Introduction

Time Warner Cable’s R News is uniquely positioned to offer college students valuable real-life hands-on experience by working side by side with award-winning professionals in television journalism. R News uses a competitive selection process to fill a limited number of internships each semester and during the summer. Internships are for college credit only.

As a pioneer in 24-hour local cable television news, R News considers an internship a gateway to opportunity. The potential rewards for students, participating colleges and universities, as well as R News are immeasurable. R News has created an internship program that we believe is a meaningful component of the educational process. Our program allows committed and motivated students to practically apply and build upon the important foundations established in the classroom, explore the needs and demands of a potential career field, and assess their compatibility with it. Through internships, R News can actively participate in educating the newsroom staff of tomorrow, and identify, evaluate, and cultivate potential employees. Additionally, we see our internship program as a means by which colleges and universities can evaluate curriculum in a dynamic real-world environment. R News has been and continues to be an active partner in education: our facility has hosted countless field trips, and our staff is a constant source for guest speakers and adjunct instructors.

Since its inception, R News has hosted undergraduate interns from Rochester-area colleges and universities as well as graduate students from Syracuse University’s S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Educator Malcolm Coco suggests the mutual benefits of well-designed internship programs can be synergistic: a position we share and strive to achieve.

We believe the internship program outlined above reflects a win-win situation for all parties involved. It establishes demanding criteria, yet the benefits for the participating student can be both immediate and long-term. The intern is able to frequently gauge his or her progress throughout the course of the program and receive guidance.  Internships often become one of the most substantial parts of a student’s formal education and evolve into a permanent life experience.