Internship Experience
Internship Experience
Erie Times is newspaper firm based in Pennsylvania and has a daily circulation of 50,000 newspapers. The newspaper focus is Erie County while it also focuses on Ohio and New York. The firm started operations in 1988 headed by Mead family. Previously, the Time Publishing Company had two newspapers that include Erie Dispatch Herald and Erie Morning News. The two newspapers merged in 2000 and currently it is Erie Times-News. The merger has led to change in leadership away from the Mead family. The receiver received accolades as the “Newspaper of the Year” in 2003” and a repeat of the same in 2009. The economic recession led to it laying off close to 50 employees in the packaging and printing departments. NIE is an educational effort that will bring free newspapers to classrooms to accomplish different crucial goals.
Internship Objectives
I chose to follow an international internship since I would like to benefit from that experience. I am certain by working in this new environment I will develop skills in tandem my competencies. I have always admired working for a newspaper firm to learn the art of advertising and editing that can sharpen my writing skills. My internship period is five months, and I intend to contribute positively to the company’s objectives by applying knowledge I obtained some aspects of communication that include writing, advertising, media, and public relations.
During my internship at Erie Times-News, I intend to observe and research different subjects, research media and target groups, plan and organize communication activities, and develop media and communication strategies. I had high expectations before I decided on an international internship. Previously I have engaged in an oversea internship to get exposure on the different languages and cultures.
On my first day of internship August 2014, I met with Meredith and Catania where I was briefed on my role as I signed the contract that detailed my start and end date of the internship. Both Meredith and Catania informed me that I would be working in the Audience Development Department. It carries out Circulation, Classified Advertising, Editorial, Human Resources, News Room, Advertising, Cyber link, and Single Copy. I was assigned a desk at the Audience Development Department in Circulation where I did all my work.
My orientation consisted of touring to all other departments of Erie Times-News to understand each of their roles. Additionally I had spare time that i used to navigate the Erie Times-News internet website together with the NIE website to gain familiarity and understand what it offers. The introduction to Erie Times-News went on successfully with the company. I feel that my work fits with my education, and there was plenty to learn. I felt appreciated by the company for my efforts.
Mission of NIE
(1)The mission of the newspaper firm is to encourage lifelong reading behaviors that can raise the level of reading to the next generation. (2) NIE intends to promote social and cultural awareness, civic duty, and the active involvement of the popular culture to ensure it has access to education in the form of curriculum supplements, internet interaction, and teacher training. (3) NIE intends to meet Common Core Standards as adopted by the State of Pennsylvania. Each year the newspaper firm reaches more than 16,000 students as part of the regions mission.
Strategy
NIE incorporates an Access Digital NIE content that can address the challenging needs of students. The Erie Times-News has developed a program that applies digital strategies to reach students on all platforms. Teachers that sign Digital NIE enjoy 7-day access to the content published on the websites. The product is simultaneously accessible through laptop, Smart Board, iPhone, and Android phone platforms.
The Erie Times-News in Education by the NIE coordinator returns with a fresh ink and contests that welcome all to a wonderful holiday season. The program has some exciting events that I have encountered in the NIE that collaborates with Erie Bay Hawks for an annual game with kids. All that students require is a fee of $6 that will guarantee a ticket for the game inclusive of lunch. The teachers or school that sign up can bring along their students will receive a grade on the free educational session with the Erie Bay Hawks and NIE. I reckon that students can enter an essay contest where the grand prize entails a visit from the Bay Hawks for a mini press conference at school.
In January 2014, Erie business brings back two traditional NIE programs that include Fresh Ink and Editorial Cartoon Contest. The firm does this to provide students with a platform to highlight their talents. NIE brings back Fresh Ink as an award-winning student journalism forum. The Editorial Cartoon Contest features student artwork and a chance to win fabulous prizes. Similarly, the firm explains to the students concerning responsibility in the social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook. The exercise will also promote education outside class. In my use of NIE website, I find it a very active website since it encourages students to join in the digital citizenship in the use of Facebook and Twitter.
My internship experience at Erie Times-News in Education has enabled me to realize that it is much more than a newspaper delivery. The firm provides a wide array of classroom resources on our website since it pays visits to classrooms to teach lessons based on the Erie Times-News. Other aspects of NIE include focusing on programs and workshops. The firms focus in 2014 is to dedicate workshops to digital learning, media curriculum, and literacy. The firm looks for advice from the stakeholders on the kind of workshops to hold to suit the client needs. Anyone with an idea for workshops or learning seminar that we could develop based on the school needs or their interest in professional development.
