Mountain Xpress (hey, that’s us!) has announced extremely cool summer internship opportunities for college students interested in exploring a career in journalism or communications.
Mountain Xpress summer interns will gain direct, first-hand experience in the daily operations of a busy local publication by actively helping to produce and promote online and print content. Depending on individual skills and interests, interns will have an opportunity to:
- Promote Mountain Xpress content on social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter
- Monitor social media platforms for engagement and newsworthy information
- Post announcements and community happenings on the Mountain Xpress Blogwire content platform
- Create original articles or features under the direction of staff mentors
- Take on photography and multimedia assignments
- Assist with layout and design tasks
- Assist with office tasks and errands
- Suggest topics for coverage or new projects
- Assist with staffing for special events and community activities sponsored by Mountain Xpress
We are looking for interns with a strong interest in media, journalism, writing and/or visual storytelling, as well as those with a passion for one or more of our focus areas: arts & entertainment, food, news, environment and wellness. Experience with social media platforms and with the WordPress content management system are needed, as are basic office computer skills (i.e., word processing, spreadsheets, etc.).
The Mountain Xpress summer internships are unpaid positions. Interns should plan to work a minimum of 20 hours per week. Your work time will generally be concentrated during business hours; in the event of evening or weekend assignments, flextime will be offered. The internships will begin on Thursday, June 2 and will run through early to mid-August, depending on interns’ availability. Candidates who are not able to start on that date may still apply; please let us know your schedule. Interns should plan to bring a laptop computer for use during the internship.
Interns will work in the charmingly disheveled offices of Mountain Xpress at 2 Wall Street in downtown Asheville, at the center of all the street music, food and happenings that Asheville has to offer.
To apply, visit our online form. We look forward to hearing from you!
“Mountain Xpress summer interns will gain direct, first-hand experience in the daily operations of a busy local publication by–”
not getting paid.
Yeah yeah yeah, unpaid summer internships are the industry norm, and the MountainX barely pays its contributors anyway, such is the way of print journalism. But it still stinks that you feel entitled to 8-10 weeks of free labor (which for 20hrs @ $7.25/hr is $1450) per intern, and it stinks more that you’ll get applications from young people who either don’t need the money or feel obliged to work for free.
I understand your concerns. In some cases, internship can be unfair, and in some industries the practice is downright abused. However, the idea behind an internship like this is that someone who doesn’t have the experience and all the skills to be fully employed in this industry yet, gains those things in exchange for applying the skills and experience they do have to our place of work. It is supposed to be a symbiotic relationship, and I can vouch that we do walk that line pretty well here at Xpress. Interns that I saw here last year spent as much time (or more) learning the process and important journalistic skills as they did contributing to the workflow. This internship is not making coffee runs and making copies like some other so called internships. From what I can see, this is the real deal, and what an internship is supposed to be.
I also would respectfully disagree with you and say that we do compensate our contributors fairly. This an independent free paper and nobody is getting wealthy off of it. It isn’t about the money it is about engaging the community and filling the need of independent press here in WNC.
Just out of curiosity, does Mtn X pay a living wage as defined by a certain local group,or is the editor’s letter a case of “methinks he doth protest too much”?
8:20pm, Thurs March 3, 2016 AD
Mountain Xpress is proud to be living wage certified by Just Economics.
Excellent.