{"id":65921,"date":"2020-04-27T16:10:05","date_gmt":"2020-04-27T20:10:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=65921"},"modified":"2025-10-17T11:10:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T15:10:08","slug":"journalism-program-creates-summer-jobs","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/journalism-program-creates-summer-jobs\/","title":{"rendered":"Carleton’s Journalism Program Creates Summer Jobs for Students Caught in Public Health Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Carleton's Journalism Program Creates Summer Jobs for Students Caught in Public Health Crisis\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

Carleton University\u2019s School of Journalism and Communication<\/a> is stepping up to create paid summer work for senior journalism students whose summer jobs and internships were cancelled because of the COVID-19 crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seventeen journalism students will be able to gain valuable work experience as reporters and editors for three months through the Capital Current<\/em> Summer 2020 Journalism Experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capital Current<\/em><\/a> is the program\u2019s flagship digital publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe felt it was important to take whatever steps we could to help our senior students\u2014many on the cusp of graduating amidst great uncertainty\u2014 gain the kind of valuable job experience they would otherwise have missed,\u201d said Prof. Susan Harada, interim director of Carleton\u2019s School of Journalism and Communication and head of its journalism program.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cWe are so grateful to the university\u2019s leadership for helping us create summer work opportunities for journalism students\u2014who, in turn, will provide critical reporting on the pandemic and other issues for communities in Ottawa and across Canada in the coming months through our expanded Capital Current<\/em> publication,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n

\"Journalism<\/figure>\n\n\n

Digital Voice as Learning Tool<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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A pioneering local news and information website, Capital Current<\/em> serves as a learning environment for senior students while delivering top-notch local coverage to Ottawa residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, Capital Current<\/em> has reduced its content dramatically in the spring and summer months, when digital, audio and video workshop courses are not in session. As a direct response to the COVID-19 crisis, however, senior Bachelor of Journalism and Master of Journalism students will be employed part-time in June, July and August to produce stories documenting the country\u2019s efforts to combat the novel coronavirus and cover other news as it unfolds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, Capital Current<\/em> will expand its traditional Ottawa-area focus in recognition that students may be sheltering in towns and cities across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ten positions will be filled through a job competition; seven other spots have been filled with funds diverted from a cancelled program earmarked for graduate students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kate
Kate Schellenberg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat working at Capital Current<\/em> over the summer means for myself and my cohort is that we have something to look forward to during a difficult time,\u201d said Kate Schellenberg, a first-year master\u2019s student who plans to join the work experience program.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cWith many of our apprenticeships being cancelled, this will give us the chance to test our skills over the summer and get the experience we would have otherwise missed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cWe are looking forward to working for Carleton, which listened to us when we expressed our hope to do journalism over the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project has three broad objectives:<\/p>\n\n\n\n