The Erie Times-New in Education sends all teachers the NIE program and an affidavit that verifies the newspaper delivery and digital access. The process serves as a confirmation that teachers and schools receive newspapers and digital access and the confirmation of commitment to literacy through educational program. In the past, I have witnessed that some schools have been able to complete affidavits while some are new in the process. Presently, the system is simple since it is easier for the school to collaborate with Erie Times and News in Education. NIE communicates through email as an issue of HIGH PRIORITY. The affidavit consists of the name of the organization, important information for the annual audit, and the number of newspapers, date range and other crucial information. The only requirement is to reply to the email to ensure the information is accurate.
An organization that receives an affidavit should read the information to ensure it is accurate, and then click Reply and later send. That process ensures that NIE has the affidavit for the record. The affidavits are vital to ensure that NIE donations and sponsorships reach children and teachers in the classrooms. The firm requires total teacher response to the confirmation for the records and the auditors. Teachers and schools should respond to the affidavits quickly for accountability purposes. NIE searches for digital classroom teachers that have the interest in the NIE experience to incorporate them in a digital platform. The NIE program currently reaches its maximum for participation in the print newspaper and delivery while it currently opens unlimited participation in NIE Digital. NIE Digital classroom platform will enable the teachers to receive free access to the NIE eEducation and free access to all Digital NIE content.
Environmental lessons
Some of the environmental lessons I come across in the NIE website includes climate change and ecosystem response, plastic trash and wildlife, water in the community, invasive species, and plastic pollution. In plastic trash and wildlife, the students learn concerning the introduction of unnatural substances in the surrounding that threaten the lives of wildlife. The objective of the environmental lesson is to describe the negative effects of plastic solid waste on wildlife and explain what each person can do to avoid that adds to the problem. It is wrong to continue using vast machinery that destroys the environment by making it inhabitable. In climate change and ecosystem, response the intent on the students is to discuss the effects of global warming through a model of ecosystem that simplify a real life scenario. Additionally, the environmental lesson plan for climatic change will explain ways of interacting with geographical ranges. In the subsection of water in the community, human beings have to modify the ecosystems in lieu of population growth, consumption, and technology. Every element on earth moves on the reservoirs of solid earth, organisms, atmosphere as a part of geochemical cycles. Human populations utilize resources available in the environment to maintain and improve existence while natural resources continue to maintain human populations. The earth does not have infinite resources to increase human consumption to place severe stress on the natural processes that renews resources.
Parents can get involved in the children education in conjunction with Erie Times-News and the students that can extend in class learning at home. Parents and their children can share ideas and activities to make a child become a lifetime reader of consumer news.
Great Lakes and others are invasive. The species live in good habitats, multiply quickly, and cause lasting effects on the Asia carp. The serious ecological problems that occur threaten the life on the Great Lakes.
NIE uses newspaper on a weekly basis to capture the current events, classified ads, colors, and numbers. The hard copy of Erie Times-News gives the literacy education a boost. My working at NIE has enabled me to learn that newspapers are an effective medium of communication that incorporates interdisciplinary educational items in the classrooms. Then newspaper has various stories and information articles that enable reflection, creative writing, reading, and teaching. For instance, the weather section is a great tool that enables one to focus on mathematical concepts and formulas that include mode, median, mean. Students can check on various temperatures around the world to learn on climate change and global warming as well as other concepts taught in the school curriculum. Conversely, the students will observe and analyze the commonalities of temperatures from different regions since it is a nice way to examine the geographical concepts. The testimony of different students is that Erie Times-News is informative such that they enjoy reading different articles and discussing their opinions. The newspaper gives the students a platform to exchange their views and gives them a sense of civic responsibility. The Erie community in the various labs will ensure the newspaper reaches a wider audience.
At the programs section, the paper captures United States history that provides a supplemental tool that will enhance educational experience of the students. Additionally, students will be able to keep up with the current events that connect with the subject matter taught in schools such as Social Studies. Students will gain knowledge on the distinction between facts and opinions in relation to bias and critics while analyzing the historical and current events.
My experience while working in this firm has enabled me to understand that the world of media newspaper remain a tangible source of news and, with my major as journalism, I can communicate to students through cut lines, quotations, and opinions. I will use newspapers to create news suitable for my audience to ensure they plug onto something. I reckon that the newspaper is a useful tool for many applications in all the areas of application and all teachers should make use of it.
References
(AMM) Erie Coke appealing $6.1M fine. (2008). Metal Bulletin Daily, (119), 16.
Moses, L. (2000). 'Mom's' the word, Erie-ly enough. Editor & Publisher, 133(41), 12.
