The Berkshire Eagle, Pittsfield, MA
This summer, I interned at The Berkshire Eagle, a newspaper in nearby Pittsfield. I had several goals heading into this internship. Perhaps most important was my aim to improve my writing skills. I consider myself a fairly competent writer; however, I recognized even before the internship began that writing for journalism is oceans away from writing for a class. As an English major, I felt much more comfortable with the latter. I was the editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper; beyond that, I had never worked for a paper, and the only article I ever submitted to The Williams Record was rejected. I currently write for HerCampus, an online publication at Williams that centers itself on feminist issues and pop culture. Such topics are my main interest, so this was a little out of my comfort zone. I also hoped to build networking contacts and familiarize myself with the process of a real newspaper.
I read and summarized press releases for the business section about hirings and firings; I hunted for new businesses in the area; I called, and called back, and called again for verification on listings and addresses. Eventually I began to work on actual articles that were published in the paper. Many of my articles were about new businesses in the area. I came up with questions for my interview subjects, scheduled time to talk to them, and then put together a little photoshoot for them, all before writing the actual article. One of my first articles was about a new art school in Dalton; another one featured a woman in Stockbridge who hand sews clothing.
Since the subject matter of these articles is very different from the type of work I once envisioned for myself, I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. It was very interesting and rewarding meeting the owners of these businesses. It was inspiring to see their passion for their work, and once the article came out, they would always e-mail me to thank me for writing it, clearly excited to have their name and business in the paper.
I have also learned so much about the Berkshire community thanks to this internship. I have walked around Williamstown, Dalton, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, Lenox, and Pittsfield visiting small independent shops, and getting to know the people of these communities. As a Williams student—without a car!—it’s rare for me to get off campus, so I had a lot of fun seeing all these new sights. This was definitely a goal of mine going into the internship, so I am glad I got to realize it.
I also think my writing, especially writing specifically for a newspaper, improved tremendously. At first, I wrote more like a report, not thinking about the fact that I would have to persuade readers to be interested in my articles. Then I got my biggest assignment: writing about teen summer employment in the Berkshires. For the first time, I was featured on the front page of the newspaper. It was very extensive work, with lots of interviewing, scheduling photoshoots, calling, e-mailing, and of course writing. My editor, who I had a very good relationship with—she was extremely supportive and helpful—sat me down and patiently went through my article with me. At first, since there were so many edits, I was discouraged. But she eventually showed me the kind of introduction and pacing they expect in articles, and something clicked. After that, the next couple of articles I wrote were some of the best work during the internship. Now I am proud to have them online.
This internship will absolutely help in building my career. I now comprehend what the process of publication is like. I feel like I’ve gained a thicker skin due to the criticism I faced (the public is often not happy with the press!) and the feedback from my editors. I also forged positive relationships with my co-workers. Perhaps most importantly, I have clips that I can show future employers who want to see samples of my writing!
This experience was very special to me because it was atypical of what I expected an internship to be. I was doing real work. I was considered an equal with my ideas supported; yet I was also given lots of advice and encouragement. I am very grateful to the Estate of Bruce C. Davey, as well as the ’68 Center for Career Exploration for giving me this opportunity to work at The Berkshire Eagle.
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