Visual Journalism

That time again … application deadline for the next round of internships at The White House is October 3.

FYI (and I’ll admit I really wanted this internship years ago) …

The QUAD-CITY TIMES is now accepting applications for the Summer/Fall 2010 internship. This is a paid internship with mileage reimbursement.

Previous internship and multimedia experience is helpful. Canon digital gear is provided. Intern must have reliable transportation. We are looking for students in photojournalism programs, others will be considered.

During the length of the internship (July 1 to Dec. 31, 2010) you will cover a variety of high school sports, news, special projects, professional golf, minor league baseball and one of the largest running road races in the country (BIX7). We are looking for someone who is ready to work hard and sharpen their skills.

Please submit a portfolio, CD or online / resume w/ references and cover letter describing why you want to work at the Quad-City Times. Please submit portfolio (50 % sports) by April 15, 2010 to:

Kevin E. Schmidt – Photo Editor
Quad-City Times
500 East Third Street
Davenport, Iowa 52801
kschmidt@qctimes.com / (563)-383-2361

FYI …

TIME.COM is seeking spring-term interns for its Photography Department.

Internships are paid and not for credit.

Ideal candidates can start as soon as possible and are able to commit to 3-5 days, 20-30 hours per week over the course of 4–6 months.

Primary Duties:
Interns will assist the Photo Department in researching and sourcing archival and current content, building photo galleries, scanning, retouching and performing other tasks not yet specified. TIME provides unique opportunities for it’s interns to become deeply involved with ongoing projects and upcoming content.

Applicants should be employment ready, self-motivated, detail oriented, and able to remain focused on long-term assignments.

Skills Required:
An passion in and familiarity with current and historical news events, proficient with Photoshop; strong retouching ability; keen visual sense; articulate; able to work independently; able to learn quickly; possess a positive, can-do attitude. Prior web experience is a plus.

Please direct cover letters and resumes to Skye Gurney at Skye_Gurney@timemagazine.com . The subject line should read “TIME Photo Intern”. No phone calls, please.

Unpaid but course credit available …

Do your current obsessions include television, pop-culture, viral video, or social media? Then we want you to be a Gawker Media Video intern.

FYI …

As the holiday season quickly approaches, we would like to encourage your students to apply for a summer internship with the White House. The application for the summer 2010 program will be posted December 14, 2009. A complete submission will include an application (with several short answer questions, two essay questions of 300-500 words each, and a one-page resume) and three letters of recommendation. The final application deadline is February 7, 2009.

- Visit the White House Internship website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/internships/

- Apply to the White House Internship program: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/internships/apply/

- Learn more about the selection process: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/internships/selection/

A White House Internship provides a unique opportunity to gain valuable professional experience and build leadership skills. This hands-on program is designed to mentor and cultivate today’s young leaders, strengthen their understanding of the Executive Office and prepare them for future public service opportunities.

Our mission is to make the “People’s House” accessible to future leaders all around the nation and cultivate and prepare those devoted to public service for future leadership opportunities. Encourage your students to take advantage of this incredible opportunity!

Sincerely,

The White House Internship Team

Towards the end of every semester, I start getting The Questions. They’re not about grades, thankfully – my students are smart enough to know not to ask those questions.

Your gear is your livelihood. Buy well, treat it well and you'll be well.

They are about life. Sort of. Life after they have to return the college-owned gear I’ve supplied them with for their coursework. It’s a great program – supported fully by my department head, my dean, my mentor and Canon – and one of the things I’m most proud of here at the University of Georgia: There is no financial barrier to taking the photojournalism courses. None. Every student is supplied the same gear so there’s no advantage to the wealthier student or detriment to the financially strained student.

It’s what the flagship state university should do and it’s what we do – educate regardless of economic status.

The semi-down side to this is the students all panic at the end – they own little, if any, gear that will carry them into their careers. And with so many of them heading to smaller publications (that may not supply equipment) or off into the freelance world (where they’ll be expected to have everything they need to complete a job), they need to make some quick decisions.

And that’s when I get The Questions: What should I buy? Where should I get it? How much is this going to cost me? Do you think my parents/grandparents/rich aunt would get me this stuff as a graduation gift? Can I keep what you’ve given me and you just report it as, uh, lost?

So here are the answers, in order: Everything you need. From a reputable dealer. A lot. Maybe. Only if you like the state penitentiary.

There, I’ve answered your questions.
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During our March photojournalism weekend workshop, I put several of our guest editors around a table and lead a series of conversations about the state of journalism. In the first, on using social media for journalism, I was joined by John Curry, Visuals Director for the Augusta Chronicle, Walt Stricklin, Director of Photogaphy for the Birmingham News, David Labelle, author and former photojournalism professor, Minla Shields, the former Senior Editor for Planning at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Mike Haskey, the Chief Photographer for the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.

Here’s their take …

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

(28:14)

My apologies for the digital noise – we learned to have everyone turn off their iPhones before the next recording.

It’s the dream assignment on a bad day. You’re on your fourth shoot and there it is, someone offering you food. Some cheese, maybe half a tuna sandwich on a croissant … or, if you shoot for National Geographic, maybe it’s a … live penguin?

Courtesy of Michael Zhang’s Twitter feed … put the camera down, or aside, and practice these techniques for seeing.

Coincidences are wonderful things … after class wrapped up yesterday, two students hung around to return some gear and ask a few questions. Not about class, about what comes after class. One is graduating in a few weeks and had an idea on what she wanted to do – six month internship, then grad school in the fall.

A month or so ago I got an excited email from a student who had planned on heading from undergrad into law school saying she wasn’t doing that – after spending a day with a photojournalist at the Greenville News, she was all fired up and wanted to pursue her passion. That’s what she wanted to do next.

Grad school, law school or … what? What else is there? For yesterday’s student, I said take two years, go tell stories. I think I summed it up with a fairly Zen-like comment: Don’t do, be.

Don’t go do something because you think it’s what comes next. Go be. This student, as with so many others, went to elementary school, middle school, high school and then university. The only thing she knows how to be is a student. And while being a student of life is a great idea, just being a student gets old. Particularly for the young.

I could go into a lengthy discussion about how much more meaningful grad school was to me at 33 then it would have been at 21, but many of you have heard that. So the short version: undergrad is, in a lot of ways and even though it’s not supposed to be, preparation for your career. Grad school should be about understanding your life. It’s now about how, but about why.

And if you don’t know how to live – how to balance a checkbook, pay the rent, choose a health insurance package – then trying to figure out why you live is sort of pointless. It’s like learning how to make coffee when you don’t like coffee.

So, the coincidence … fellow Syracuse University alum Joe McNally (wow, does that ever make me seem more important or what?) has a post up about “hang(ing) up your shingle,” his response to a letter from a student who’s not really following his passion. He wraps up with this:

You are just beginning to write your pages, and the thing to remember about this early rough draft is that it hardly matters what you do exactly, as long as you continue to become something close to what you might imagine you want or need to become. Being a bit slow and never prone to academic excellence and achievement, I really have had no choice over the years but to embrace Einstein’s thought. “Imagination is better than knowledge.”

If it calls you, follow. Or, as the Quakers say, “Proceed as the way opens.”

(To any parents reading this: I’m sorry.)