interns

Farewell, Intern James Frey

Sheila · 12/10/08 04:00PM

James Frey's internship has ended, and we're happy to report that he did a decent job and took the work very seriously. Watch as James goes on a beer run for the ad sales team, buys the writers coffee, and reflects on his internship experience. (Yeah, I look weird in this video and I don't want to hear another word about it.) On his way home, he took my package to the post office. [Video by Richard Blakeley]

Our New Factchecker: James Frey

Sheila · 12/10/08 12:22PM

So far, intern James Frey has brought us doughnuts (some with sprinkles!), fetched coffee and is now out on a beer run. But he completed his first assigned task: a factchecking report on this morning's Gawker posts. While we applaud our intern's effort, James Frey is surprisingly not the most reliable factchecker.

Meet Today's Intern: James Frey!

Sheila · 12/10/08 09:50AM

A while ago, in an attempt to get Ryan Adams as my intern instead of him interning at Blackbook (nice catch, Mohney!), I received a one-line e-mail from somebody calling himself James Frey. "I'll come intern for a day," it read. He thought it would be interesting to intern for people who "hated" him (a strong word!) and was especially eager to do menial tasks. So Vogue gets celebrity intern Sean Avery, Blackbook gets Adams, and we get James Frey. He has written books such as A Million Little Pieces, Bright Shiny Morning, and once he went on Oprah and she yelled at him! He'll be helping me pack my things into boxes for my imminent departure and factchecking, among other things. He's out on a coffee run right now, but after the jump, let's play "Ask the Intern," in which you can ask James about what it's like to intern for Gawker. You can find James' answers over here.

Harvard Less Selective Than NBC's Grueling Page Program

Ryan Tate · 10/14/08 04:56AM

It's not clear whether Kenneth from 30 Rock had anything to do with it, but NBC's page program now gets 7,000 applicants each year for roughly 70 slots, an admission rate of about 1 percent versus 7 percent for the undergraduate college at Harvard University . The $10-per-hour work consists of fetching coffee, guarding studio doors and giving tours for "at least six days" per week, the Times said this morning. You may have to live in Harlem and work at a bar to make ends meet. Then there are the long hours and flashcards:

Newspaper Needs J Schools to Subsidize Internships

Sheila · 10/13/08 11:00AM

Newspapers continue their march to non-profit and extension-of-J-schools status: the Philadelphia Inquirer just announced that it can't afford to pay its interns. So just offer unpaid slave-internships, right? Wrong—those pesky unions (bless them) don't allow people to work for free, in the grand media tradition. Whatever will they do? "The Inquirer now is asking journalism schools to pay the newspaper a stipend to support the internships. Each school that agrees to do so will have one guaranteed internship."

How to Weasel You Way Through Your Publishing Job

Sheila · 10/03/08 04:20PM

A young literary agency lass is having trouble making, like, a flowchart of all the publishers! She's taken to the Craigslist personals section for the cure: "I think there's a handful of major conglomerates who own all the main publishers... Does a chart like this exist? I'm a cute girl, and if you help me out I'll send you some free galleys :)" Hey, Ms. Cutie? We just busted you. Consider it your first lesson in tough love, and please take to heart the advice Toby Young just gave me: "Don't get too comfortable. You could be fired in the next 48 hours." In this climate, we're all lucky just to have a job. So do yours.

Interns Banned From Long Subway Rides

Ryan Tate · 09/03/08 03:02AM

Sure, internships are supposed to be tough, but the rabid neoconservatives who run the New York Sun seem to be going out of their way to be severe to the unfortunate young souls who somehow find themselves paying their dues there. The dress code, for example, stipulates not only a suit and tie but a specific color of shirt, shine to the shoe and knotting of neckwear. Is this really the paper that celebrated Middle Eastern women who defiantly wear tight jeans, bikinis and punk-rock-inspired clothes under their burkas in the name of not being "dressed like everybody else?" And is the de facto ban on subway rides of more than 30 minutes coming from the same editors who slammed the mayor for taxing suburban commuters? Apparently so! Whether there's hypocrisy at work in them or not, the Sun's "Guidelines For Interns" are pretty hilarious, assuming you don't have to slave under them. Someone who did just sent us a copy, and we've highlighted some of the fun bits:

Should We Give Tao Lin's Intern a Job?

