Conde Nast – a magazine publishing conglomerate – has discontinued its internship program. I can hear the hearts of budding magazine editors shattering simultaneously. Conde Nast is responsible for some of the most successful fashion publications, including VOGUE, W, Glamour, GQ and Vanity Fair. None of these prominent glossies will be accepting summer interns.
The company hasn’t disclosed their reasons for eliminating the internship program, but the decision was rendered after two former interns – Matthew Leib and Lauren Ballinger – sued Conde Nast for compensating them less than $1 per hour. Ballinger was paid $12 a day at W while Leib was paid $300 and $500, respectively, for the two summers he spent at the New Yorker.
I – and many other magazine lovers – am dismayed at Conde Nast’s decision, but I’m also in agreement with Leib and Ballinger. Interns should be compensated well for the long hours and multiple tasks they’re assigned to complete day after day.
Let me offer some background here: I’m a graduate of a journalism program. I interned every semester, and all of those internships were unpaid. The trade-off was that I’d be able to connect with prominent magazine editors, cover New York Fashion Week and gain experience and exposure.
All of those things happened. I wouldn’t be covering fashion at LoveBrownSugar if my first internship didn’t tap me to cover New York Fashion Week. I had to shutter all of the costs to travel to New York from North Carolina (Devil Wears Prada- style), including a hotel close to Lincoln Center, but the experience was invaluable.
However, I also had some privilege in being able to accept unpaid internships. Unlike many students, I have middle-class parents that were able to offer me financial support while I pursued my fashion dreams. Other students aren’t as fortunate, and need to work in order to afford their education. Exposure, experience and connections are important, but they don’t always pay for tuition, rent and other expenses.
This is the issue I have with the unpaid interns fiasco at Conde Nast. I understand the company’s position. It is invaluable to have a Conde Nast publication on your resume. Interning with one of the largest magazine publishers in the world opens many doors and sets students up to be successful in the journalism business.
Related: Ask LBS – 5 Tips For Starting A Blog
However, what becomes of those talented students that can’t afford unpaid internships? Should their dreams be shattered because they’re unable to forgo their financial responsibilities to intern at a major glossy for free?
Anne Hathaway in “The Devil Wears Prada” Movie (2006)
I think not. The Conde Nast vs. unpaid interns beef will continue to circulate through the court system, as will a similar lawsuit leveraged against Hearst Corporations (Harper’s Bazaar publishing home). But I’d hope that aspiring magazine editors aren’t discouraged from entering into the business because Conde Nast has closed its doors to interns. There are other options, especially in the digital era. I encourage journalism students, and creatives as a whole, to build their personal brands through social media instead of relying on establishments to validate their talent. Here are three quick ways to do so:
1. Launch a blog with a niche, and make sure that the content is cohesive and amazing. This is how LoveBrownSugar was birthed into the blogosphere. Christina graduated from college with very little editorial experience (aside from her gigs at college publications) and she wanted a way to gain experience but couldn’t afford to intern for free. So she created her very own digital portfolio of sorts. It landed her a paid internship at Honey Magazine. Here we are 4 years later and she works on LoveBrownSugar full time.
Related: Ask LBS – How Do I Get My Blog Noticed?
2. Create social media accounts that are an accurate reflection of you and the brand you’re looking to build. I write about fashion, race, feminism and hip-hop, so my Twitter timeline is full of my personal musings about these topics, as well as links to work that I or others have produced regarding these subjects.
3. Use social media to connect with editors and to find freelance opportunities. Some of the biggest breaks for artists and companies alike, come from relationships created online. Use the power of social to connect with the unaccessible. Just make sure you always put your best foot forward in the digital realm as reputation is everything.
My opinion? You don’t need a Conde Nast internship to be successful in the magazine business. The cream will always rise to the top.
What are your thoughts? Do you feel unpaid internships are necessary? Soundoff below.
Also join us on Twitter this Sunday, October 27th at 6:30PM for LoveBrownSugar’s first #LBSLounge discussion on this same topic. “In the age of social media, do up & comers still have to go rags to riches to make it?” Tweet us your opinions and stay tuned for a lineup of our guest twitter hosts! #Shoutout to twitter friends @CandaceAmos & @theREDDbandit for kicking off the debate that initiated this topic.
I feel that ALL interns need to be paid. If they are college students then instead of school credit the system needs to figure out a way for it to be counted as work study at least.
I moved from San Francisco to NY by myself when I was 17 to attend school. My family didn’t have the means to support me so I took out a number of loans and still had to work. In addition to a part time job I also had one unpaid internship and another internship which I was only paid commissions.
Diving into your dream career is one of those things where “you can’t get a job if you don’t have experience, but how will you ever get experience if no one gives you a job?”, in other words it’s hard as hell.
Since internships like the ones Conde Nast used to offer are higher in demand, they figure that the person who wants it the most is the one who is willing to do the most amount of work for the least pay. But as we all know, that’s insanely untrue. Instead, I think companies looking to hire interns should have a more rigorous application process and hire those whose skills deem them truly worthy, not just the ones with the most availability. Then the companies could at least pay minimum wage to an individual who is determined to learn, and both parties would be benefited.
morepepperpls.blogspot.com
Pepper, I think you make a really poignant case. There should definitely be more of a push for companies like Conde Nast to hire interns based on skill and not on sheer availability to work for free or pennies. Thanks for commenting and adding to the conversation!
I think I’m one of those students who were slightly crushed at the realization that Conde Nast stopped their intern program. I really appreciate the tips you gave instead of being so dependent on the internship route, especially #3, I currently use social media looking for anywhere I can do guest posts, or host Twitter chats for.
Totally makes sense to be crushed especially for those who’ve had a lifelong dream of interning at a Conde Nast publication. I do think this is an awesome opportunity for people to find innovative ways to stand out and land their dream jobs but of course there are setbacks. Thanks for commenting Dinesha!
Great post! I feel bad that the internship program is being cut short, but I do think you need some experience to get ahead. Yes, you can build your platform, but nothing compares to having your worked read, looked over, revised and edited by someone who knows at the top of the industry. Digital has totally changed the industry, but I can’t agree that it has been for the better. In my case, I interned for free and I worked a part-time job at a retail giant. It was important to me to have that experience. I guess everyone is different. If you want something you have to invest in it. Whether that be a new bag, a new car, and education or an internship. You have to determine what’s important to your lifestyle.