MEDIA RELEASE

Fairfax Media Launches Search For 2011-12 Journalism Interns

Wanted: New Zealand’s best and brightest prospective journalists.

Fairfax Media, New Zealand’s largest newspaper, magazine and web publisher, is today launching another search throughout the country for journalists to join its journalism intern scheme.

Fairfax Media Group Executive Editor Paul Thompson said journalism today was a career of huge variety and opportunity, and the company was keen to ensure it attracted the best. The intern search every year was an opportunity for prospective journalists to display their skills.

“We launched the intern scheme in 2006 and we’ve been delighted with its success,” he said. “Some of those chosen are now rising through the ranks and doing excellent work.

“The essential skills and principles of journalism have not changed but the ways we now tell stories have multiplied from traditional print and pictures to video, audio, mobile phones and tablets and there will be more in the not-too-distant future. We are in a much-changing business and this is a great time to join”

Successful interns will undergo training in 2012 at one of five leading journalism schools, after which they will join publications or websites of their choice.

Applications for this year’s intern scheme will open on Friday, July 1, 2011, and close at noon on Monday, August 1. Applicants will undergo an on-line written test and from that, would-be interns will undergo other written tests before interviews by representatives of their chosen publications or website and journalism schools.

Among other things, the scheme offers participants:

• The opportunity to study for a year at one of the participating institutions
• Work experience during course holidays at one of Fairfax's publications;
• Reimbursement of course fees to successful applicants
• Employment with a Fairfax publication at the conclusion of the course.
• On-going training and career development.

Fairfax owns nine daily newspapers including The Dominion Post and The Press, two national Sunday newspapers, the Stuff, BusinessDay and RugbyHeaven websites among others,a vast range of magazines, an editorial production centre, a magazine publishing business, and more than 50 community newspapers throughout the country.

Successful interns will undergo year-long training for a Diploma or Graduate Diploma in Journalism at Massey University, Wellington, the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, Aoraki Polytechnic, Dunedin, and the Waikato Institute of Technology, Hamilton. Where possible, successful applicants will be trained in the institution of their choice.

Fairfax also runs a comprehensive workplace training programme for young journalists.

The selection process will include an on-line application form including at least four written exercises. These will be marked and applicants judged to have the aptitude to make good journalists will be selected to sit a two-hour writing and general knowledge exercise designed to test journalistic aptitude at cities throughout the country at 10am on Saturday, August 27.

After that process, editors will choose those they wish to interview according to the publication and school preferences of the applicants. Representatives of the participating schools take part in and approve all selected interns.

Final selections are expected to be made by the end of October.

On the successful completion of their course, participants will be reimbursed for their course fees. Successful applicants will be bonded to Fairfax for two years.

For further details, go to

http://www.fairfaxmedia.co.nz/careers/journalism-internships.dot

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