![\"Willow](\"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/wp-content\/uploads\/stories\/08-2008\/willow-nero.jpg\" "\\"Willow")
<\/p>\n\nAn introduction to the Sunsphere<\/a>
\nLife in the marble mills <\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nNero is among more than 50 Ole Miss journalism students interning this
\nsummer around the country. It\u2019s a number that keeps climbing each year,
\naccording to Ellen Meacham, internship coordinator and journalism
\ninstructor. Forty five students interned during summer 2007 and 39
\ninterned in summer 2006. <\/p>\n
Meacham said the department is seeing an increase in summer internships
\nbecause of the faculty’s emphasis on work experience, which is
\nsupported by journalism chair Samir Husni. <\/p>\n
“We are pleased to have a very organized effort and office devoted to
\nhelp students gain careers and internships led by Ellen Meacham, who
\ndevotes half her full-time job to the career center,\u201d Husni said. \u201cIt\u2019s
\npart of our continued efforts to help prepare students for the work
\nforce, and we think it\u2019s working.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe skills acquired from internships are beyond beneficial. It\u2019s
\nimportant that our students get hands on experience in a real world
\nenvironment.<\/p>\n
Recent internships range from local media outlets such as The (Jackson)
\nClarion Ledger to Southern Progress Corp., publisher of multiple
\nmagazines, including Southern Living and Cooking Light.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Nero, who has worked as copy chief and news editor at The Daily
\nMississippian, UM’s student produced newspaper, said she was searching
\nfor an online reporting position to enhance her skills.<\/p>\n
“Doing online work for the Knoxville News Sentinel was extremely
\nimportant to me. You hear about more and more reporters getting laid
\noff, so I knew acquiring online reporting skills would give me a leg up
\nin the field. <\/p>\n
“Online reporting is similar to broadcast reporting, yet it’s not. It’s
\na supplement. Instead of hearing the news on TV or reading it in a
\npaper, you’re watching it on video and getting a little more info, more
\ndetails and more picture angles,” said Nero, daughter of Redwood Nero
\nand Shawn Prychitko of Bay St. Louis. <\/p>\n
Besides editing, writing and reporting, Nero also produces her own
\nonline segments, including the aforementioned article “Random This: A
\nMonument to Underwear.” <\/p>\n
“If there is breaking news, then it’s a lot of uploading,” she said.
\n“With online reporting, we must get our news out there fast. But I’ve
\ndone some fun videos that I’ve posted and produced with my limited
\nexperience. I had almost no experience when I came to knoxnews.com, but
\nwithin the month I’ve been here, they’ve taught me so much.”<\/p>\n
![\"haleycrum.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/wp-content\/uploads\/stories\/08-2008\/haleycrum.jpg\" "\\"haleycrum.jpg\\"")
<\/p>\n\nA piece of Americana<\/a>\u00a0
\nRacing with the sun<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nThe same is true for Haley Crum, who is an independent contractor with
\nMTV. “It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever done,” said Crum, who
\nhas a double major in journalism and English.\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nAs a member of MTV’s Street Team ’08, Crum is among 51 citizen
\njournalists who submit videos, blogs, photos and more about political
\nand social issues in Mississippi from a youth perspective. Sponsored by
\nthe station’s popular “Choose or Lose” campaign, which first began
\ncovering political news with the 1992 presidential election, Crum and
\nlocal reporters from every state and Washington, D.C., follow the
\nelection news and deliver weekly multimedia reports. <\/p>\n
Crum, the daughter of Kevin and Beverly Cole of Oxford and Charles Crum of Nashville, has been working for MTV since January.<\/p>\n
“MTV research shows that young people will be a major force in
\ndetermining who is elected in the upcoming election,” Crum said.
\n“Street Team ’08 is just MTV’s way of providing its audience with
\nnational and international political issues to help make a more
\ninformed decision.” <\/p>\n
What’s more, each member of the MTV team also gets to focus on local
\nnews. “It gives people a perspective on smaller states like Mississippi
\nand Rhode Island,” Crum said. “I get to report on issues important to
\nour state. I did a story on an Ole Miss student who was deployed back
\nto Iraq, and my first big story was on Mississippi’s education system.
\nI was able to bring to light the challenges of ‘No Child Left Behind’
\nin the Mississippi Delta.” To view Crum’s video packages and blogs,
\nvisit http:\/\/www.think.mtv.com.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Crum said it was tough landing the much sought-after position with MTV.
\n“Ms. Meacham helped me a lot,” she said. “It’s really a tribute to Ole
\nMiss on how great the journalism faculty treats its students. It really
\nmakes a difference. I probably wouldn’t have gotten any of my
\ninternships without the faculty’s help.” <\/p>\n
It was Husni who made contacts for Marti Covington to land her
\ninternship with Michael Duffy, assistant managing editor for TIME
\nmagazine. “When Richard Stengel, managing editor for TIME Inc., visited
\nOle Miss for this spring’s Journalism Week, Dr. Husni talked to him
\nabout my work at the DM and my previous internships,” Covington said.
\n“When I met Mr. Stengel personally, he told me to send him a resume and
\nsome clips of published works. I did, and the next thing I knew I was
\ninterning for TIME.” <\/p>\n
“It is important to our program to bring top media professionals to our
\nstudents,” Husni said. “Everything we’re doing is what’s best for our
\nstudents; it’s that simple.”<\/p>\n
![\"marticovington.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/wp-content\/uploads\/stories\/08-2008\/marticovington.jpg\" "\\"marticovington.jpg\\"")
<\/p>\n\nThe True Patriot\u00a0 <\/a>
\nMississippi, 1st District<\/a> \n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Although she is the immediate past editor of the student newspaper, as
\nwell as a former intern for The Clarion Ledger and Richmond (Va.) Times
\nDispatch, Covington said she was “pretty amazed” to see her first
\nbyline for TIME.com.<\/p>\n
“TIME is such a well-known brand, so practically everything I’m able to
\ndo is pretty cool to me,” she said. “It feels great to research and
\nwrite small blurbs about the presidential election and patriotism for
\nTIME. Then, seeing my writing\u00a0\u00a0 with a few edits, of course\u00a0\u00a0 in the
\nactual magazine is icing on the cake. I also love proofreading cover
\nstories days before anyone knows they’ll be in the magazine.” Covington
\nis the daughter of Ole Miss alums Danny Covington of Columbus and Joyce
\nMartin Covington of Batesville. <\/p>\n
While the Ole Miss journalism department offers a variety of tools to
\nhelps students secure internships, Husni said the greatest advantage a
\nstudent can have is previous experience. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe tell our students to work somewhere, either at one of our many
\nstudent media outlets or a local media organization. Experience makes
\nyou more competitive as an intern and as a future employee.”<\/p>\n
So, does Nero plan to bring a version of “Random This” to Ole Miss? <\/p>\n
Not likely, she said, adding, “Oxford and Ole Miss are more noted for food and literature, not underwear.'”<\/p>\n
Visit the Department of Journalism. <\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"