NewsBeat

2 NewsBeat December 2015 PA NY NewsBeat A NEWSLETTER FOR NEW YORK'S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS Published by the New York Press Association 621 Columbia Street Ext., Suite 100, Cohoes, NY 12047 518.464.6483 • 518.464.6489 fax • www.nynewspapers.com Executive Editor — Michelle K. Rea Layout & Design — Rich Hotaling C L I P & S A V E or several years now, my company, Eagle Newspapers, has had the good fortune to participate in the New York Press Association summer internship program. To suggest that the program has been successful would be understating its impact. Essentially, Eagle, and about 20 other companies from across the state, have benefited from the work of a fresh- faced, full-time employee, for 10 weeks during the summer. These students often keep in touch, and many have gone into careers in journalism, either here or in other companies. When you read the comments from the interns, you realize the value of the program, both to the students and to the papers. "This internship has been undoubtedly the most rewarding, inspiring, and enriching experience I've ever had," said Rochester Institute of Technology student Jenn Marsh, who interned at the Glens Falls Post Star. "I set out to have a career and now I've begun that career, thanks to NYPA and the Post Star." Her thoughts are echoed by all the interns. Most commented on how they were immediately thrown into the deep end and realized they could swim. The internships are funded by NYPA's charitable arm, the NYPA Foundation, whose mission it is to expand and strengthen journalism across the state. What began as a smaller program in 1996 has, through its own success, grown into a program that now funds approximately 20 interns each summer. The interns receive a $2,500 stipend for their work, and all the costs of their employment are borne on the Foundation — to include any payroll taxes and worker's compensation insurance. Over the past 19 years, 210 students have gotten their first real-world journalism experience through these internships. The benefits are plentiful, both to these young people who cut their teeth in newsrooms across the state, and the newspapers that are able to expand their coverage during the summer, or send a reporter on a well-deserved week of vacation knowing that the beat will be covered. The cost to the Foundation — over $600,000 over the life of the program — is well justified in the eyes of the NYPA board. Intern program needs support from association members F By DAVID TYLER — President, NYPA Board of Directors But the Foundation's coffers are not limitless. For a couple of years now, we have known that the Foundation has been systematically spending down its reserves, primarily on the internships. The program costs more than $60,000 per year, and without any real form of income, the Foundation continues to creep closer to the point when it will no longer be able to fund the program. So we've made a couple of modest attempts to extend the life of the intern program. In March, publishers from across the state brought local beer or wine or spirits from their corner of New York to be auctioned off at the Spring Convention. I overspent on a case of beer that Walter Sanchez of the Queens Ledger brought up from a brewery in Queens. It was worth every penny. In addition to being a lot of fun, the auction brought in a few thousand dollars for the internship program. And just a couple days ago, as of this writing, NYPA launched a Go Fund Me campaign. As publishers you can help, either by making a donation yourself or by sharing news of the campaign in your publications and on social media. If you haven't received notification of the campaign in your email, please visit https://www.gofundme.com/ NYPAFoundation. The other change the board has made is to ask publishers who take part in the program to have some skin in the game. This coming year, NYPA will send an invoice for $500 to each publisher who is granted a summer intern. This fee is less than 20 percent of the cost of the intern, and is a small price to pay for 10 weeks of service from a bright budding journalist. The Foundation board has determined that the intern program is valuable not only to member newspapers, but also to the mission of sustaining journalism across the state. I think New York's publishers would agree, and I hope you'll get behind our efforts to extend the life of this program for many years to come. Mark your calendar NYPA Better Newspaper Contest Deadline, Tuesday, January 12, 2016 Thursday, April 7, 2016 NYPA/NYPS Boards of Directors Meetings NYPA Foundation Board of Directors Meeting Gideon Putnam Hotel, Saratoga Springs, NY Friday & Saturday, April 8 & 9, 2016 NYPA Spring Convention and Tradeshow Gideon Putnam Hotel, Saratoga Springs, NY Thursday, September 15, 2016 NYPA/NYPS Boards of Directors Meetings NYPA Foundation Board of Directors Meeting Omni Parker House 60 School Street, Boston, MA Friday & Saturday, September 16 & 17, 2016 NYPA Fall Convention Omni Parker House 60 School Street, Boston, MA Friday, November 11, 2016 NYPA/NYPS Board of Directors Meetings NYPA Foundation Board of Directors Meeting Straus News, 333 Seventh Ave. (6th flr.), NYC

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