Week 2

I completed my first full week at Delaware Today. It consisted of a little bit of brainstorming and a whole lot of research. I came in on Monday and met with Erica. We came up with a list of criteria that each job could meet. It included stability, salary, benefits, fun at work, perks, job growth, and diversity. I then met with Amy on Tuesday and shared our list with her. Together, we came up with a few more, like varying opportunities that the workplace offers.
I'm working on Mondays from 1:30-5, Tuesdays from 9-2 and Thursdays from 9-2. Because Erica works Mondays and Wednesdays and Amy works on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I've become the laison between the two. It makes it a little difficult, but I only see it being a problem at the very beginning when we're all trying to get on the same page, as long as we can meet and share our ideas periodically (for instance, Amy's coming in for an hour on Monday so we can all meet and discuss).
Overall, things have been fantastic. I spent most of my time going through the 2007 edition of Delaware Today that listed the best jobs, researching what's new about them, and picking out which of those were still among the "best." For instance, W.L. Gore and Associates was on the 2007 list, but they were also on Forbe's Magazine's list of best places to work in 2008. There's no reason they shouldn't be on the new Delaware Today list. However, a Chrystler dealership in Newark was on the 2007 list as well. And, well, let's face it. I certainly wouldn't want to be working (or worrying about not working) at any Chrystler, Ford, or GM dealership right now. Obvioiusly, I didn't put that on the revised list.
I'm looking forward to actually sitting down with the other two research assistants and Mark on Monday. It will be interesting to see what everyone else has come up with, and if theres anything I should be doing differently. The project will be fun when everything comes together and we can start making calls and doing interviews and whatnot. I'm actually up for going on some roadtrips to see what these places are all about rather than sitting in the office making calls. We'll cross that bridge when we come there. For now, I'll keep my face buried in a computer screen trying to find some good places to work.

Week 1

It begins. My three month journey toward becoming a better researcher while learning the ins and outs of the magazine business got off and running Thursday.
It was certainly a lot to take in. I got to the office shortly after it opened and met with the Editor, Mark Nardone. He showed me around for a while. Two things struck me immediately. To begin with, the office was way bigger than expected. My experience in any kind of newsroom or journalism office was limited to the Review office above Perkins Student Center, and the Middleboro Gazette newsroom, which consisted of one room and eight or nine cubicles. Delaware Today had a Business Department, an Advertisement Department, and about seven other branches all dedicated to a specific task in the publication of the magazine. It was definitely impressive, to say the least.
The other thing I noticed immediately was that I was way underdressed. Everyone was dressed as if they, well, were in an office. My jeans weren't exactly cutting it. I'll have to make sure that doesn't happen again.
Mark sat me down at a desk and gave me my task: to work with two other interns, or "research assistants," as he prefers to call us, to research and create a story. The story we were going to be working on was "Delaware's Best Jobs." It seemed simple enough, until Mark left me alone and went back to his office. I was left with a gigantic task and didn't really know where to begin. I started by browsing through a similar story Delaware Today did two years ago. I created a folder to keep notes and brainstorm ideas, and actually had a fairly productive first day.
Amy (one of the other interns, or "research assistants") came in shortly after I did. We did some brainstorming together. Amy pointed out that perhaps our platform should deal with jobs that are good despite the depleated economy. For instance, they may make our list because they're stable, still hiring, or cover the cost of health care.
I'm working again on Monday, and on Tuesday I'll be meeting with both Amy and Erica (the other two "research assistants") to discuss in more detail the direction we want to head in. I can't wait to really get the ball rolling next week.