SUMMER 2008 INTERN: Molly Dischner, University of Alaska Fairbanks
APPLICATION DEADLINE: March 10, 2008 (watch here for 2009 intern information in November 2008)
1. The Skagway News, published twice monthly, offers an internship for a general assignment reporter/assistant editor. The Skagway News has been in operation 30 years, and has had 16 previous summer interns. Three have gone on to work full-time for the paper and others have taken jobs at dailies or bureaus (Tacoma, Phoenix, Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, St. Cloud, Skagit Valley, Vacaville, Cambodia, Czech Republic) and communty weeklies (Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, North Carolina).
2. The Skagway News has a summer circulation of between 1,200 and 1,500 and serves a population of 1,500 summer residents whose primary livelihood is catering to more than 900,000 visitors in a five-month tourist season. Skagway is at the northern end of the Southeast Alaska panhandle, about 100 miles north of Juneau, the state capital. It can be reached by Alaska Marine Highway from Bellingham, Wash., the Klondike Highway from Alaska and the Lower 48, or air from Juneau (via Seattle) or Whitehorse, Yukon (via Vancouver, B.C.). To learn more and see pictures, visit the Skagway visitor information site: www.skagway.com or our own www.skagwaynews.com.
3. The Skagway News has an easy-going but professional atmosphere. The reporter should have a lot of initiative. We are looking for a person who will seek out stories, as well as being told what to cover. Despite being one of the smallest papers in the state, The Skagway News was judged one of the best non-daily newspaper in Alaska during the past decade, and routinely wins Alaska Press Club awards. Although the paper is published twice monthly, there is plenty of news to keep a reporter busy. Skagway is one of Alaska's busiest cruise ports and in the top 20 worldwide. Duties include covering various port and tourism-related issues, local government meetings, following summertime adventure races and events, and previewing municipal and state elections. Skagway's lively summer community is a great source for features. The paper also covers stories in Canada's Yukon Terriroty. If an applicant is unable to enter Canada for any reason, he/she should notify the publisher in advance. Passports are advised and will be mandatory by 2009.
4. Applicant should be a rising junior or senior enrolled in a journalism school or a recent graduate of a journalism school. Exceptions can be made for qualified sophomores or non-journalism majors who have extensive experience on a college daily or weekly. The Skagway News is an equal opportunity employer. Only U.S. citizens should apply, unless currently attending a U.S. university under a student visa that will allow the student to work in the U.S. If a student is not in the U.S. then he/she is responsible for obtaining necessary visas.
5. This is a paid internship, offering the following compensation:
• $800 per month for newspaper work for a 3-month or longer period.
• Free housing.
• Round-trip transportation from Anchorage, Fairbanks, Seattle, Bellingham or Vancouver (If the school's internship program requires a visit by the student's advisor, the cost of the advisor's trip must be covered by the school or the intern). The publisher reserves the right to select the best method of travel to get the intern to and from the job in a timely manner and at the most reasonable cost.
6. The Skagway News is located in the heart of the downtown Skagway Historic District within the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. The publisher leases a beautifully restored 1899 building from the National Park Service. The downstairs serves as the newsstand and book store and the upstairs contains the newsroom and publishing office, and a small apartment which is provided for the intern with adjacent kitchen area and bathroom/shower.
7. The newspaper uses an Apple Macintosh desktop publishing system to produce the paper, from writing stories to final page layout. Intern will be working primarily in Microsoft Word, and Quark XPress. We also utilize Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and GoLive. The paper is printed at the Whitehorse Star, a daily in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, which is a two-hour drive from Skagway on the Klondike Highway. The intern will make this day-trip to Whitehorse at least once to assist in final pre-press work and helping get papers ready for circulation. Top stories are posted on our Website <www.skagwaynews.com>, and the intern may assist in moving stories and photos onto the site.
8. DEADLINE: March 10, 2008 (postmarked). Applicants for the internship should mail clips, resume and letters of recommendation to Skagway News Internship, P.O. Box 498, Skagway, AK 99840 or fax clean copies to 907-983-2356. Please provide an e-mail address and phone number where you can be reached. Finalists will be interviewed by telephone the week of March 17. Selection of the intern and alternate should be made by March 20, and acceptance should be confirmed by the end of March.
9. The internship may begin as early as May 1 and end as late as Sept. 30, but will depend on school schedules. A minimum of 12 weeks is required.
10. If an applicant has questions about the internship before applying, e-mail us at skagnews@aptalaska.net, or call editor Jeff Brady at 907-983-2354 on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Alaska Standard Time, which is one hour earlier than the West Coast, and four hours earlier than the East Coast.
NOTE: The Skagway News Co. is for sale, but at this time there is no change in ownership anticipated before spring-summer 2008. The summer intern program is expected to continue through any transition in 2008.