Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication Internship Program

AN OVERVIEW FOR STUDENTS

An internship is one of the most important things you can do to prepare for a career in the media industry. All Cronkite students are required to work at least one, and preferably more, internships before they graduate.

Internships are available in broadcasting, public relations, print and online media. While most occur at local media outlets in the Valley, some are available elsewhere in the state and out of state. Internships are offered during the fall, spring and summer sessions.

You must be a Journalism and Mass Communication major, have a GPA of at least 2.5 and have completed JMC (MCO) 110 or JMC (MCO )120 as well as JMC 201 to be considered for any internship. Additional requirements for JMC 484 internships are listed below.

Internships are offered at two levels for undergraduates:

JMC 484 (or graduate equivalent). (3 credit hours) These are higher-level internships that provide students with the opportunity to do high-quality, professional-level journalism, broadcasting and public relations work. These internships require at least the lowest required skills course in your concentration. For example, for broadcasting, you need JMC 315/345; for print JMC 301; and for PR JMC 301/310. Summer, fall and spring internships are worth three credit hours. JMC 484 credit can be used only once, and you must enroll in the JMC 484 class in order to receive credit for it. Many, but not all, of these internships are paid. You must work a minimum of 180 hours per semester to qualify for internship credit. Course credit is a requirement.
MCO 294 (1 credit hour) is for students who have not yet met the qualifications for JMC 484 or who are on their second, third or fourth internships. Many of these internships are unpaid. All MCO 294-level internships are worth one credit hour and this credit does not count towards graduation or the hours needed toward our major. You must work a minimum of 120 hours per semester to qualify for internship credit, and you must enroll in the MCO 294 class in order to receive credit for your internship. If a company does not compensate you for the work you do, then you must receive course credit for it. Course credit is a requirement. As long as you meet eligibility requirements, you may work as many MC0 294 internships as you can fit into your schedule.

Internship requirements

To get an internship, you must:

Complete an Internship Application, which can be downloaded from the Cronkite Web site (http://cronkite.asu.edu/experience/internships.php) or picked up from the form holders outside the Advising Center on the second floor of Stauffer Hall. Applications are accepted each semester and must be turned in by the posted deadline to be considered. Please note: You must complete a NEW internship application for each semester that you seek an internship
Attend all information meetings about the internship program. Check your ASU e-mail regularly as meeting information will be communicated in this way.
Attend the interview session for which you are scheduled. Employers are invited to campus for these events each semester.
Prepare an updated resume and portfolio (if appropriate) for the companies with which you will interview.
Return the Student/Employer Internship Agreement to the Cronkite office within a week of the time the offer was made.
Register for your internship no later than 10 days after the start of the semester.
Attend a mandatory internship orientation at the Cronkite School to receive instruction and documents.
Work a minimum of 180 hours for JMC 484 credit and 120 hours for MCO 294 credit to qualify for internship credit. Interns and their supervisors may arrange for more hours, but we recommend no more than 20 hours a week during the fall and spring semesters. Remember: You are a student first; your first priority is to successfully complete your academic requirements for graduation.
Complete a mid-term and final evaluation of your internship experience and meet with the internship coordinator if requested.

What you can expect:

You should be treated as a professional in training, with duties similar to those given to entry-level employees. While you may be assigned some clerical-level work (compiling calendars or address lists, for example), this should not make up more than 25 percent of your responsibilities.
You should be assigned a qualified, professional supervisor who will provide you with on-going guidance and evaluation.
You should be assigned a work place and given any equipment essential to do the job.
Your precise work schedule and hours will be determined by your employer and you. Internships officially start at the beginning of each semester; however start and stop dates can be flexible by mutual agreement.
You will be evaluated by your supervisor at least once during the semester. Additionally, you will be asked to fill out a mid-term and final report on your internship, detailing the duties you have performed and what you have learned.
Grading is on a Pass-Fail system. In order to receive a passing grade (“Y”), you must submit the required documents by the deadlines AND you must receive a satisfactory performance evaluation from your employer. If you quit your internship or are fired, you will receive a failing grade. Please note: If you commit to an internship and then back out of that commitment, it is cause for a one-semester suspension from the internship program. You may re-apply for an internship after the suspension is completed.
If your internship is paid, you will be paid directly by your employer.

