The week-long program (8 to 12 May 2023) is a valuable opportunity to engage with media industry leaders, build a greater understanding of the media, and produce an edition of the largest circulating Catholic print publication in the country.
Successful applicants form the guest editorial team for the Spring edition of Australian Catholics and work with staff to plan, workshop, and write articles for that edition.
‘Students, in a hands-on way, learn how a magazine is put together – from the initial planning, writing, and editing to design, printing, and distribution,’ Australian Catholics editor Michele Frankeni says.
Industry leaders who have in recent times participated in the internship program to share their insights and expertise with students include Gold Walkley award-winning journalist, Adele Ferguson, and Associate Editor at The Australian, John Ferguson.
Assistant editor – education and youth Laura Kings says students not only gather important skills for entering the workplace but are offered an invaluable opportunity to improve their writing skills.
‘We really ask students to step out of their comfort zone in a friendly and supportive way. The internship is scaffolded to bring out the best in students and help them to realise their potential’.
Previous participants report a positive experience, appreciating the opportunity to make new friends with similar interests. Many of these writers have gone on to regularly contribute articles for subsequent issues of the magazine, thereby building a solid writing portfolio.
The internship program will again be delivered online, making it accessible to a diverse range of students. It is completed during school time and as such must be done so with the blessing of the applicants’ parents and school.
Applications for this year’s program close 5 pm on Friday, 17 March 2022.
Students in years 10 and 11, with interests in journalism, communications, media, and publishing are encouraged to apply.
Application criteria:
Students should consider applying for the internship program as similar to applying for a job.
Applications should be accompanied by a cover letter, a reference from the teacher, and three pieces of writing.
The cover letter should explain why you want to undertake the program, what you hope to get from it, and what you bring to the program.
The program is a week-long intensive so you need permission from your school to take part and there must be a comprehensive endorsement (reference) from your English/homeroom/media studies/RE teacher.
Writing tasks:
1. The autumn 2023 Australian Catholics magazine is on the 'Life and Times of Jesus'. Please provide an article of no more than 250 words that is a precis of any of the feature articles in the magazine. We are looking for the ability to tell a comprehensive story in brief.
2. Conduct an original interview of no more than 300 words or two minutes. Submit an interview transcript or recording (video or audio) and a justification paragraph of 150- 200 words explaining why you chose that interviewee, what was easy about conducting the interview, what was challenging, what story you would write in response to the interview and which comments or pieces of information from that interview you would use in the story.
3. Free choice. This may be a creative piece, another interview article, an opinion piece, a photograph, or a podcast (no more than four minutes). Written pieces (excluding poetry) should be between 400 and 800 words in length.
APPLY FOR THE PROGRAM HERE.
Find the application guide here.