“Internships” are a controversial subject at the moment. Several media companies – including the New Statesman – have been accused of “running on interns”, and exploiting young people by asking them to work without pay.
We take that charge seriously. But we also think that there’s value in work experience, done correctly: if young people are given a chance to experience office life, to learn about what really goes into producing a successful magazine and website, and to receive feedback on their own writing, that gives them a better chance of finding a job.
So I wanted to write a bit about what we’ve done to make our work experience programme better, and what happens next. First, we think there is an important distinction between internships – placements lasting months, often doing work which would otherwise fall to a paid member of staff – and work experience.
The latter should last no more than a couple of weeks, so that it can be done around other work or study commitments. Placements should also involve as much effort on our part as from the person we’re hosting. If you get work experience here, you’ll be encouraged to pitch ideas for blogs related to your interests, and we will give you detailed constructive criticism on them, helping you develop as a writer. You won’t be expected to spend all day doing routine administrative tasks, and there are no fixed hours. If we scrapped our work experience programme tomorrow, the New Statesman would continue to function exactly as before. That’s the test of whether interns are replacing paid employees. As for paying our interns: we do. Anyone who stays beyond their initial placement – for example Phil, our current centenary research assistant; or editorial assistants such as the talented Duncan Robinson, now at the Financial Times – is paid.
To make our work experience scheme as useful as possible, we host only two people in editorial at any one time (there is often a design work experience candidate, too, learning about layout, photoshop and picture editing with the art desk). Our placements are open to all, and we have a merit-based application system.
What about the charge that work experience schemes give an unfair advantage to those whose parents live in London? There’s truth in that, and so for the last few months we’ve tested a “virtual work experience” scheme where young people are mentored remotely by me and the web editor, Caroline Crampton. They pitch to us as if they were freelancers, and we give them feedback on their approach and their writing style. Everyone we’ve helped has said the help and advice we gave was useful.
But that’s not enough. We know that there is still a problem with the lack of diversity in the media, and it’s something we want to address. The editor of the Spectator, Fraser Nelson, recommended to me the work of the Social Mobility Foundation, which aims to get more bright students from non-traditional backgrounds working in careers such as journalism.
The New Statesman will be working with the SMF in two main ways from now on. First, we’ve agreed to host Year 12 students selected by them this summer for one-week placements. Second, more than a dozen of our staff and bloggers have volunteered to be mentors to students for a one-year period starting in March. They’ll be in regular email contact with them as they decide their career path and apply to university.
The SMF targets its help to those who have achieved 5 As at GCSE (6 for those who want to study Medicine) and be predicted at least ABB at A-level, and are either eligible for free school meals, or attend a school where 30 per cent of pupils are eligible, and are in the first generation of their family to attend university in the UK.
These are exactly the kind of people the media needs if it is to better reflect our society, and we’re proud to be working with the Social Mobility Foundation to make that happen.
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