The internship, which is coordinated by Patricia Foote, assistant managing editor for hiring and staff development at The Seattle Times, is open to recent minority graduates. An apartment is provided rent-free in each community. Electricity and basic phone services are included. The salary increases as the journalist moves to each new location. The individual earns five days of vacation after six months and is paid another five days of vacation at the end of the program.
Medical coverage is provided.
The intern must provide his or her own car. Our industry has a tendency to study diversity to death and then to avoid actions that are expensive and where success can t be measured by traditional bottom-line financial measurements. We also have a tendency to look at all the reasons something won t work, rather than how to make it work. That s where the idea of an apartment, a decent wage, some benefits, an established timeframe and lots of experience to put on the resume came in. We removed the obstacles and created incentives.