational, the contacts students make at big companies is just as valuable,” Harper said.

Keeping it Legal: Guidelines for Unpaid Internships
Experience is a benefit from internships, but there are specific guidelines set by the Wage and Hour division of the Department of Labor for unpaid internship.

Most students know if they are not getting paid for their work at an internship, they must receive school credit. However, Andrew Harper said it is not as simple as that and there could essentially be many lawsuits against companies that just follow that one rule. The student may be getting school credit for the internship, but is also required to pay for the course. In a way, Harper said the student is actually paying for his or her work as an intern.

The six guidelines that must be followed in order for companies to legally work interns for free:

• The training, even though it includes actual operation of the employer’s facilities, is similar to training that would be given in a vocational school.
• The training is for the benefit of the student.
• The student does not displace regular employees, but works under the close observation of a regular employee.
• The employer provides the training and derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the student. Occasionally, the operations may actually be impeded by the training.
• The student is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the training period.
• The employer and the student understand that the student is not entitled to wages for the time spent training.

See Department of Labor website for the list of six guidelines.

The Good, The Bad, and the Unpaid
Katherine Robinson, senior at The University of Texas at Austin, has had experiences working for free and for compensation. While working as an intern at corporate offices, the said she felt she had smaller, less important tasks to do, but also received payment.

“The pay was great, but at times I felt that I didn’t have a large impact on the company or my department,” Robinson said.

Harper said more and more students are faced with the decision to take an internship that pays that may not result in many benefits, or an internship that provides great hands-on experience, but offers no compensation.

What's Being Done

To increase employers’ awareness about the importance of legality, St. Edward’s has held two breakfast sessions for companies that have listed positions in the Hilltop Career database. Harper said he is not sure if they have influenced the companies that attend, but it is the first step to take to at least raise awareness about the issue.

The current handout compiled by Hilltop Careers lists 19 paid internships and 36 unpaid. Harper said he promotes the paid internships more to students, but still lists the others as options.

There are ways students can receive compensation if they are working with nonprofit organizations. If the student is qualified for work study for school, he or she is able to use that money towards the internship. St. Edward’s also worked with HEB this semester through its Community Internship Program and hired five interns with various majors, all who were compensated.

Richard Bottner is the founder and president of Intern Bridge, a company whose goal is “to create exceptional new internships and improve existing internships throughout the nation.” He also has a blog, “The Intern Advocate,” which enables readers to provide feedback.

Harper describes him as a consultant for businesses wanting to set up an internship. He is one of the first people dedicated to the issues surrounded by internships and to speak out about them.

Harper said more students are being faced with the decision to take an internship that pays that may not result in many benefits, or an internship that provides great hands-on experience, but offers no compensation.

Reaction to New York Times Video

Picture of the video taken from NYTimes.com

The words of a well-versed journalist are powerful and touching. However, sometimes an image or video is needed to supplement a story being told. The story of the accidental killing of the two Reuters employees in Baghdad was based on the video of the pilots in the helicopter. The New York Times appropriately published the video on their website to better tell the story.

When deciding whether to publish such content, it is important to consider how it contributes to the story, the audience, and availability of the content. The video was the basis of the story and validates the points made. Since it was timely and was recently released on WikiLeaks, it was necessary to put a link in the article. Though shocking, the video tells the truth and the shock factor creates the newsworthiness of the article.

Kenneth Irby’s guidelines include maximize truth-telling, and in this case, the video would increase the validity of the story and points being made.

The audience of the New York Times should be considered in the decision to put the video up also. Generally, a more mature audience reads the paper with the purpose of getting the news. If the article were published on a magazine website with a different target audience and reason, the decision may have been altered.

The video was available to those who wanted to see it, but readers were not forced to view it. To decrease unwanted views, a warning was included in the article about the graphic content. There was an alternate video offered for people who wanted to watch a shorter version to get an idea of what happened during the attack.

This falls under Irby’s guideline to minimize harm; with the warning and edited version, there was less harm to the viewers who may be offended by it. By making the video more public, it raised awareness of the mistake made by the military and the danger that journalists are in. Harm could be lessened for the journalists in these dangerous situations.

Act independently is Irby’s last guideline. While the reactions to the video may vary, it is still important to understand the power that the video has, particularly with this story.

Each case is different and should be taken into context. In this case it is better for the audience to see and hear what went on in Baghdad that day and how the Reuters employees were harmed. The benefit of online versions of newspapers is that it gives the reader access to multimedia and additional content to print stories. There should be additional content, including video, if it is appropriate and in this case it is.

