RSJ grads say unique internships helped their careers

While many Ryerson School of Journalism students look for internship opportunities not far from Ryerson University’s campus, other grads are happy they took the chance to get out of the area. 

For some RSJ grads, going west kicked off their career straight out of school.

Jasmine Bala, an RSJ class of 2019 grad, did an internship for course credit at Global BC from March to April 2019. 

Bala said she knew going into the RSJ that she wanted to work in television, and that desire did not change throughout her time in the program. 

“I’ve always wanted to live and work in B.C., and I knew my internship would give me a chance to explore that option a little bit more,” said Bala. “So, I did some research in my fourth year and decided Global BC was where I wanted to be.” 

She said interning at Global BC was a great experience. She was able to see all sides of TV news production. There were times when she was on the assignment desk, online team, radio, and out in the field with reporters and shooters. 

Global BC is a multimedia newsroom. Bala was able to see how stories were put together during the day and how they were transformed for other platforms. 

Her favourite part of the internship was shadowing the reporters and watching how they put their stories together throughout the day. She was able to give suggestions on scripting, and she learned what the day-to-day grind is like. 

Bala learned how to think on her feet. Several times, she was out with videographers, and they would throw her into doing interviews. 

She applied to several Global News jobs. Her connections at Global BC led to her landing a job as a video journalist at Global Lethbridge. 

“Without that internship, I don’t know if I’d have gotten a job on air right out of school,” she said. 

Nicole Di Donato, an RSJ class of 2019 grad, did an internship for course credit at CTV News Saskatoon from March to April 2019.

Di Donato said she did an internship in Saskatoon because from day one of j-school, she was told by professors if she wanted to be on camera, she would have to be prepared to go to a smaller city. 

“I always had that in the back of my mind, so when it came time to apply for internships, I started looking into which places offered opportunities to actually report and work on video stories,” said Di Donato. “CTV News Saskatoon is one station I kept hearing great things about from faculty at Ryerson and from former grads, so I started looking into it and also did some research on the city and discovered that it was a great fit.” 

She said she had a positive experience at CTV News Saskatoon because although she was an intern, she was treated like a reporter on staff. She pitched stories every morning, went out shooting with camera operators, and filed stories for the web and TV daily. 

By her third or fourth day, she had put together a report all on her own. She kept filing a couple reports per week after that. 

The connections she built at CTV News Saskatoon and the range of stories she covered helped her land her first job in the industry after graduating. She was offered a video journalist job at a CTV News station in Ontario. 

She worked for a few months at this station and gained more experience. Now she is back reporting at CTV News Saskatoon, where she can learn and do more. 

Di Donato said journalism students should consider doing out-of-Toronto internships because if they want to work in the industry, they have to be able to step outside of their comfort zone and challenge themselves.  

“It can be scary and it can be hard to be far away from friends and family,” she said. “But, at the end of the day, doing a more unconventional internship could help you discover even more about yourself than if you stay where you’re comfortable.”  

Maggie Macintosh, an RSJ class of 2019 grad, did an internship with a small honorarium at the Winnipeg Free Press from December 2017 to January 2018. 

“Moving to Winnipeg was the best decision that I’ve ever made,” said Macintosh. “Frankly, to get in as a new journalist, there are a lot more opportunities outside Toronto.” 

Macintosh took this internship because she felt it would be a great opportunity to leave her comfort zone. She wanted to gain experience in a newsroom that was not large, crowded, and filled with famous national reporters. 

The Winnipeg Free Press allowed her to work on stories a newbie reporter would be unable to in Toronto. She said working for a midsize city newsroom allowed her to get her hands dirty right away. 

Her first day involved her going to a rally (external link)  against a bus fare hike at Winnipeg City Hall when it was -50 Celsius with the wind chill. 

Macintosh learned how to pitch and where to look to find stories. She realized how important it was to look at her story in the newspaper the next day to see what changes were made, because it showed her where she could improve. 

This internship led to Macintosh doing another one with the Winnipeg Free Press in summer 2018. She was hired as a general assignment reporter in July 2019. She ended up being promoted to education reporter six months later. 

Macintosh was able to pay for her internship through grants and scholarships. She admits it is expensive to do an internship outside of Toronto, but it is worth it. 

“By leaving Toronto, I think I am a better journalist,” she said.