The Addison Independent
Brian Fung, 2010
My internship began as a very sudden idea. As someone who is interested in journalism as a potential career, I knew I needed experience with a local newspaper and that my work with The Middlebury Campus was insufficient if I wanted to find a job with a large daily like the Wall Street Journal.
When Winter Term registration rolled around, something reminded me that January wasn’t just for skiing and classes about Bob Dylan. I remembered that writing could be fun, and might help me get a job to boot. So instead of registering for classes, I chose to take advantage of a great local resource-The Addison Independent.
The Independent‘s reputation as a strong newspaper with a small staff meant that I would be working alongside veteran community reporters with years of expertise under their belts. What’s more, I’d be writing stories of my own, learning more about working on deadline and conducting interviews beyond the comfort of Middlebury’s secluded campus. It would be the perfect balance of work and observation.
My first few meetings with Angelo Lynn, the newspaper’s top editor, were less nerve-wracking than I’d anticipated. He went about outlining his expectations of me, and I had a chance to ask him questions. In effect, I would serve as an additional reporter, submitting two stories weekly. My first two stories, I had already written while in London. The first was about British perspectives regarding the recent U.S. presidential election. The second was a more personal piece, filled with my reflections on studying abroad.
Both stories ran several days after my return to Middlebury. My work was teased on the front page with my headshot and a catchy blurb. Though my writing was buried deep in the back of the paper (just above a large ad), I had had my first experience getting published in a professional newspaper.
As I kept working, Angelo’s confidence in my abilities grew (and so did mine). I wrote about Middlebury’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day events. I wrote about Sophie Shao, the cellist who performed at the college last month. I wrote about the three new police officers joining the MPD, and attended their swearing-in ceremony. I wrote about all these and more.
The journey wasn’t by any means easy. To be sure, I was only writing two articles a week, whereas the newspaper’s veterans routinely work five or six leads at a time, and churn out two to three stories an issue. But working full-time for a news organization (and actually producing the news, rather than standing by and helping to produce the news) was new and difficult in its own style.
I felt a great sense of freedom. I could set my own schedule, as long as I came out with a finished product on deadline. My life wasn’t being defined by my classes; instead, the internship allowed me to exercise more control. The disappointment was that while I could decide when to work, my life became defined by that work in other, unexpected ways. After a while, it felt as though I was doing little except writing, doing an interview, or setting one up. Each story could be reduced to a routine formula: receive the assignment, conduct interviews for background research and colorful quotes, then summarize in 600 words.
Rather than being proud of every piece of work, I was often compelled by my deadline to submit stories that I considered less than ideal. Angelo was pleased with my writing, nonetheless, but I felt as though I could have done better with more time.
By the end of January, things started to pick up. I began working in earnest on a sort of final project, a longer article that involved original research and investigation. I chose to write about Middlebury Money, the area’s gift certificate exchange program. Pursuing this project, I learned a great deal about Middlebury and about the local living movement. I enjoyed it immensely. I felt as though I was breaking fresh ground, that my culminating report would educate people about something different and interesting. This is why I love journalism.
I’m more than glad that I chose to work for the Addison Independent this January. I’m thankful for it. Not only did I gain valuable experience that will surely prove useful in the years to come; I also became better acquainted with the community surrounding the college and discovered an appreciation for the dedication of five area residents who make The Addison Independent possible, week after week.
Read on of Brian’s articles here: http://www.addisonindependent.com/node/1809
Contact the Career Services Offices for more information on this internship!