"Here’s What You’re Getting, National Geographic"
On Wednesday night I got a rude email from a student in California who wanted to come intern with us over the summer. She called GoNOMAD’s internship program “lame,” and then said she had gotten another internship at National Geographic. Then she told me to ‘shove it up my ass.” Incensed, I shared this brat’s email with Jim Romenesko, who publishes a wonderful column on the media. I was flooded with replies from fellow editors, including David Crook, the editor of the Sunday Wall Street Journal, who said “Well, that’s a new low. It’s legend, of course, how well National Geographic pays and treats its writers and photographers. I guess Miss Stanley, having gotten a taste of the good life, just wasn’t up for working among the rest of us. Lucky you, I’d say.” Another editor wrote critical of the idea of unpaid interns, and I defended the practice, asserting my belief that learning web design and getting college credits are a fair exchange for part time free labor. I enjoy having a dialogue with fellow editors.
Oh, and yes, we are still looking for more good interns without attitudes.
June 27, 2005 @ 6:24 pm
It saddens me that someone who was an intern at National Geographic acted in such a way. However, your assertion that NG treats its writers and photographers to a posh lifestyle is misguided. I have met many of them, and they live a very modest, though comfortable lifestyle. Remember, NG is still a non-profit organization. You’re more likely to find writers and photographers with higher compensation at TIME or The NY Times.I interned with National Geographic for four months and all interns I knew there were kind, considerate, modest about their accomplishments, and hard working. I hope a rogue intern – who probably got in through networking, rather than through their qualifications – doesn’t ruin your view of what I consider to be one of the best-run organizations I’ve worked with.