My experience

Overview

This was a marketing assistant role for CNN Creative Production, and as with many internships it sounds more glamorous than it is. I knew what to expect of this internship because I've worked in marketing before and was familiar with the television industry, but I know that some of my fellow interns were expecting more glamorous work. At the end of the day, it's a desk job, and the interns are given most of the grunt work that no one else wants to do, which is understandable. ||I assisted with several senior producers on various projects, mainly pulling footage from our archives to use in our promos. It's a lot of sitting and sifting through CNN footage. That being said, I did actually get to write, cut, and edit the promos I worked on, meaning that things I was touching were making it on air. That cannot be said for all of the internships at CNN or other TV/Film entry level work. I got to work on a variety of shows and projects, and the team treated me like a real member, not just a temporary helper. The work is definitely intern work, but I did feel that what I was doing was helpful and important. ||What I loved about this job was how independent it was. I checked in with my manager every day, but I managed my own work load and did the work without someone looking over my shoulder. ||By the end of the internship, I felt I had integrated into the team and was valuable. I extended my internship into the Spring semester and hope to take on a full time role. ||All in all it was a great experience, but I think it's important for people to have realistic expectations of the work. Just because it says ""CNN"" that doesn't mean you'll be working in the studio every day!

It's a great opportunity to get into CNN if you're interested in that, but it's definitely important to go in with reasonable expectations. It's a desk job and you are an intern. Some of the work is really fun and exciting but most of it is time at your desk working independently.