Indiana college students are working at newspapers across the state as part of the Eugene S. Pulliam Internship Program.
This is the 18th year for the program which matches 10 student applicants with HSPA member publications for 10-week, paid internships.
“The Pulliam internships is the seminal program of the HSPA Foundation and one that illustrates the young journalistic talent constantly joining newspapers on a yearly basis,” said Steve Key, executive director and general counsel of the Hoosier State Press Association.
“I enjoy meeting the students when they come into the program and then seeing their bylines in Indiana newspapers when they start their professional careers.”
Indiana University junior Dylan Wallace is working at The Times of Northwest Indiana. “So far my internship has done more for me than I could have imagined,” Wallace said.
Wallace covered sports at the Indiana Daily Student at IU. He said his internship has broadened his skill set. He has covered a court session, a crime scene and learned how to better compile data
“It has made me much more experienced and confident in my ability as a journalist. I’m about halfway done and am too excited about what the second half will present,” Wallace said.
Erica Irish will be a sophomore at Franklin College in the fall where she majors in journalism and public relations with minors in Spanish and political science. She’ll serve as opinion editor next semester at The Franklin. Through the Pulliam program, Irish is working at the Indianapolis Business Journal.
Each student has a mentor at their respective publications. Irish’s is IBJ Managing Editor Lesley Weidenbener, “The first day I was there she made sure the reporters were including me and we all went out to lunch,” Irish said.
In addition to the mentors, Tom French, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and IU professor of practice, is serving as a coach for this year’s students
Irish said she wanted the challenge of working at IBJ where she could sharpen her skills in data-based journalism.
“I’ve learned that there are a lot of hidden stories in the city,” Irish said. “It blows my mind on how much there is to learn … that’s really rewarding,” Irish said.
The 2018 Pulliam interns are: Emily Cox, Ball State University, Reporter-Times (Martinsville); Abrahm Hurt, Franklin College, The Paper of Montgomery County; Erica Irish, Franklin College, Indianapolis Business Journal; Emily Ketterer, Franklin College, Daily Journal (Franklin); Abby Land, University of Indianapolis, The Republic (Columbus); Maureen Langley, Ball State University, Herald-Times (Bloomington); Alaina Stellwagen, DePauw University, News Sun (Kendalllville); Megan Thorne, University of Southern Indiana, Sullivan Daily Times; Dylan Wallace, Indiana University, The Times of Northwest Indiana; Mary Freda, Ball State University, Star Press (Muncie).
