There are many words to describe the media industry: stable is not one of them. For many students, precarity is what comes to mind. Precarity of jobs, precarity of journalists, precarity of print media. With more and more job cuts and decreasing funding, especially in Australia, media practitioners need to fight harder and harder for their first jobs. At the University of Sydney, students have a leg-up: the internship program.

The internship may not be the first thing that students picture when envisaging their degree. To the prospective student’s eye, coursework is likely seen as the hallmark of a media degree, and to an extent, this is true. The rigour and depth of learning in the coursework program provides graduates with the tools to succeed in the workforce. Only in a media degree will units that explore critical theories of race and gender be interspersed with units that make you go to court and file a report by the end of the day. The internship program, however, is another shining light in the MECO armoury. It provides students with the opportunity to intern at a firm of their choosing in the form of media they are looking to gain experience in, and to obtain credit for it.

The Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Media and Communications) degree at the University of Sydney is structured to build up to the internship in the final year of study. MECO1001: Introduction to Media Studies and MECO1002: Digital Media and Communications Landscapes lay the groundwork for understanding basic media theory. MECO1003 provides an introduction to the principles of media writing and MECO1004 provides an introduction to media production. From there, students are encouraged to find their niche through the exploration of a wide range of mediums with leading professionals as lecturers and tutors. These subjects include MECO2601: Audio Production, MECO2602: Video Production, MECO2604: Telling Stories with Data and MECO3606: Advanced Media Writing. After a final unit that explores the legal and ethical requirements of being in the media industry, students undertake a compulsory fourth year, where they will either pursue honours or a major media project in a discipline of their choosing. Both options include the semester-long internship.

The internship has been a formative part of the undergraduate degree since its inception in 2000. Catharine Lumby, the founder of the MECO degree and the chair of the department from 2021 to 2022, told me about the importance of having a tailor-made internship program.

“In 1999, I was hired by Sydney University to set up the entire media and communications degree,” she said, “and I valued equally theoretical knowledge and professional experience. Because we wanted to be producing people who feel equipped to go into the increasingly volatile media industry.”

The internships reflected the variety of fields explored in the degree, spanning journalism, PR, marketing and much more, allowing students to try their hand at a wide range of media careers.

“Even in the 2000s, people went through revolving doors,” said Lumby, “so in the degree I set up, all students had to do basic writing, researching, interviewing and they had to do that in print, TV, radio and online. This gave students a portfolio of skills which were flexible and transferable.”

Lumby also stressed that a strength of the internship program was its intimacy: “When we started in 2000, I insisted that the course was capped at 100 students a year, so we could teach professional practice in a really intensive, high-end way.”

From the outset, MECO has employed a full-time undergraduate internship coordinator. Fiona Martin described how, for the first decade, Indigo Blue and Robin Moffat deftly and empathically handled student and industry inquiries. They also ably assisted Richard Broinowski, who set up the overseas journalism fellowship program (see Chapter 15), which saw students compete for internships at major overseas media companies.

The postgraduate internship program is also a vital part of the department. Introduced from 2004, the internship is a recommended capstone unit in all five postgraduate degrees.

It is clear when speaking to members of the department how significant the internship program is. Alana Mann is particularly effusive.

“The internship is considered to be a very important element of the MECO program because it gives students that professional experience of working in the media. Media organisations can be extremely stressful and very demanding. The internship program makes sure that students are prepared and ready to hit the ground running once they enter the workforce.”

Mann also noted that the structure of the program ensures students are looked after.

“Having an internship embedded in the program and one that is for credit underlines the fact that we recognise this program and the fact that you can learn a great deal. It also acknowledges the presence of a university–host relationship that provides a supportive environment and pastoral care, whereas if you went straight into the workplace, you’re working with really busy people.”

She said that she has seen the benefits of the internship for MECO students.

“One of the biggest assets of the program is the relationships that you develop. It’s a small industry and Australia is a relatively small job market so if you look after [your relationships] and cultivate them, they’ll be really valuable in the future,” she said. “We’ve got students who are doing incredible, incredible things … the internship gives them the confidence and the courage to chase some of those opportunities.”

Examples of successful graduates of the MECO internship program can be seen all over Sydney, including through the ranks of The Sydney Morning Herald journalists: reporters Pallavi Singhal, Natassia Chrysanthos and Michael Koziol all benefitted from internships through the University.

Bunty Avieson and Adriana Hernandez currently coordinate the undergraduate internship program. It is a large program, with about 100 students undertaking internships each year, so Avieson handles the academic side and Hernandez handles the administrative side. Avieson has been in her role since 2016 and Hernandez since 2014, succeeding Moffat. One recent afternoon, the three of us met in Avieson’s office. Every few minutes, the conversation segued into an anecdote about a past or current student.

“One student wanted to do an internship at the Human Rights Commission,” Avieson said, “so Adriana contacted them and made it possible for them to intern there. They needed to design a program for us because they didn’t have any media program, but we made it work.”

Avieson then asked Hernandez whether the student continued to work with the Human Rights Commission.

“She stayed there part-time,” Hernandez said. “That’s the best marketing I have, a student staying at the place of the internship for their job.”

Avieson said the University’s broad coursework program makes the internship even more worthwhile.

“Every step of the way, students are encouraged to critically reflect, not just learning how to produce media content but to think about it, to consider it and to look at society and think bigger. The internship program helps students apply a critical lens to the workplace. So that it’s not just work experience. It’s about identifying the work culture and critically reflecting on that.”

