The applications kept pouring in. I stopped counting at 250.
How to choose only six of these highly accomplished college journalists to work as interns at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this summer?
Talk about a tough task: The AJC, one of a decreasing number of newspapers still offering paid internships, received applications from top students from across the U.S. and even abroad. I read all of those applications – OK, I skimmed a few – and was deeply impressed.
I’m a strong believer in the AJC’s role in grooming the next generation of journalists, and I felt a responsibility to make the best picks possible.
So along with ajc.com Editor Cynthia Daniels-Dubose, my partner in our internship program, I pored over resumes and college newspaper articles. We deputized other staffers to narrow the list. Cynthia and I discussed the finalists, interviewed them and called references.
It was a lot of work, but with good reason. AJC interns need to be able to use the skills they’ve gained in college or previous internships to, with a little guidance, produce journalism of the quality our readers expect.
There are long-range benefits, too. Greg Bluestein, who covers Gov. Nathan Deal’s administration for the AJC, was a 2003 summer intern here. Data Visualization Specialist Emily Merwin was a 2009 intern. Other former AJC interns are working to inform the public across the U.S.
In addition to assessing students’ credentials, we gave a bit of preference to those who attended school in Georgia or who grew up in the area. We feel an obligation to students with ties to the communities the AJC serves.
Also, we considered gender and racial/ethnic diversity. Metro Atlanta contains people from myriad backgrounds, and our newsroom staff reflects that diversity. Our interns must do that, too.
So far, our summer interns are making Cynthia and I look smart. You’ve seen interns’ bylines on the front page of the AJC and the home pages of ajc.com and myajc.com, as they’ve contributed to our coverage of everything from breaking news to the Braves.
Meet the AJC’s 2013 summer interns:
Chelsea Cariker-Prince is a rising senior at Emory University who hails from the Illinois suburbs of St. Louis. Chelsea is working with one of our senior writers on a soon-to-be-published investigative report on state government spending. She’s also been writing about courts and local news in the city of Atlanta.
Bryan Cronan is a rising senior at Emory. Originally from Griffin, Bryan works with our Breaking News team, writing about crime, weather and other just-happened news. Bryan hasn’t found much use for his French and Wolof-language skills – honed while studying in Senegal – but he hopes to put them to use after graduation as a foreign correspondent.
Cailin O’brien is a rising senior at the University of Georgia. Cailin grew up in Peachtree City and writes for our Breaking News team, having covered crime for the Red & Black student newspaper. Last week, Cailin wrote about three football players killed in a tragic car crash in South Georgia, a story that led ajc.com and myajc.com.
Hannah Morgan is a recent graduate of the University of Maryland. A former intern for the Baltimore Sun and USA Today, Hannah won the Harriet Beecher Stowe Student Prize for shining “a light on harrowing life stories of those living on the edge of society.” As an intern, Hannah writes about community issues in Atlanta’s suburbs.
Marq Burnett recently graduated from the University of Alabama, where he led the college newspaper’s coverage of the Crimson Tide’s national title run. For the AJC, Marq covered sports before completing his internship early so he could join the Anniston Star, covering – you guessed it – Bama football.
Casey Miller is a rising senior at the University of North Carolina, where she is studying journalism with a concentration in multimedia. This summer Casey is creating interactive maps, graphics and visualizations for ajc.com and myajc.com. Last week she created an interactive comparing metro Atlanta’s rainfall to other (drier) cities.
The interns are learning a ton but they are teaching us as well. Chelsea was praised in a staff-wide email spotlighting great writing. “Katie Ruth Gay’s disposition was as sweet as her famous fresh apple pie,” Chelsea had written in a feature obituary. “She kept an extra pie in her freezer, her friends say, ready for anyone in her Newnan community who might need a little pastry encouragement.”
At a lunch of interns and AJC editors, Bryan asked for advice. Managing Editor Monica Richardson replied: “Leave a mark. Do something while you’re here that makes us remember you.” In some way, all of our summer interns are accomplishing that. And for me, it’s been satisfying to watch.
