Link to our campaign in Indiegogo here.
Why give to this cause
We’re raising money for two paid internship positions with ethnic media outlets in Los Angeles. Many CSUN Latino Journalists members are first-generation college students. The majority of our students work to pay for tuition and simply cannot quit their paying jobs to work for free. With that in mind, many media companies expect interns to do the work without the pay. We’re raising money for two paid part-time internships for students to get experience working at ethnic media outlets covering underrepresented communities in Los Angeles. We see this as a win-win for the community and for our students.
Dayanis López Reyes, El Nuevo Sol Spanish-language editor.
Why paid internships matter
Internship experience has become a deciding factor in whether or not students get hired for full time jobs.
But paid internships are increasingly difficult to find and have become more competitive. Students that can afford to take unpaid internships are at an advantage because they can rack up experience.
Many of our students work to survive. The majority of our students work to pay for tuition and simply cannot quit their paying jobs to work for free. Some are even contributing members of their households, which makes an unpaid internship much more difficult.
This internship will give two of our students a stepping stone to bigger opportunities next summer and allow them to focus on the work and produce good content.
By investing in this program, you’re planting the seeds for young reporters that will cover diverse communities more accurately in the future.
Rubí Martínez, CSUN journalism graduate and former president of CSUN Latino Journalists.
What We Need
We’re asking you to donate anything you can. We are asking for $3,000 dollars but we hope to raise more so that this program can be renewed for future summers. Indiegogo allows us to keep anything we raise over our goal of $3000, so please continue to donate even if we have reached out goal.
Our club is part of CCNMA: Latino Journalists of California, a registered 501c(3) nonprofit. The money will be sent to CCNMA and then dispersed to our students before the internship begins.
Victoria López de Dios, CSUN graduate and former photo editor of El Nuevo Sol.
The Impact
In the past, our club has tried to send students to conferences in hopes of landing internships and jobs, but it’s difficult because of airfare and hotel costs. Instead, we’ve decided to develop our talent here in Los Angeles and get them ready for opportunities elsewhere. The lack of diversity in the media continues to be a point of frustration for many of our students and we want to do what we can to change it.
Summer interns at Impulso and Asia Journal will be paid $15 an hour for 20 hours a week, plus their transportation to news events will be paid.
Other Ways You Can Help/Donate
If you would rather donate directly to CCNMA, you can send a check to the following address:
CCNMA, ASU Cronkite School of Journalism
725 Arizona Ave., Ste. 404
Santa Monica, CA 90401-1723.
Please write CSUN Latino Journalists in the memo line.
If you cannot donate, you can still help by sharing our campaign via social media and by following us on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram for updates!
Tags: Alex Corey Asian Journal CCNMA CSUN Latino Journalists Dayanis fundraiser Impulso internships José Sáenz LABeez NAHJ Rubí Martínez Victoria López de Dios
