Today was the first official day of my internship with Masquerade Magazine. After one of my friends secured an internship there for summer of last year, I looked the company up, and liked what I saw. Then, last November, some of the team (including her) came to a media career day held at Lancaster University, where I learnt a little more about the ideas behind the publication, and how it all began. It seemed like the perfect place for me to cut my teeth, gaining some experience that would hopefully get me onto the bottom of the journalism ladder that I so desperately crave.
I contacted the deputy editor, and was told that the base for the Masquerade office was a mere 20 minute drive from my house- it seemed to only get better. After a meeting in mid-January, I was told to come in over the summer and I could help with various jobs. However, being back for four weeks now with a bit of spare time on my hands, I thought it would be a good idea to get in there early, and I was eager to get started.
So at 9am this morning I set off for the office, outfit planned and lunch packed. It has a great relaxed atmosphere, which is something I love as I am very organised and often a bit uptight, so it gives me chance to realise that I can still get things done without being so regimented. Everyone is very friendly, and within five minutes I was offered a drink and was flicking through some of the more 'alternative' publications- AnOther and Love magazines, for inspiration.
Throughout the course of the day I was set a couple of tasks to complete, and was never made to feel like an outsider (being asked to choose a music track to play whilst working was a personal highlight, much as it stumped me to think of what I fancied!). I was told to google my name to find out how much information I could root up about myself, to show the power of the Internet (and probably how dangerous it can be!) and then to plan a few different ideas for the theme of the next issue of the magazine.
Each issue has a theme, that influences all of the articles, photographs and images used, so it is an important starting point for the team. To think that I could have a potential say in such a massive decision is a brilliant feeling, so I spent a lot of time researching ideas, and following trails from one thing to the next in the hopes of stumbling across a diamond, even if it was semi-planned stumbling! Fingers crossed I'll come up with something decent, and if not, that's the point of gaining work experience- right?
No comments:
Post a Comment