Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
placeholder article
placeholder article

Leah Mark: MSNBC Intern

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Quinnipiac chapter.

What Major and Minor are you?

I am a broadcast journalism major, history minor

What internships have you had?

The summer after my freshmen year I interned at NBCUniversal Archives and that was amazing. The summer after my sophomore year I interned for the 4:00 MSNBC show, Martin Bashir, and that was unforgettable!

What is your favorite internship and why?

I couldn’t really pick one internship over the other because I loved both of them so much and loved everyone and everything I was able to do. However, in terms of getting more of an idea of what I want to do with my life, I would have to say that interning at Martin Bashir was my favorite. I loved working at NBCUniversal Archives because I was able to edit archival material and do other things but at Martin Bashir I was able to be in a newsroom and control room every single day. In addition, at Martin Bashir, I was able to shadow different producers on the show and get a feel for every single thing that goes into making a show successful. I loved my Martin Bashir internship because of all the people I was able to meet. Everyone from the line producer who guided me each and everyday and let me leave my mark on the show, to the graphics producer, senior producer, booking producer, executive producer, and of course Martin Bashir. I was able to learn so much about the industry from each one of them and it made me a better journalist and student.

What were some of your responsibilities as intern?

Some of my responsibilities included working with the show’s great booking producer to coordinate onset guests. The booking producer was amazing and gave me so much responsibility, which lead me to meet amazing political pundits who are some of the nicest people I have ever met. I loved talking to them about politics, travel, and sometimes fashion! Another one of my responsibilities was contributing to the daily editorial meetings, which was amazing because I was able to see how the producer’s come up with truly innovative graphics. Also, once or twice my graphic ideas made it on the show and that was fabulous!

How did you find your internships?

My first internship I found out through networking with different people I knew in the industry. My second internship I found out through reading the Quinnipiac School of Communications Newsletter while sitting out on the quad one lovely day in April.

Any activities that you are involved in that have aided in your internships?

Working at Q30 helped me in my internship because I was able to see what goes into a television program at school and this way I wasn’t thrown off when I stepped onto the Martin Bashir set for the first time!

Any advice for collegiates when it comes to looking for internships?

Always be on the lookout for internships! Follow internship companies on twitter who post all different types of internships. Get in contact with Joe Catrino; he can really help you find somewhere to go. Finally, network, network, and network. If you meet someone give him or her your resume and get their information, stay in contact with me them, do anything you can so that they will remember you for the future!

Callie Barkley is the Campus Correspondent and a contributing writer for Quinnipiac University. At Quinnipiac, which is located in Callie's home state of Connecticut, she studies Public Relations with a minor in Computer Information Systems and will be graduating in 2014. Callie's writing interests are related to healthy eating, working out, and surviving the intern/job world. When Callie is not focused on her work she loves to spend time with her friends and family, travel, and will take up any offer to have a little fun!