Desiree Holz (’23) is a Journalism major who spent the summer interning with The Ithaca Voice. Over the course of her internship, Desiree gained more than 10 bylines covering the labor shortage, new city planning developments, and other stories affecting the Ithaca area.

“My time at the Ithaca Voice allowed me to blossom as a young journalist and come into my own… I met many local public figures and was able to build relationships that I can see lasting for future endeavors I make in journalism.”

Desiree met with local public figures like Mayor Myrick and Anna Kelles, as well as Cornell professors and leaders from various Ithaca organizations. She honed her journalistic skills, learning how to manage multiple stories at one time, becoming more comfortable with fast turnaround, and, most importantly, how to collaborate with other journalists on stories.

James Baratta (’22) is a Journalism major and Sociology minor who interned at FAIR. Over the course of his internship, James made several noteworthy accomplishments.

James assisted in efforts to engage younger audiences with the media watch group and conducted a SWOT analysis, examining the strengths and weaknesses of the outlet, which he presented during a strategy meeting.

“After presenting the SWOT, we concluded that there are specific areas for improvement that FAIR staffers can target in the future—some of these include strategic use of social media (e.g. Instagram), maintaining SEO, rekindling relationships with editors at corporate media outlets and collaborating with adjacent organizations to compensate for people-power.”

James also published two articles on FAIR’s website, writing on the billionaire space race and the New York Times’ failure to cover the Chevron-funded persecution of Steven Donziger.

James noticed significant growth as a journalist during his internship. “My experience at this particular independent media outlet enlightened me, and I will carry the fruits of my time with FAIR throughout my journey operating outside corporate influence.”

Alexander Hartzog (’21), a Journalism major with minors in Linguistics and Education Studies, interned at System Change Not Climate Change. He gained experience in chasing leads, doing independent research, and conducting interviews. He also interviewed activists and people from NGOs like Greenpeace and Protecting Our Waters.

Alex’s prime accomplishment during his internship was publishing a 3-part piece for the outlet focusing on issues of plastic pollution. Alex will be presenting a webinar on the series on September 26^th.

“This is my first ever webinar and it represents almost 4 months of research. I hope everyone likes it.”

Mikayla Rovenolt (’22) is a Journalism major and History minor who interned at The Ithaca Voice. Interested in environmental and cultural topics, they wrote nearly a dozen stories for TIV, ranging from Ithaca’s Green New Deal program and the invasive lanternfly to the return of the Dewitt Park farmer’s market after its closure due to COVID-19.

Mikayla’s confidence increased dramatically over the course of their internship: “I was incredibly nervous to work in a newsroom/office with other reporters because, to be honest, I had very little confidence in my abilities as a journalist… I think this opportunity is reflective of my growth as a writer and reporter.”

At the end of their internship, Mikayla was given the opportunity to work as a freelancer for The Ithaca Voice. “This newsroom experience was vital to my individual and professional growth… I gained great friends and colleagues in the process.”

Jay Bradley (’22) is a Journalism major who interned with Institute for Public Accuracy. During his internship, Jay’s responsibilities included researching contacts, copy-editing, performing transcription, and publishing press releases. Jay said that his attention to detail, research skills, and issue awareness were all heightened during his time with IPA.

Although his internship was mostly remote, Jay did manage to spend some time in Washington D.C. at the IPA office. “While in D.C. I got to have great talks with Sam [Husseini]. He told me more about what he had been working on and showed me around the city.”

Halima Osman (‘24), a Writing for Film, TV, and Emerging Media major, was an intern at The Laura Flanders Show. During her time at TLF, she learned the intricacies of running a talk show: “I have gotten to see the ins and outs of the roles people take on. Especially with such a small crew, there is a lot of communication needed to make things run smoothly.”

Halima’s primary responsibility was garnering engagement with the show through social media outreach, posting about the show on various social media platforms and communicating with other content creators.

“Though I mostly spent my time with the heads of the Social Media Outreach department, I also was given the opportunity to learn about other roles in the workspace. I even got to run the Monday and Friday check ins by myself.”

Overall, Halima says she is proud of what she learned and accomplished during her time at The Laura Flanders show.

Christian Maitre (’22) is a Journalism major who interned with Status Coup. He was given the opportunity to perform a multitude of tasks, ranging from managing the outlet’s Twitter account to writing, producing, and editing his own media commentary videos.

He wrote a variety of articles during his internship, contributing often to Status Coup’s Substack. Christian covered topics such as the eviction moratorium, the privatized billionaire space race, and corruption within Philadelphia’s local government.

Assisting with other stories, Christian also interviewed several local activists and politicians. He put out commentary videos on Russiagate and the Pegasus surveillance software, managing the development and production of both from start to finish.

Michael Memis (’22), a Sports Media major with a minor in Web Programming, interned with WRFI News. Michael both performed newscasts and wrote stories for the outlet on topics such as Seneca Lake shipwreck searches, tourism in Tompkins County, the Hangar Theatre’s return to live performances, and many other stories mainly pertaining to the Ithaca area.

Over the course of his internship, Michael felt that he greatly improved on his writing and interviewing skills: “I have learned new ways to present news and strategies for telling a story. I feel like I am becoming a better journalist and have a greater sense of what is important to the community… Though I still prefer sports, I can see working in the news department of a radio station as a career.”