Despite Economy, Internships Still Available and Recommended

Major courses. Minor courses. GERs. Electives. As Commencement looms closer, students at Washington State University have many graduation requirements to worry about. Students in the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication have one more prerequisite to concern themselves with: internships.

Students in the Murrow College are required to either complete an internship or take six credit hours of upper-division communication courses. Many students may be left asking one question: which path should they take?

“It’s really an individual choice,” said Lorraine A. Nelson, Internship Coordinator for the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication. While taking upper-division courses may be easier, Nelson noted that doing an internship has numerous advantages. “Internships are a good time to test if the field you have chosen will satisfy you,” said Nelson. “An internship in your chosen field allows you to experience the work you will be doing before you actually get out into a paying job and do it. It’s also a good time to make contacts and get to know someone who can be a reference for you in the future.”

Students may also wonder when they should do their internship. The Murrow College requires students to complete certain courses depending on their communication sequence before they can do an internship. Nelson said this requirement is designed to ensure students are ready for an internship before they take it on. Aside from course prerequisites, if a student does their internship in fall, spring, or summer again comes down to personal preference. Students can even complete their internship after they walk through the graduation ceremony, Nelson said.

While students may worry that it will be difficult to secure an internship in the unstable state of the economy, this is not the case. Both Roberta Kelly, Journalism Internships Coordinator for the Murrow College, and Nelson have said they have not seen any decrease in the amount of internship offers they receive. “There tends to be more people that want our interns than we have interns to provide. I think that speaks very highly of our students and our program,” Nelson said.

Internship providers also attest to the high quality of interns which pass through the Murrow College. KREM 2 News provides paid internships for interns, and has used WSU students before. “Many WSU students have gone on to be employees,” said Noah C. Cooper, Executive News Director at KREM 2 News. “Most interns from WSU work out very well.”

Students in the Murrow College receive credit for both paid and unpaid internships. However, finding paid internships with the economy in a slump may be difficult. “I’ve been contacted by a couple of journalistic employers that are very apologetic because they can only provide unpaid internships,” Nelson said.

While students can find many internship opportunities through the Murrow College, they can also choose to instead create their own through contacts they may already have. Students who choose to go through the Murrow College can be assured that intern employers are qualified to be good mentors and will assure they get the experience needed in communication jobs, said Nelson.

The Murrow College is not alone in its demand for interns. “We have not noticed a downturn in internship postings,” said Anne M. Scott, Experiential Education Manager for the Center for Advising and Career Development at WSU. Scott said she has not seen any noticeable change in the amount of paid and unpaid internships.

Feeding the Beast Assignment

The "Beast" is people, and their need for constant information updates, which turns into a 24-hour need for news. It needs to be fed to keep people happy and returning to media outlets for information.

In the rush to keep their jobs, journalists are pressed to find news, even when there isn't any, and are forced to "create" news. The problem with this is that it's inaccurate and immoral, leaving made up stories. Also, it makes media outlets more like tabloids, turning small events into major problems.

The rush to "feed the beast" also creates a time crunch which can lead to less than stellar news stories which may be inaccurate or lacking in information.

Also, if "good" (accurate) news outlets fail to get information seekers the news they want, people resort to looking for the information from companies or people which are not accurate at all but are first to write anything about the subject, which is especially dangerous with the creation of the "blogosphere." In internet, really anyone can write anything, so readers need to be careful about accepting information from these sources.

With many people working on one story, such as in TV, there is much room for inaccuracies because multiple people are gathering information and compiling it. Someone needs to be able to make sure all stories coalesce, and if they don't, needs to find the correct information.

Special Leads in-class assignment

Contrast Lead

I did like this lead, because it made the story much more interesting than if it had been written using a traditional, straightforward lead.

Narrative Lead

If this story had been written with a straightforward "5 W's" lead, it would have been less interesting and would have left the reader more detached from the story. The use of the narrative lead was appropriate and interesting.

