KATU Internship Program

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General Information
KATU Television offers a year-round college internship program for students who have identified their career goals in communications.

The aim of the KATU internship program is to expose students to the daily demands and challenges of a commercial broadcasting operation and to provide as much "hands on" opportunity as possible, appropriate to individual interests, training and talents.

The duration of the individual internship is synchronized with the academic term of the student's institution (typically 12-16 weeks). While the Human Resources Coordinator oversees the program, each intern is interviewed and accepted by a specific department or program unit. Departments accepting interns include:

News (General News, Sports & Weather)
AM Northwest
Web site

Effective January 1, 2002, student interns will not receive compensation but still must receive academic credit through the institution in which they are enrolled. KATU Television, the intern, and the sponsoring institution recognize mutual obligations and regard the intern experience as an important capstone to a college education. Nevertheless, resourcefulness of the student is required, since the primary responsibility of all KATU personnel is the operation of the station.

Qualifications
Applications for internships are accepted from students of junior or senior standing (or second year students at community colleges and trade schools). Students must be currently enrolled at a college or university and preference is given to students at universities or colleges in Oregon and Washington or from Oregon and Southwest Washington residents attending institutions out of state.

Students should evaluate their qualifications in relation to their areas of interest. Students who wish to work in news, for example, should be able to demonstrate journalistic talents and experience. In almost all circumstances, basic knowledge of equipment and strong writing and computer skills are considered essential.

Application Procedure
In order to be considered a candidate for the program, KATU must have received:

Completed application form (at back of information packet) Resume & cover letter One letter of recommendation (preferably from college supervisor or teacher) Proof of junior or senior status. DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS Winter Term December 1 Spring Term March 1 Summer Term May 1 Fall Term August 1

Qualified students will be contacted for an interview. Prior to becoming an active intern, a successful candidate will be required to submit to a drug screening. Applicants who refuse to sign a consent form or undergo the drug screening will be denied the internship, since drug screening is an integral part of the company's procedures used to determine suitability for employment and to attempt to provide a drug-free work place.

INFORMATION & APPLICATIONS CAN BE OBTAINED FROM:

KATU 2 Television Human Resources Department
2153 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97232
(503) 231-4222

Goals of KATU 2 Television Internships
1. To expose students to an operational broadcast environment, with its deadlines, challenges and pressures.
2. To help students understand and experience the hiring process in broadcasting.
3. To allow students to meet and get to know professionals in the communications industry who might serve as mentors and guides for the student's career.
4. To provide students hands-on experience with state-of-the-art equipment in a broadcast setting.
5. To allow students to observe the decision-making processes involved in programming and/or news gathering.
6. To allow students to share in the workload and, when possible, to gain practical experience in the day-to-day operations of a television station.
7. To provide students with an overview of the broadcasting industry from the inside of a TV station.
8. To help students complete the internship for school credit in a satisfactory manner and add the experience to a resume.

Non-paid, academic credit & training goals & standards cont.
1. The training is similar to training that would be given in a vocational school
2. The training is for the individuals benefit
3. The individual does not do tasks done by regular employees (although the individual may be allowed to try his/her hand at a task, so long as done under close supervision)
4. The employer derives no immediate advantage from the individual's activities and occasionally its operations are actually impeded
5. The individual is not necessarily entitled to a job at the end of the internship/training
6. The employer and individual understand in advance that the individual is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship/training.

*In general, the following departments offer internship opportunities:

AM Northwest Internship
AM/Northwest is a live, locally produced television entertainment and talk show program that airs Monday - Friday in the 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. time period. AM/Northwest is also the only morning live hour-long talk show in Portland, Oregon/Vancouver, Washington market.

Qualifications: Demonstrated ability to create and develop ideas, use imagination, research thoroughly and communicate well with others. Prior broadcasting experience is helpful, as is writing ability. Should be interested in putting together (producing) show and segment ideas and cannot be afraid of paperwork.

Responsibilities: Daily bookings, paperwork, studio assistance, remotes, field production, and writing.

News Internship
The news internship is designed to give college students access to all aspects of the newsroom. Specifically, the internship attempts to achieve three goals: (1) provide students with sufficient experiences so they can make informed career choices, (2) allow students to focus on those jobs in the newsroom which meet their career goals and (3) leave the internship with a video tape of their work for prospective employers. Internships available in the newsroom include general news, sports, and weather.

Qualifications: Strong communication, organizational and writing skills. Must have the ability to work well with others, as well as being self motivated and versatile.

Responsibilities: Students do not perform on-air work. Depending on skill level, many cover news events and write scripts for anchors and reporter. In addition, they are often called upon to undertake research for the assignment editor, reporters and producers. Those interested in reporting are encouraged to write, voice and edit stories for their video tape.

katu.com Web Internship
Learn more about the technology of web publishing with the katu.com web internship. Web intern will be trained to write and publish news and feature stories on katu.com, learn web layout and graphics, load video onto our site, and develop new ideas for content on katu.com. Windows and Word experience required. Familiarity with the internet is helpful, but web publishing experience is not required and training will be provided.

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