Intern Responsibilities:
Research and write basic news releases and articles for search engine optimization purposes. Work on media campaigns as opportunities become available.

Intern Qualifications:
Candidate should have strong interviewing and writing skills and must know how to use the Associated Press Stylebook. Candidate must be able to work on deadline and must have the discipline to work alone and as part of a team.

Other Information:
Part-time; flexible hours. This is primarily a telecommuting position that requires weekly meetings with supervisor. This is a paid internship.

How to Apply:
Applicants should e-mail a resume and three writing samples of articles and press releases to:

Lorrie Delk Walker, president. E-mail: lorrie@lorriewalker.com, Phone 863-614-0555.

Deadline to apply for summer internship is May 8.

Here are some basic tips to keep in mind to avoid plagiarism:
- Cite your sources. It’s ok if you find good information that you want to use in an article, but you MUST give credit where credit is due.

- Use direct quotations, but remember that you also must cite your sources when you paraphrase someone’s remarks.

- Whenever possible, gather the information for your article by conducting your own interviews in person or by phone. It’s impossible to plagiarize someone else’s work when you draw from your own sources.

When hiring writers to write articles for you, choose those with proven track records of writing good, strong copy. It is perfectly acceptable to ask a writer for the names and phone numbers of the sources they used when writing the article you hired them for. Don’t be afraid to follow up with those sources. It is better to be overly cautious than to assume everything is on the up and up.

Learning that a reporter has plagiarized his/her work leaves a bad mark not only on that writer, but on the publication that published the work. Ocala Magazine is in that unfortunate position today. They are having to do damage control and the next several months will be spent trying to restore their reputation.

It seems that each time I check Twitter, Heather has another great opportunity posted. My advice to college public relations students is to check out Heather’s Web site and start following her on Twitter. She’s easy to find: heatherhuhman. Also, you can search for #PRIntern on Twitter and find her tweets. The opportunities she promotes are from throughout the country.

It seems that many college students have difficulty finding PR, journalism and marketing internships locally. So recently I posted a list of Lakeland, Florida public relations, journalism and marketing internship opportunities.

If your company or non-profit organization has an internship opportunity available, email me and we’ll get it posted for you: lorrie@lorriewalker.com.

The article is about Haines City artist Pati Mills who designed the Publix tile murals, said Walker, who started her Lakeland, Florida public relations firm in May 2007.

“Pati Mills created a legacy,” Walker said. “It is a collection of art that has gone down in Publix Super Markets history, as well as the history of every town in which her work is displayed.”

Many of the murals are going away as aging Publix store buildings are demolished and rebuilt, moved to newer locations or sold to other companies.

Walker, who was born in Ocala, grew up seeing one of Mills’ murals at the Publix where her mother shopped. Since living in Lakeland for the past 10 years, she witnessed several of the murals demolished throughout Polk County as new stores were built.

“The mural at the Publix where my mother shopped was such a vivid childhood memory of mine,” Walker said. “I love local history and the more I thought about it, the more I realized this was a piece of local history that slowly was going away.”

Walker tracked down Mills after taking a photo of her signature on the mural at the former Wabash Publix in Lakeland. Once she pitched the idea of writing an article for Florida Monthly, Mills was onboard.

“It was a pleasure interviewing Pati for this story,” Walker said. “She’s a feisty, charismatic woman who has a great story to tell, and I’m honored that I was allowed to share that story with the readership of Florida Monthly Magazine.”

Visit www.floridamagazine.com for information on how to obtain a copy of the February 2009 issue.

2009 Internship Opportunities

SPCA of Polk County, Inc.

Type of internship: public relations and/or marketing

Description of Internship Opportunity : non-profit agency seeking interns interested in gaining experience in press release writing, media relations, web site design/maintenance, marketing, design, grassroots outreach and customer service

Education/experience requirements: experience in writing, content management systems, adobe design software preferred; outgoing personalities, team players, multi-taskers and self-motivated individuals a must

Hours: part time

Salary: unpaid

Contact: Rachel Bulman, Public Relations Director, rachel@lovemyspca.com, 863/646-7722 ext. 105

Florida Dance Theatre

Type of internship: public relations and/or marketing

Description of Internship Opportunity: Under the guidance of FDT staff, write press releases and disseminate information regarding the company’s performances and activities. Promote FDT to the Polk County community. Help coordinate events, write grants, and perform general record keeping, as needed.