Second Day Lead in-class assignment

The parents of a 4-year-old girl who went missing yesterday are asking anyone who might have seen their daughter to inform them or authorities as soon as possible.

"We are begging anyone who might have seen our daughter to please call the police or us. She has never been away from home without us, and we are certain that she must be terrified not to be in her own home. Please, anyone who has information, please let us know," said Maria L. Norton, the missing girl’s mother.

The missing girl, Angela Melissa Norton, disappeared yesterday when under the care of a 16-year-old baby sitter, Nancy Bonner. When the Angela’s parents, Samuel R. and Maria L. Norton returned home from a movie, Bonner was asleep on the couch and Angela was not in the house.

Police are still questioning the Nortons and Bonner in the disappearance of Angela. Police have also searched a six-block area surrounding the Norton house, asking neighbors if they might have seen or heard anything.

Angela has light brown curly hair and was last seen wearing pajamas with Mickey Mouse images printed on them.

2009 Marks Anniversary of Perham Explosion

A reminder to students about relationships and campus safety, 2009 marks the 30th anniversary of a bomb explosion in Streit-Perham Hall at Washington State University (WSU).

A man distraught over a breakup with his girlfriend detonated the bomb on the fifth floor of Perham Hall, killing himself and injuring five others. The bomb exploded at 3:05 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 18, 1979.

The man who detonated the bomb, killing himself, John Stickney, 18, of Mercer Island, was hopeless because of an ended relationship with WSU student Lisa Clark. Stickney called Clark so frequently after the breakup her roommate often complained of never being able to use the phone. Once, Stickney tried to physically force Clark into his car when he saw her walking on campus.

Stickney drove to Pullman after work on Dec. 17 in a last attempt to win Clark back. Clark had been relocated to the sixth floor of Perham upon being tipped Stickney was headed her way. The doors to the dormitory were locked at 10 p.m., in accordance to 1979 campus policy. Though no one knows how, at 11:30 p.m. Stickney somehow managed to get into the locked dorm. Stickney found Clark’s room, empty, then went to the Residential Advisor’s room in an attempt to find her. Campus police were called and escorted Stickney out of the dorm.

Stickney came back to Perham Hall the next day demanding to see Clark again or he would not return home to Mercer Island. Clark told Stickney in a supervised meeting the relationship was over, and Stickney left. Stickney, less than 15 minutes later, returned to Perham Hall this time with a heavy backpack. An employee of a company which specialized in rock blasting, Stickney showed up this time with rock quarry dynamite. Campus police were called again, and Lt. Mike Kenny and Cpl. Dave Trimble attempted to persuade Stickney to hand over the bomb. The officers tried to negotiate with Stickney, but Stickney detonated the bomb anyway. The explosion killed Stickney, injured the officers, and blew out every window on the fifth floor of Perham Hall.

Though in Dec. 1979 the pages of The Daily Evergreen were littered with stories the explosion, few people on campus today were here during the event. While many people do not know about the explosion, professor Eloy R. González was teaching in 1979 at WSU and remembers the event well. González said he used the event to illustrate a theme in class. The example worked very well because the event hit very close to home and was a very tangible topic for the students, González said. “Things like this happen often because parents are not tolerant enough to let kids have their relationships, ala ‘Romeo and Juliet’,” González cautioned about young love.

WSU Risk Manager Rich A. Heath was not at WSU during the explosion, but he has heard about it, he said. Heath suggested students should always take precautions for their own safety on campus. Heath cautioned students to not prop open doors or let strangers into the residence halls, as John Stickney was able to get into Perham Hall after hours. Heath also emphasized the importance of reporting threats and other incidents to university authorities, regardless of the magnitude of the threat. “Our priority is to keep the students safe,” Heath said, “and we need their help.”

If students feel threatened or unsafe on campus they are also encouraged to use the Blue Light emergency phones, Heath said.

If friends and family of Stickney had been more aware of his problems, his story may have had a happier ending. If students or their friends are dealing with a crisis, they can call the WSU Crisis Line at (509)-334-1133, or WSU Counseling Services at (509)-335-4511.