Remember:

This is a competitive process. You are not guaranteed an internship, and internships must meet requirements in order to be eligible for academic credit.
Plagiarism and/or academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. All students must sign an academic integrity pledge, below, that provides detailed examples of what is considered plagiarism. The signed policies must be returned to Tashia Glenn in the Career Services Office by the second week of the semester. Students who don’t sign the pledge will not get credit for their internship.
Interns are expected to behave, dress and perform like professionals. Treat your internship as you would a job. Your employer expects you to be dependable and consistent in adhering to work hours, making deadlines and turning in quality work.
If you quit the internship or back out of a commitment to the company for any unjustifiable reason, you will not be allowed to apply for and receive credit for an internship the following semester. In order to be reinstated for internship eligibility, you will be required to write a 700-word essay citing the reasons you should be reinstated and the lessons learned about not keeping your commitments.
If you should have any problems during the course of your internship that you cannot resolve directly with your supervisor, contact your internship coordinator immediately.

Questions:

For all broadcasting and public relations internships, as well as MCO 294 print internships, contact Michael Wong, Director of Career Services for the Cronkite School, at 480.727.7430 or mike.wong@asu.edu.

For JMC 484 print internships, including photography, contact Kristin Gilger, Director of Student Media at ASU, at 480.727.6884 or Kristin.gilger@asu.edu.

Cronkite School Academic Integrity Policy

Spring 2008

Academic dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

The crux of our democracy is the ability of citizens to obtain honest, truthful and balanced information, and the credibility and integrity of the individual journalist and communications professional are crucial in that effort.

Because the mission of the Cronkite School is to prepare students to become journalists and communication professionals, that credibility and integrity will be fostered within the educational environment of the school. To that end, a zero tolerance policy toward academic dishonesty will be enforced within every course and educational activity offered or sanctioned by the school.

Any allegations of academic dishonesty will automatically be referred to the Standards Committee of the school for review and recommendation to the dean of the school. If any student is found by the committee to have engaged in academic dishonesty in any form – including but not limited to cheating, plagiarizing and fabricating – that student shall receive a grade of XE for the class and will be dismissed from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Reinstatement will not be considered. There will be no exceptions.

Plagiarism

When you plagiarize, you violate two of the most important standards we uphold as journalists: honesty and accuracy. This document is to help you understand the Cronkite School’s standard on plagiarism and what is expected of you as a Cronkite student.

Plagiarism consists of using someone else’s words, phrases, sentences or ideas without giving credit. This is true whether you do it intentionally or inadvertently.

Students most often get into trouble when they cut and paste information from the Internet. There are two main ways to avoid this and other kinds of plagiarism:

Quote and attribute. Use the exact words in quotation marks and include who said it or wrote it.
Paraphrase and attribute: Use your own words, but still include who said it or wrote it.

To use an example: You are writing a story about local reaction to the U.S. build-up of troops in Iraq. During your research, you find the following sentence in a New York Times story:

The decision to increase the American military presence in Iraq is being greeted with a blend of optimism and anxiety among American soldiers and their families, those most directly affected by the change.

You want to use this information in your story, so you:

Cut and paste the sentence into your story as is. You write: The decision to increase the American military presence in Iraq is being greeted with a blend of optimism and anxiety among American soldiers and their families, those most directly affected by the change. You have plagiarized because you have stolen the idea and the words.
Use the sentence as is, but attribute it to a report in the New York Times. You write: The decision to increase the American military presence in Iraq is being greeted with a blend of optimism and anxiety among American soldiers and their families, those most directly affected by the change, according to the New York Times. You still have plagiarized because you did not put quotes around the words, which are not your own.
Put quotes around the sentence and attribute it to a report in the New York Times. You write: “The decision to increase the American military presence in Iraq is being greeted with a blend of optimism and anxiety among American soldiers and their families, those most directly affected by the change,” the New York Times said. This isn’t good journalism because you should do your own reporting, but at least it’s not plagiarism because you have quoted and attributed the information.
Paraphrase the sentence in your own words and attribute it to the New York Times. You write: American soldiers and their families have mixed feelings about sending more soldiers to Iraq, according to the New York Times. This isn’t good journalism because you should do your own reporting, but at least it’s not plagiarism because you did not steal the words and you attributed the source.