Blog Week of 3/30/10

New Festivities During Texas Relays Hope to Bring New Attitude

Texas Relays brings track and field athletes from all over the country to Austin. For the past several years, it has also brought controversy throughout the city.

During the 2007 Texas Relays, a fight broke out at Highland Mall, which resulted in some of that controversy. Other crime has been noted during the relays, resulting in some negative thoughts from those in Austin.

Since the fights at the mall, closures by businesses have taken place. Highland Mall was shut down early last year and several clubs on Sixth Street were not open for business. Reactions to and reasoning behind these closures may be seen here.

The Austin American-Statesman did an article on the number of crimes during Texas Relays compared to the weekend of SXSW and Mardi Gras, both festivities that seem to be more welcoming to visitors throughout the city. According to the article, there were less crimes during Texas Relays than during the other two events.

Kevin Benz, news director for News 8 Austin, said "The City of Austin and the police department has just handled the events of Texas Relays very poorly."

He said the fights that happened at Highland Mall that year were nothing unusual for any weekend at a mall.

Trying to disregard all of the controversy that has happened in the past, participants and city officials are trying to move forward with a new outlook for Texas Relays.

The Central Texas Black Cultural and Health Festival will take place during the days of the events, April 1-3. Events that will take place include a parade, a culture and health show, a step competition, and a fashion show.

To see full information on the festival, go to YourRelays.com or see the full schedule of events here.

The 23rd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays begins Thursday, April 1. See ticket information, a full schedule, and more at The University of Texas at Austin website.

Midterm--Web News Story

Headline: College Women are at Greater Risk for Rape


Women in college are a a greater risk for rape and other sexual assault than women in the general public, according to a study released today by the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

College campuses have become "hot spots" for criminal activity, including rape and other forms of sexual assault.

The Hidden Facts:
The study states that women at a college that has 10,000 female students could experience more than 35o rapes a year.

According to the study, three percent of women surveyed have experienced a completed or attempted rape during a college year.

About 1.7 percent of female college students were victims of attempted rape, the same percentage of women that reported being forced to have sex. About 13 percent of college women have been stalked since the beginning of the school year.

Almost 60 percent of rapes that took place on campus happened in the victim's residence. Other incidents took place in bars, dance clubs, nightclubs, and work settings.

For completed and attempted rates, the study states that nine in 10 offenders were known to the victim.

The Common Faces of the Offender:
"Most victims knew the person who sexually victimized them," the authors of the study wrote.

"Most often, a boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, classmate, friend acquaintance, or coworker sexually victimized the women."

The study states that college professors were not identified as committing any rapes or sexual coercions, but were cited as the offender in a low percentage of unwanted sexual contact cases.

What This Means for Colleges and Universities:
For every 1,000 women attending universities or colleges, there is expected to be 35 incidents of rape.

The study suggests that mid-size campuses of 10,000 women could be expected to exceed 350 rapes during an academic year.

While the actual number of cases may be high, the number of known cases is essentially lower. Researchers found that many women do not admit their case of sexual victimization for various reasons.

Embarrassment, not understanding the legal definition of rape, or not wanting to define someone they know who victimized them as a rapist may prevent women from admitted their case to others. The study also suggests that women may blame themselves for their sexual assault.

The survey urges universities and colleges to increase education and knowledge about sexual assault.

The Survey
The study results are based on a telephone survey of a national sample of 4,446 made of women attending a two- or four-year college or university. Schools with at least 1,000 students were included.

Questions asked in the survey screen and other details regarding the research is found on the National Institute of Justice Web site.

The study was federally funded and conducted by Bonnie S. Fisher, a professor at the University of Cincinnati, Francis T. Cullen and Michael G. Turner.

Feature Story--extended blog edited

Title: Anchor, Mentor, Volunteer: The Many Faces of News 8's Paul Brown
Blurb: Join Melinda Valero as she gets to know News 8 Austin's Paul Brown in this web-exclusive behind the scenes footage.

His great knowledge of journalism is just one great quality anchor Paul Brown brings to News 8 Austin. I went behind the scenes in the newsroom to talk to others and Paul himself to find out how else he helps out his fellow coworkers and his community.

Though he is titled "News Guru" by his coworkers at News 8, Brown still feels he has more to learn about the field. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at The University of Texas at Austin. Another goal of his is to conduct research about the news industry, which could serve as a blueprint for younger journalists.

Along with sharing his wisdom of journalism with fellow coworkers and aspiring journalists, Brown is involved with several nonprofits and other community involvement.

He has served as a chairman of the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters, and has judged several journalism competitions.

Along with that, he is a chairman of Texas Hearing and Service Dogs. This organization trains service dogs that help people with disabilities or may be hard of hearing or wheelchair bound. The dogs are trained to help people to do simple things like help people who drop a pen and are not able pick it up.