WSU Campus Police can be reached at 509-335-8548.

For more tips about campus safety, visit police.wsu.edu.

Story Pitch Assignment- Perham Bombing, Draft 1

2009 marks the 30th anniversary of a bomb explosion in Streit-Perham dormitory, a reminder to students about relationships and campus safety.
A man distraught over the loss of his girlfriend detonated the bomb on the fifth floor of Perham Hall, killing himself and injuring five others. The bomb exploded at 3:05 pm on Tuesday, December 18, 1979.
The story leading up to the explosion starts with the breakup of John Stickney and Lisa Clark. The man killed in the explosion, John Stickney, 18, of Mercer Island, was hopeless because of an ended relationship with WSU student Lisa Clark. After the breakup, Stickney often called Clark so frequently her roommate complained of never being able to use the phone. Once, Stickney tried to physically force Clark into his car when he saw her walking on campus.
In a last attempt to win Clark back, Stickney drove to Pullman after work on December 17. Clark had been relocated to the sixth floor of Perham upon being tipped Stickney was headed her way. In 1979, the campus policy was to have the outside doors to the dorm locked at 10 pm. No one knows how, but somehow Stickney managed to get into the locked dorm at 11:30. Stickney found Clark’s room, empty, then went to the Residential Advisor’s room in an attempt to find her. Campus police were called and escorted Stickney out of the dorm.
The next day, Stickney came back to Perham Hall demanding to see Clark again or he would not return home to Mercer Island. In a supervised meeting, Clark told Stickney the relationship was over, and Stickney left. Less than 15 minutes later Stickney came back to Perham Hall. This time Stickney, an employee of a company that specialized in rock blasting, showed up with rock quarry dynamite. Campus police were called again, and Lt. Mike Kenny and Cpl. Dave Trimble attempted to persuade Stickney to hand the bomb over. After tense negotiations, the bomb exploded. The explosion killed Stickney, injured the officers, and blew out every window on the fifth floor of Perham Hall.
Few people on campus remember the event, but professor Eloy R. González was teaching at WSU in 1979 and remembers the event well. González said he used the event to illustrate a theme in class. González said the example worked very well because the event hit very close to home, and became very real for the students. “Things like this happen often because parents are not tolerant enough to let kids have their relationships, ala “Romeo and Juliet,” González cautioned about young love.
WSU Risk Manager Richard “Rich” A. Heath was not at WSU during the explosion, but he has heard about it. Heath suggested students should always take precautions for their own safety on campus. As John Stickney was able to get into Perham Hall after hours, Heath cautioned students to not prop open doors or let strangers into the residence halls, for their own safety. Heath also emphasized the importance of reporting threats and other incidents to let university authorities know about them, regardless of the magnitude of the threat. “Our priority is to keep the students safe,” Heath said, “and we need their help.”
If students feel threatened or unsafe on campus they are also encouraged to use the Blue Light emergency phones, Heath said.
If friends and family of Stickney had been more aware of his problems, his story may have had a happier ending. If students or their friends are dealing with a crisis, they can call the WSU Crisis Line at (509)-334-1133, or WSU Counseling Services at (509)-335-4511.
WSU Campus Police can be reached at 509-335-8548.
For more tips about campus safety students can visit police.wsu.edu.

Top-down lead assignment

I found this article in the Spokesman Review. titled "Mother charged in car seat death." The lead was as follows:

"Spokane County prosecutors charged a Post Falls woman with vehicular homicide Tuesday in the death of her infant daughter, who was severely injured by a car’s airbag while riding in a rear-facing car seat in Spokane."

I felt like this was a very well put together lead. It tells us:
Who: Spokane County prosecutors
What: charged a Post Falls woman with vehicular homicide in the death of her daughter
When: Tuesday
Where: Spokane
and how the daughter died, "who was severely injured by a car's airbag while riding in a rear-facing car seat."