In general, there are only three circumstances under which a journalist does not have to provide attribution:

Common knowledge: When information is commonly known to a majority of people, you don’t have to attribute it. Examples include: The World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked on Sept. 11, 2001; Janet Napolitano is the governor of Arizona.
Background information: When information is undisputed factually and is available from a wide variety of reliable sources, you don’t have to attribute it. For example: Dennis Erickson, who took over as ASU’s head football coach in December, has 18 years of coaching experience, including six seasons in the NFL.
Observation: When you witness something first hand, you don’t have to attribute the information. For example, if you are covering a protest and you see that passing motorists are honking and waving in support of the protestors, you can report that without quoting anyone or attributing the information to another source.

Attributing information from press releases:

Press releases are a common way for journalists to get information. A good reporter will use the press release as a starting point, going on to do his own reporting and gathering his own quotes. If you do use information from a press release, however, the rules of attribution apply.

Example: Gov. Janet Napolitano has issued a press release stating that she plans to expand a low-cost state health insurance program to help thousands of middle-class families pay for health care for their children. The press release includes the following quote:

“We owe it to our children to do better,” Napolitano said. “We owe it to their future.”

You have been unable to reach the governor for a quote, so you:

Use the excerpt as is. You have misled your readers into thinking that Napolitano spoke these words to you.
Paraphrase the excerpt, writing: Napolitano said the measure is necessary for the future of the state’s children. You still are being dishonest about the source of the information.
Use the excerpt but disclose the source: “We owe it to our children to do better. We owe it to their future,” Napolitano said in a prepared statement. This is better. You have told your readers that the information came from a written statement from the governor’s office.

Using e-mail information:

It’s always better to interview someone in person or, if that’s not possible, by phone. In an e-mail interview, there’s the potential that the subject isn’t who he or she says he or she is and the reporter has much less control over the interview. Moreover, the way someone writes something is rarely the way he or she would speak it. In the event that you have no other choice but to do an e-mail interview, you must disclose that fact to your readers.

Example: You are doing a story about an ASU professor who is developing a new, powerful telescope to be used in space. The professor, James Rhoads, is available only through e-mail. You ask him to explain his research and he writes:

The telescope will collect data, hopefully leading to discoveries about the expansion of the universe.

In your story, you:

Quote the professor as follows: “The telescope will collect data, hopefully leading to discoveries about the expansion of the universe,” Rhoads said. You have misled your readers into thinking that Rhoads spoke these words to you.
Quote the professor, but specify that it was through e-mail: “The telescope will collect data, hopefully leading to discoveries about the expansion of the universe,” Rhoads said in an e-mail interview. This is better. You have specified that the communication was written, not spoken.

Attributing information in the text of the story:

It’s important that when you use information from a source in a story, the attribution follows immediately.

Example: You are doing a travel story on Bisbee, Arizona. You find the following information on the Bisbee Web site:

Old miners’ boarding houses have been refurbished into many charming small bed and breakfast establishments, of which no two are alike. Former saloons are now quaint shops, antique stores or art galleries, cafes and restaurants.

In your story you paraphrase the information: Bisbee is known for old miners’ boarding houses that have been turned into bed and breakfasts and saloons that have become shops, art galleries and eating establishments. You include a textbox with your story that includes the Web site www.bisbeearizona.com. This is not sufficient. You must attribute the information to the Web site immediately after the reference: Bisbee is known for old miners’ boarding houses that have been turned into bed and breakfasts and saloons that have become shops, art galleries and eating establishments, according to the Web site, Bisbeearizona.com. If you use information from the Web site later in the story, you must attribute it to the Web site again.

I have read the Cronkite School's Academic Integrity policy and reviewed the accompanying information on plagiarism, sourcing and fabrication. I understand and agree to abide by this policy.

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