Two Indiana University School of Journalism students will spend part of their summer in Vienna, Austria, interning with the International Press Institute, a global network of journalists, editors and media executives dedicated to furthering press freedom around the world. The internships are arranged through the school’s Center for International Media Law and Policy Studies.
Junior Grayson Harbour and freshman Alison Graham will produce stories for the IPI website, research topics for the IPI director’s op-ed pieces, write press releases based on stories from IPI reporters in the field, and help maintain IPI’s social media presence on Twitter and Facebook.
Both students said they are looking forward to the internship.
“I find newspapers and the inner-workings of the press fascinating,” Harbour said. “You learn a lot about other countries and their governments through their attitudes toward media.”
Graham, who has never been abroad, will have a chance to use her German language skills and learn about IPI’s work.
“I’m excited about what IPI is doing with press freedom,” Graham said. “I’d love to do some international reporting in my career, and this will be good experience.”
Associate professor and center director Anthony Fargo said the internship is a unique opportunity for the students.
“The students will get a chance to use journalism skills in an international setting while learning what organizations like IPI do to improve conditions for press freedom around the world,” Fargo said.
This is the second time the center has collaborated with IPI. Doctoral student A.Jay Wagner interned with IPI last summer, and the experience was so positive that both IPI and CIMLAPS wanted to continue the relationship, Fargo said. Students were invited to apply for the internships earlier this year.
“This has helped us develop a close relationship with IPI, and we hope these internships will become an annual thing,” Fargo said. “We hope to use this program as a model to develop relationships with other press freedom organizations.”
Whether the internships continue will depend on funding. Fargo said organizations like IPI usually can’t fund interns because they rely on private gifts and foundation grants themselves. Both Harbour and Graham received $2,500 from an anonymous donor to CIMLAPS to cover roughly half of their expenses.
According to Fargo, the donor stipulated that the grant will be one-time only if the center can’t find a matching grant.
“We’re extremely grateful for the gift,” Fargo said, “and we hope to find someone who can match it. We understand the challenges students face in trying to pay for these things, and we believe in helping them defray cost.”
More:

• Learn about the International Press Institute.