His interest in animals is also seen in his weekly segment on News 8, Pet of the Week.

Paul is also involved in the Neighborhood Longhorns Program, which creates incentives for those at lower economic elementary and middle schools to learn. Students from UT who go into lower economic elementary and middle schools in Austin to create incentives for learning. With one-on-one mentoring from the students, there is an incentive program that offers tickets to UT sports games for good grades.

To find out how to help out with any of these causes that Paul is involved with, click on the links above.



PROFILE:
Name: Paul Brown
Age: 47
Family members: Wife Dodie, sons Wade, 21, Emmett, 17, and Joshua, 8.
Current title: Anchor for News 8 Austin
Role model in Journalism: Walter Cronkite
Education: B.S. in Radio-Television-Film, Master's in Journalism, and working towards Ph.D. in Journalism at The University of Texas at Austin
First job in journalism: reporter at the Brownwood Bulletin
Twitter: PBrownNews8
Read Brown's profile on News 8 Austin's website to find out more about him.

Check out the videos below with a one-on-one interview with Paul Brown himself and interviews with his fellow coworkers to get their opinion of Brown.

Blog #3: Financial Options for Future Graduate Students

Four years in college costs students (or parents) thousands of dollars each semester. Yet, more and more students are able to get a college education thanks to a vast amount of scholarship opportunities. Even without scholarships, students with a low-income background are able to apply for loans by filling out a Free Application for Federal Aid (FAFSA).

The process changes some once a Bachelor’s degree is obtained and students want to continue on with their education and get a Master’s. While some are able to get their Master’s for practically free with assistantships and fellowships, not all are lucky enough to get into the school of their dreams and get their education paid for.

Scholarships for graduate students are more limited. Federal loans are not given out with as much ease, as undergraduate freshmen are given priority for funds, then sophomores, juniors, seniors, and then graduate students.

Christian Cabazos, senior at St. Edward’s University, is trying to find funds for graduate school.

“The amount of scholarships once you reach the graduate level is a lot more limited than at the undergraduate level and is a lot more specific to the program that you are in,” Cabazos said.

However, there are some tools college seniors may use to continue on to school for at least another two years.

FastWeb is a useful website that provides information on scholarships, internships, and universities in general. Users can fill out information about the school and program they plan on going to and are matched up with scholarships and internship opportunities that fit. See a screenshot of some of FastWeb’s scholarship matches here.

It is also helpful to go to university’s website to get information on funding for the graduate program. University of Texas at Austin provides help for funding your education and lists financial aid, fellowships and awards, and student employment opportunities.

Although graduate students are not given priority for federal loans, it is still important to fill out the FAFSA. If you are eligible for loans, there are loan calculators to help plan how long it will take to pay them off.

An additional two years of tuition may be an expensive option for some, but with the proper research and planning, it may be less stressful.

My Technology Blog

It was hard to keep exact track of my technology use over the past week because I realized that I use it so often. The following are what I used my cell phone and laptop for the most, making me quite dependent on them:

-As an alarm clock in the morning or to check the time throughout the day
-To check emails in the morning on my Gmail and internship e-mail account
-To text frequently (mostly my best friend and roommates)
-To check or add things on my "to-do" list or calendar
-Twitter updates on my phone (from News 8 and the Statesman, mostly for work purposes)
-To check my balance in my checking account
-For homework purposes (reading New York Times, research, etc.)

Within the last week, technology has been crucial in communicating with my sister, who is in Brazil for the week. She sent out a couple of texts letting me and my family know she made it over, and has emailed us a few times as well.

I think the power of texting became evident to me Tuesday morning when I was communicating with about five people at the same time, trying to get some work shifts switched around. My boss sent me a text and immediately I was writing to my coworkers to ask their availability. Within about five minutes I had everything figured out.

In this case, I think messaging should not be seen as negative because it was useful and efficient in my workplace. However, I do think it has taken away from the personalization of talking on the phone. For the past week, I realized I have not talked on the phone to someone for more than a couple of minutes to let them know I was on my way somewhere or to ask them a question.

It was hard to track exact time of my technology use, but on average I think I used over 3 hours a day checking emails, text messaging, "Facebooking," and more.


***I was going to publish this earlier today around class time, but I decided to wait because I used an even greater amount on my laptop and cell phone because of the plane crash in north Austin. After I heard about the crash via Twitter on my phone, I went home to sit in front of my television and laptop with several tabs open: Twitter to get minutely updates, the CNN website, News 8's website, and Facebook.

This just showed how dependent I was on technology during news-breaking events in order to find our more information as quickly as possible.