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More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

How ThePrint School of Journalism’s Batch 5 interns learned journalism the hard way

Twenty-one TPSJ interns produced over 100 stories at ThePrint. Here's what they learned about reporting, rewriting, newsroom culture and journalism careers.

What do you say about a group of women and men who seize the opportunity that comes their way and make a name for themselves?

At ThePrint, we say well done. Well done, Batch 5 students of ThePrint School of Journalism’s online course. The 30-odd students who took up the internship offer surprised everyone, including themselves, with their productivity.

Don’t be misled into thinking these were young college types. Yes, there were freshly-minted graduates, but we also had mid-career professionals as well as retired individuals.

Together, they have reported and written over 100 stories for ThePrint since mid-March. They have edited videos, recorded podcasts, researched for Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta’s signature ‘Cut the Clutter’, and transcribed recordings. They’ve worked on social media promos and marketing strategies. They have also just stood and watched and (hopefully) learned.

Above all, they have learned to take “No” graciously when their story ideas are rejected.

Varun Sharma, who lives and works in Gurugram, knows what it feels like: “You pitch a story, it gets interrogated. You go out, conduct interviews, gather data and build an analysis. (Then) your editor picks every word apart in your first draft. Unlearning… has been the steepest learning curve of my life,” he wrote in an e-mail.

The interns wrote about everything: From “6 geopolitical conflicts that shaped India’s energy strategy” and “Why the US-Philippines military drill was seen as a message to China” to “India’s small-town sushi story” and “Gen Z and the art of the side quest”, the range of topics has been as different as each intern is from the other.

The editors who have been painstaking guides and mentors, identified one quality common to this batch of interns: “Enthusiasm”.

Students have been equally, er, enthusiastic about their internship. Mrinalini Manda, who returned to India after completing her education in Australia, called it a “life-learning experience.” 

“Exhilarating and stressful,” said Tarini Unnikrishnan, who has previously worked in publishing and marketing.

It’s been “exciting” for Jaydeep Gadhavi, who wants a career in journalism. “I learned how a newsroom works,” he said.

“This has given me a lot of fulfilment,” said Saumya Sharma. A former criminal lawyer, she came to ThePrint “with no expectations except to learn as much as I could.”

“It’s been wonderful,” summed up Sahaj Sankaran, a film scriptwriter from Mumbai. “It’s a different type of writing, free and constrained. You always have too much to say but you learn structure and coherence.” Read his fascinating Ground Report about the trouble facing the Delhi Race Club, locked in a battle with the central government.

Being in the newsroom

The Batch 5 interns confirmed what we believe at ThePrint and at TPSJ: ‘The newsroom is the best classroom.’

You don’t need a BA Honours degree to learn the skills of good journalism. You can acquire these from experienced editors and reporters who also act as teachers and mentors.

As the Dean of ThePrint School of Journalism, I am, rather shamelessly, promoting the idea of a short certificate course in journalism, followed by an intensive two-to-three-month internship for anyone who wishes to acquire the necessary skills, knowledge and confidence (very important) to pursue journalism professionally.

Don’t take my word for it. Here is Rahul........

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