Education/Experience requirements: Public Relations or Marketing student. Strong writing and interpersonal skills required. Must be an independent worker and self-starter. Must be able to take specific direction and be open to instruction.

Hours: Flexible hours, preferably a minimum of 12 – 15 per week.

Salary: Unpaid

Contact: Carol Krajacic-Erkes Artistic & Founding Director, 802-0399, Carol@floridadancetheatre.org

Polk County Government-PGTV

Type of internship: journalism, public relations and marketing opportunities

Description of Internship Opportunity : Develop/implement PR/marketing exposure and/or write articles/press releases for government television channel, using free resources

Education/experience requirements: College, entry level is fine

Hours: Flexible, will work with student schedule/availability

Salary: Unpaid. No budget available, but great for students needing school credit

Contact: Joan Davies, PGTV Programming Director, 863-534-5997, joandavies@polk-county.net

Pain Solutions Magazine (A new national magazine being published out of Lakeland)

Description of Internship Opportunity: Journalism, public relations and marketing opportunities.

Education/experience requirements: If they want to do writing for the Website I would like some writing samples. Otherwise, I would simply prefer a junior or senior or graduated student.

Hours: part-time

Salary: unpaid

Contact: Contact Diana Young-Stewart at 863/688-8181 or dystewart@painsolutionsmagazine.com .

Downtown Lakeland Partnership, Inc.

Type of internship: public relations and marketing opportunities available

Description of Internship Opportunity: The DLP will provide an opportunity to explore a wide range of PR and marketing experiences. We are a membership-based marketing cooperative whose purpose is to market Downtown Lakeland to residents and visitors. Our members include banks, owner operated retail stores, nonprofit organizations and more. We write press releases, create marketing materials and develop marketing plans, manage social media, organize and execute events, develop cross marketing opportunities, work with businesses and organizations on their marketing needs, and market ourselves to new and existing businesses on the benefits of membership in the DLP. As an intern you will create marketing materials, meet with business owners to determine their marketing needs, conduct surveys, write press releases, execute cross marketing opportunities with Downtown businesses and events, practice event management, have hands on public relations through events and DLP meetings and work with our board of directors, currently chaired by Kevin Jones, President of MidFlorida Federal Credit Union. This unique experience will expose you to dozens of businesses and nonprofit organizations and their decision makers.

Education/experience requirements: Knowledge of basic computer programs, such as word and excel a must. A work knowledge of graphics program s such as Photoshop and Indesign ( or Quark) preferable. Must have transportation, have an outgoing personality, and good communication skills.

Hours: part-time and very flexible.

Salary: There may be an end-of-the-internship stipend, not yet determined by the board.

Contact: Julie Townsend, Executive Director. PO Box 3499, Lakeland FL 33802; (863) 513-3669

Polk Arts Alliance, Inc.

Type of internship: public relations

Description of Internship Opportunity : to prepare pr materials for our annual race for the arts (3/21) and to do our press releases. With limited staff, even though I am well experienced, it’s a time issue. Our Race Chairman is Commissioner Bob English, so it’s good marketing as well. Could also use someone who is an experienced blogger and hooked into social networks to create a web presence.

Education/experience requirements: need to see writing samples and no first year students. Must be computer literate.

Hours: Flexible

Salary: Unpaid

Contact: Mischelle Anderson, Executive Director. PO Box 727, Bartow, FL 33815-0727; (863) 804-0494; director@polkartsalliance.org

Genie Publishing

Type of internship: marketing

Description of Internship Opportunity : An opportunity with flexible hours and full independence to someone who is skilled at computer marketing and/or Web site design.

Education/experience requirements: Must be computer skilled for Web site and computer marketing.

Hours: part-time

Salary: $8/hr or by project

Contact: gay@geniepub.com