While the internship is a formative step towards employment and seen as an integral part of the MECO program, it is also seen as a place where mistakes can be made.

“They [the employers] expect a lot from students in the internship,” said Hernandez, “but because it’s an internship and it’s supposed to be a mentoring program, you can make mistakes. You definitely can. And you’re not going to get sacked, but you still learn.”

Students also see the very real impact of their work, as it is often published by the organisation they are working for.

“Students consistently tell us that they don’t realise how much real work they are doing; for example, running the social media accounts. And their work is published. It is published in The Sydney Morning Herald again and again. They are shocked that they are seen as credible, but they are given responsibility so they develop confidence,” Avieson said.

While students intern at a variety of places, including The Sydney Morning Herald, SBS, CNN and The New York Times, Avieson and Hernandez are quick to note it is not just journalism firms that offer an internship program.

“We work with so many different agencies because our degree is so broad,” Hernandez said. “Now, it’s more PR agencies and the media keeps changing and changing and we change with it. Many companies now work with influencers. I would have never thought that. So now our students are working with influencers in marketing agencies.”

Avieson added, “We actually have students working with Taronga Zoo. They have an amazing media department and a lot of stuff happening, so it’s not even just media organisations.”

Anna Jenica Bacud is one Master of Media Practice student who has enjoyed working at a non-media organisation. Hailing from the Philippines and arriving with a diverse range of media experience from journalism to content production in her home country, Bacud wanted to do something different to further diversify her experience.

“I wanted to get out into the workforce and experience the Australian work culture for myself,” she said.

She managed to secure an internship as a student media producer with the Business Co-Design team at the University of Sydney Business School. Bacud lauded the program for allowing her to develop a broad range of skills, while focusing on her primary strength: podcasting.

“They really allowed me to do what I was interested in,” she said. “This started with doing little video editing projects for their social media and expanded into other short projects such as animations and blog posts. But they also encouraged me to do a long-term project, which helped me develop my skills in podcasting outside the classroom. It was invaluable and nice to do something different every day, learning from wonderfully passionate and talented people.”

While the COVID-19 pandemic interfered with the internships, it also created a silver lining for Hernandez.

“All internships last year were 100 percent online. It was unique and students had to adapt to those changes.”

“Some of the students were actually face to face when the internship program started, then had to go online and then came back. That’s three different cultures in a single internship. That’s amazing. And that makes a great journalist.”

Tim Piccione was one Master of Media Practice student who managed to find a silver lining in the disruption the COVID-19 pandemic caused to the internship program.

“My internship with SBS Insight was postponed once and then eventually cancelled the day before I was supposed to start it due to ongoing COVID setbacks,” Piccione mused. “I had the outfit laid out on the Sunday and then it was cancelled via email. It was a huge punch in the gut.”

To make matters worse, after managing to get an internship with Leigh Sales’s 7:30 Report on the ABC, Piccione was again left in the lurch due to COVID-19.

“It was pushed back again and then cancelled,” he said. “I was really devastated. I really let it get to me.”

However, just as it seemed as if an internship was beyond the realms of possibility, Piccione found an internship with entertainment and culture digital publication Urban List Sydney.

“It was both a moment of thinking I should just take what I can get and accepting that although it was not what I had envisaged, there was something exciting about it,” Piccione said. “It was a ‘Plan C’ I suppose, but it’s actually turned out to be quite a good thing.”

For Piccione, this ended up being an eye-opening experience, completely changing his journalism career path, which was initially focused on “hard journalism”.

“At uni, you’re doing a lot of theoretical writing. But getting to do the internship is what helped me learn in a practical setting. I was immediately contributing to the publication and understanding what deadlines you have to make,” Piccione said. “It was definitely a wake-up call for me.”

Piccione gained professional experience from his internship, and he is still writing for the publication.

“I started writing an article here and there from day one,” he said. “Now I’m regularly freelancing for them. I’m now starting an online publication with a friend of mine as well. It’s a bit of everything at the moment.”

Even in a challenging year, Piccione was able to find an internship relevant to him.

The department is proud of the individual connection and the personal touch with their internship program. Moffat, who worked as the internship coordinator from May 2006 to May 2014, recalls it was this way from the start. She remembers interviewing students to ascertain their interest areas before finding them relevant internships. She contacted companies to see if they would be willing to host students and sometimes accompanied MECO academics to meet new clients and discuss the program. As the years passed, clients began contacting MECO asking for interns. “The program had a very good reputation in the industry,” Moffat said.

Today, Hernandez continues working with each student to ensure they find a suitable placement.

This sometimes includes rural placements.

“[Students] might want to spend January, February with their family in the country. And if we can find something, we are more than happy to accommodate that. One person, they’re going to ABC Ulladulla. I’m super happy for them to do that. The experience is so amazing because it is a small unit, and they know and can write about the community. And those students will actually love to give something back to their community,” Avieson said.

For Lauren Castino, who has been the postgraduate internship coordinator for nearly four years, the internship has incredible value. “The feedback from students who have found an employment path through doing the internship, I think that’s the proof in the pudding.”

The message from students is clear. The internship changes lives. It sets up careers and sparks imaginations. And that is what a tertiary education is all about.

Bacud sums it up best: “Without the internship, I don’t know where I would be.”