Cape Times Internship

The Cape Times

Position: Journalism
Number of available positions: 1
Duration of internship: 10-20 weeks

Internships in Cape Town, South Africa are few and far between, especially in the print media industry. That is why this journalism internship opportunity is in such high demand. Prospective job hunters may find that approaching companies for work experience on their own will yield little fruit, as most companies in South Africa do not have a structured internship programme. That is why, at VA Corps, we have gone out of our way to establish strong working relationships with industry leaders in order to provide secure, positive working environments for those individuals seeking work experience in Southern Africa.

This particular journalism internship is hosted by the Cape Times. An established English language morning newspaper, the publication is owned and operated by Independent News and Media and distributed in Cape Town, South Africa. The paper first saw the light of day in 1876 under the direction of then editor-in-chief Frederick York St Leger. Back then its target audience was the blue collar working class and its main prerogative, the exposure of government corruption. Today, the Cape Times is one of the most prominent newspapers in South Africa.  According to surveys done in 2007, the newspaper boasts a daily readership of 280,000 and a healthy circulation of 49,797, which means that if you land this position, your work will be at the scrutiny of quite a large segment of Capetonian readers.

If you are interested in jouralism, you should definitely consider an internship with The Cape Times.  This international internship will afford you the opportunity to work at one of Cape Town’s most widely circulated daily newspapers, while gaining exposure to international journalism. Due to the nature of the newspaper industry, tasks and responsibilities will differ from day to day, but you can rest assured that your journalism inernship will provide you with a well-rounded work experience.

In principle, the journalism internship involves the gathering and analysis of facts concerning current events under the direction of an editor.  This information will be gathered through interviews, research and observation, and will be relayed in terms of articles that describe the events, their background, meaning and effects. These news developments may include anything from disasters, to crime and human interest events. Interns are expected to be able to check reference materials such as news files, archives and public records (such as criminal and civil court files) to gather additional relevant facts and provide a context for various articles.

A journalism internship in Cape Town, South Africa will most likely prove extremely valuable once you return to your home country and begin applying for jobs. Entry into the reporting profession is becoming increasingly difficult due to a number of factors that include a sharp decline in employee turnover, a surplus of college and university graduates, as well as newspaper consolidation. Big city dailies like the Cape Times are becoming very selective in their hiring choices as they realise the intense competition for available entry-level journalism jobs. In truth, a large portion of journalism students find it necessary to enter related fields such as advertising and PR due to the saturation of qualified personnel in the print media industry. We could all do with a bit of an edge at the start of our careers, and internship experience is one of the factors that will make your application for a reporting position stand out from the rest.

Please note that this Cape Town international internship is best suited of you are studying news editorial journalism. During the application process for this position, you will be expected to prepare three samples of your best writing.  So go ahead and apply - you don't want to miss this opportunity!