For journalism student (and now graduate) Joël Pütz (M.A. Convergent Journalism, now: Digital Journalism), everything has worked: After his internship abroad at the online magazine Parlons Basket in Lyon, he was taken on there and can now look forward to a permanent position as an editor. We asked him, among other things, what he found particularly inspiring about his internship and what tips he would give to other students for their own stay abroad.
Which company and which department did you do your internship at?
I worked in Lyon (France) at the online newspaper Parlons Basket. As the name suggests, it is primarily a basketball medium, with a focus on US American news. It also publishes articles on boxing and mixed martial arts. I worked there as an editor, together with two other editors and an editor-in-chief.
How did you like it? Would you recommend it to other Media University students?
I liked it a lot because it allowed me to do what was practically my dream job. I would definitely recommend it to other students, but with a few conditions: excellent language skills in French and English are required.
Then there’s the cultural aspect – but I’ll come to that later.
What was the biggest challenge during your internship abroad?
I really had to get used to speaking a language other than German every day. Incidentally, that also applied to writing!
Please tell us more about your areas of work: What were your main tasks during your internship? Which subjects from your studies were reflected in your work or particularly helped you?
As already mentioned, I worked as an editor. This includes not only writing articles, but also searching for topics that might interest the online newspaper’s audience. This is one of the great challenges of online journalism: combining relevance to the audience (what interests the readers?) and relevance to the publication (which stories are worth writing, which are important?). Since the USA is in a different time zone, we have to work early, day and late shifts.
Since I studied journalism at the Media University, I used my knowledge to optimize my work.
Did the internship help you with your career aspirations and future plans?
Absolutely. In fact, after the first internship, I did a second one for four more months. And that paid off, because it meant I spent a total of nine months at Parlons Basket, which led to me receiving a long-term contract at the end of December. Now I’m officially employed as an editor.
What would you recommend to other Media University students for their internship/time abroad?
Knowing the language of the country is extremely important. But knowing the culture of the country and understanding it to some extent is even more important.
This applies especially to those who suffer from homesickness. For this reason, you should find out as much as you can about life abroad before the internship. If you don’t know anyone locally, it’s easier if you at least understand the people.
Thank you for sharing your experiences of your internship abroad with us, and congratulations again on your successful start to your career. We wish you all the best!
