Job & Internship

February 2008 Internship Spotlight

Name: Tara Flockhart
Major: Jl MC
Emphasis: Visual Communication
Company: The Quad-City Times, Davenport, IA

Duties: Working as an intern at the Quad-City Times provided me with an excellent opportunity to simultaneously enhance my design and copy editing skills. I was given a hands on, realistic approach to the job by being assigned the same job duties as any other designer. My previous experience working at the Iowa State Daily and the Meredith Corporation allowed me to dive right in and learn the stylistic differences as I went.

On a normal day, I would be responsible for designing and copy editing a section of the newspaper. The assigned section rotated depending on the day, but would either be Business, Quad-City Area (local) or Nation/World.  If assigned the Nation/World section, I was also in charge of creating a story budget to present to my editors during the afternoon budget meeting. Designers were also responsible for posting content to the Web site at the end of the night.

Most Memorable Experience: As terrible as it is to say, the most exciting nights a newsroom sees are usually in response to a tragedy. This was the case for me this summer as the excitement level rose dramatically during the Minnesota bridge collapse. The Times had been working on an investigative piece detailing the safety of local bridges and we were able to use the information that had been collected to create an informative front page package that answered the safety questions on nearly every readers' mind.

Special Contribution: The response to my work was the best compliment I could possibly receive. Both my editor in chief and managing editor commented on my recognizable design style and precision in editing. I always tried to incorporate as many visual elements as possible into my design, including a push to use more cutouts, which in turn served as inspiration for other designers to step out of the box in their designs.

Advice to Future Interns: Look for an internship that gives you the most hands on experience. In my opinion, you learn the most when you are thrown into the mix and treated as an equal to your peers rather than doing busy work. Also, don't be afraid to try something new along the way!

more spotlights ...