Richard Lawson · 08/23/08 02:01PM

Yesterday we posted about gimmick-crazed "writer" Tao Lin, who recently raised $12,000 in investors' money for a book that doesn't even exist is "95% finished," according to Tao. And one of the investors was Tao's own intern! It seems that said lass, detailed in an email sent to us today, had ambitions of working here, at humble old Gawker Media. It was her idea for Tao to lurk outside our offices and put his stupid Britney Spears stickers everywhere! But, she says, she'd still like to intern here, specifically at our ladyblog Jezebel. So, what should we do? Read the email after the jump and weigh in on this crucial Matter of the Youngs.

The Story Of The Pooping Intern

Hamilton Nolan · 08/19/08 11:04AM

Last week we floated an absolutely delicious rumor-the sort of inside media gossip that we hope to be known for when future generations are considering our legacy. Specifically, it was the story of the crazy pooping intern. A summer intern at one of the networks, we heard, went on an on-the-job pooping spree, but somehow stayed on and continued her internship through the rest of the summer. Tips have poured in, and it's become clear this is the story of your worst at-work nightmare come to life. Here's how one locked toilet at NBC caused a disaster: The intern was at NBC in New York, at the famous 30 Rock (NBC has not responded to our request for comment). Our tipsters diverge a tiny bit in their details, but all agree that this intern did exist, and she did have quite an accident. They say it all happened on the intern's first day on the job, in June. Apparently, she tried to make a run to the bathroom, but didn't quite get there. One account:

Departing Intern Would Like to Discuss "the Nature and Merits of Public Service in America" With You

Pareene · 08/07/08 04:00PM

Ah, the Congressional internship. Stepping-stone to a lifetime of tireless public service, or just entitled whining and constant intoxication paired with exponentially growing cynicism about the entire process. Fun! We just obtained an email from an outgoing summer intern at a Senate office that, in the words of our tipster, is "comparable only with Washington's Farewell Address." It is a "gentle reminder" that today will be this young go-getters last day at the office. It goes on to explain "the nature of democracy" and features the phrase "the noblest self-disclosure." The young intern sent the email to everyone in the damn office, of course. "Dear colleagues and respected staff members," it begins, ominously...

As Intern, Kurt Cobain's Daughter Considered A Bit Too Punk Rock

Ryan Tate · 07/21/08 04:26AM

Did you know Frances Bean Cobain, Kurt's surprisingly well-adjusted daughter, is a "summer aide" at Rolling Stone? She is! Also, she's wayyy too rock and roll for the anal-retentive offices of the Wenner title. Insiders bitched to Page Six, "she doesn't get coffee for anyone . . . calls in sick all the time and wears funny outfits." First of all? She's 15. And second? Something tells me Evan Springsteen, Max Spielberg and Gus Wenner weren't fetching too many lattes last summer, either. Anyway, here are some conversation tips, courtesy a February article in People, in case she comes to collect your drink order:

Interning at Yahoo: about as smart as jumping out of a moving airplane

Nicholas Carlson · 06/24/08 12:00PM

Pictured above, meet Yahoo's latest summer interns Chris Hanrath, Ashish Singal, Jeff Kelbick and Justin McClain. Together, they prove that while new hires say joining Yahoo is like running into a burning building, for Yahoo summer interns, joining up is more like jumping from a moving airplane 2.5 miles above the Earth. Remember, these guys don't even get paid to quit the company in case of a change in control. They just get to do the paperwork. All for about $12 to $15 per hour. (Photo by Yodel Anecdotal)