Coordinating Field Experience and Externships at the Rural University

Abstract

Add color and texture to upper-division course For the last quarter-century, mass media internship programs have been a popular and successful essential of broadcasting and mass communication curricula. These opportunities for experiential learning in one's major field of study outside the academy have enabled thousands of graduates leaving the academy to become much more qualified and competitive for entry-level broadcasting and mass communications positions. This article examines two topics related to the internship experience: realities and strategies related to internship coordination in the rural, isolated university setting, and the value and potential in broadcasting and mass communications curricula for a newer kind of internship hybrid, the externship. Internships in urban centers To a college or university to best serve and service mass media internships, there is perhaps no ideal community size. Small, medium and large-sized communities all have their advantages and disadvantages. Near a large urban center, with its vast supply of media production companies, broadcast stations, public relations and advertising agencies, print publications, boutique companies producing animation, providing post production services, professional sports marketing and video outlets, etc., students can choose from among many different kinds of potential internship experiences. Also, if one's university is accredited or otherwise sets limits on the amount of credits that students may earn in an internship, a student in an urban college setting could enroll in a three-credit internship and still be logistically able to fill out a full-time class schedule at his/ her alma mater. However, urban universities have some disadvantages: Since big city media companies pay their employees much more than their counterparts in small towns, a large number of media professionals working in small market may aspire to move up to larger markets some day. This means that many urban internships do not provide the student with one of the important potential advantages of an intern experience: contacts that lead to possible employment at their internship venue after graduation. Chances are always less that even a successful intern can compete for the same job with someone from Paducah, Dubuque or Duluth who has a good track record, a portfolio, a professional-looking resume tape, and a halfdozen years of experience. Also, many metropolitan media outlets are signatories to union contracts. Historically, unions are not fond of interns being used for any task that a union member could otherwise perform. At many union shops, this translates into a job description for the intern which resembles gopher duty - go for coffee, go for Danish, go deliver papers -- Watch and learn, but don't touch anything, don't create anything. Some rural advantages In contrast, internships at small stations and other media outlets near the rural college or university have some definite advantages: * More opportunities for hands-on experiences, since interns are usually allowed to use the equipment and may indeed produce products that are aired or published; * Since small-market stations and other media outlets often are non-union, there are fewer union-related restrictions; and * Since small market media often hire entry-level personnel right out of college more often than in large markets, postinternship hiring opportunities may be greater. Where unionism is less prevalent, and the intern finds him/herself working alongside entry-level employees, another profitable dynamic is at work. Often the very smallest market stations and media outlets are characterized as revolving door employers. This refers to the heavy turnover of employees after one to two years as young, usually underpaid, employees seek and obtain more lucrative jobs in larger markets and move on. When an intern working alongside such an employee finds out that a position is available, the intern can be the most logical person for a manager to tap to fill the position. …