The National Union of Journalists has produced some guidelines for those looking to do work experience. They warn of exploitation.
It’s no exaggeration that certain national newspapers would collapse without unpaid work. As hundreds of journalists are made redundant each year, their positions are being filled by rolling unpaid work experience placements. The Independent is the one we always hear about. Two weeks work experience on the news desk seems ubiquitous on any graduates CV.
The NUJ’s own survey into those who had become a journalist in the last five years is damning:
- More than 50 per cent completed work experience placements after achieving their qualification, with the majority receiving little if any payment
- One-in-five who did post-qualification work experience undertook a placement for three months or more, with some working for more than six months unpaid
- Of those people who had material published or broadcast, 78 per cent received no payment for their work
- One-in-four claimed to have completed a placement at an organisation that wouldn’t be able to function normally without people on work experience
- More than half felt that they didn’t get enough support or guidance during their placements
The union believes that the internship culture has huge implications for diversity in the media, barring the profession to those who can’t afford to work for free.
NUJ General Secretary, Jeremy Dear, said: “This isn’t work experience, it’s exploitation. We’re all in favour of students getting a feel for life in a newsroom, but in many cases companies are just looking for free labour.
The guidelines are found at the below link.
NUJ+Work+Experience+Guidelines
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