Very long post. Sorry.
TL;DR: Uber is wrong. There's no money to be had in the taxi business. How many rich cab drivers have you seen? Uber is exactly like a photo stock agency that sells pictures for $1. At a cheap stock agency, photographers do all the work and make no money. Meanwhile, the stock agency owners, who do make money, depend on photographers who can't see the numbers. Let's see how long it takes drivers to figure out Uber's numbers.
If Uber was smart, it would go into the same-day courier business. Amazon and other retailers are begging for this.
Taras tells me the number of submissions was a dozen,
better than four but hugely disappointing!
Maybe newspaper photojournalism is or has died!
I'm surprised you got more than five and I'll tell you why .....
First, a huge "attaperson" goes to the Toronto Star and a big "attaboy" goes to the other four(?) papers and wire service that still have internships. These are quite important but they're falling by the wayside. Newspapers say they can't afford to hire interns and many students can't afford to accept an internship. But all is not lost.
The problem with the Star's internship, for example only, is that for many students, the job is too expensive to accept. If a student doesn't live in Toronto, the added living costs might equal about 70% of their pay. This leaves almost nothing for future tuition, new equipment, etc. A job in a local factory or bar is more profitable.
Sure, one could say that a bit of sacrifice now, by working a less-profitable internship, will pay for itself in the future. That's probably true if there was a chance of newspapers hiring in the future.
At the Star, for example, an intern student reporter needs only the clothes on their back. But an intern student photographer needs full camera gear, laptop, software, smartphone and a car. Yet both interns get paid the same rate (I stand to be corrected here). I know the photo department has little to do with this and it has to fight to even have an internship.
A car allowance is nice but despite what the accountant says, financially it's not the same as a company car. There's a rea$on why companies are moving to employee-owned cars. It shifts all liability and risk to the employee.
Student photographers who don't have a car and don't live in the city where the internship is offered simply can't afford to take that internship.
How about:
1) Remove the requirement for a car. If a reporter (staff or intern) doesn't need a car, then a student intern photog shouldn't need one. This will limit the type of jobs the intern will shoot but tough, so be it.
I can recall another Toronto daily that let some of its student photogs use public transit. Waiting for the bus wasted time and they were limited to the downtown area but it seemed to work.
If staff reporters can use taxis, why can't interns? Professional news photographers in some cities use only public transit and taxis. Why not in Toronto?
By the way, editorially, isn't the Toronto Star anti-car?
2) During the summer months, most university and college residences are empty. Can a newspaper work out a deal to have the interns live in a nearby residence? This would be cheaper than a hotel or apartment and better than a room in someone's basement. Or have the interns stay in the Chairman's guest home?
Back in the late 1980s, one student intern lived in his beat-up car parked on the street in front of the paper or in a nearby lot. He "bathed" in a newspaper washroom sink every third or fourth day.
Another photographer actually lived in the newspaper building, although management and building security weren't aware of it.
3) Remember that you're hiring an intern for their promising talent, not for what they own. If you supply your staffers with gear then why not be fair and treat the intern the same? After all, you're expecting the intern to do the same work.
What other job at a big company requires that you bring all your own tools?
4) What would happen if the intern was sponsored? Nikon, Canon, Sony, Microsoft, Pizza Pizza, .... etc? It wouldn't mean that the intern will have to wear logo-covered clothing but maybe the paper can work out a contra deal. Although, the dollar value is relatively low.
Maybe have the publisher downgrade his company car from a Lexus to a Cadillac? The monthly lease savings could help pay for an intern.
5) Move into the 21st century and offer e-Internships or i-Internships?
What if a paper was crazy enough to hire a number of student intern photographers in a number of cites/towns across the country? These students might each get one assignment per day or a few per week. This would be a part-time internship with no added living expenses required and maybe even no car needed. They would still get daily reviews and advice.
Benefits:
i) The newspaper would get its own stories/pictures from across the country. This wider range of potential stories might inspire its staff reporters to pursue stories that were formerly out of geographic reach. Maybe coordinate the students to work on weekly national projects.
ii) More students can be involved. It's more inclusive. Less reliance on wealthier students (or wealthier parents). Since it's a part-time internship, students could still pursue other part-time jobs or interests.
Disadvantages:
i) The student loses the value of being in the newsroom and working with the photo department.
ii) Newspaper doesn't get cheap labour to fill in for vacationing staff.
6) The requirement for a short video was cute but other than acting, what job requires you to test for the part? McDonalds doesn't ask for test burger flips. Makeup artists aren't asked for test eyeliner and lipstick. Do reporters have to submit test stories? Do editors have to edit some test articles?
I know that some newspapers are still betting on video. But when most staffers (photogs and reporters) don't/can't shoot video, then why the intern? First, video-enable all staffers, then you've got ground to stand on. Failing that, just make sure the intern owns an iPhone.
Newspaper internships haven't changed in many decades (except for the fact that most internships now pay). Yet the world and the economy have changed drastically. Newspaper internships are no longer the golden ticket in a chocolate bar.
But newspapers need to continue running internships – real internships and not just an excuse for cheap labour. I've spoken with students who had internships at the Toronto Star and/or The Canadian Press. They said it did them a world of good and they learned more in two months than they did in two years of school.
Newspapers need to sweeten the pot to attract interns, or at least they need to understand today's economy beyond their own stock price, because newspapers are no longer the only game in town. Newspapers ask for the moon in terms of qualifications and equipment but their pay is earthly bound, (Sorry, not as poetic as I would've liked but wait for it).
French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery was quoted as saying (roughly translated):
When you want to build a ship, don’t start by gathering wood, cutting boards and distributing the work, but awaken in men a desire for the vast and endless sea.
Perhaps when you need photo interns to apply for a job, don't start by giving out assignments and equipment requirements but awaken in them a desire to tell stories and be part of something larger than themselves. It doesn't have to be a job, it can be an adventure.
Topic: Two Summer Internships at the Toronto Star! (Read 11844 times)