A month at Weekend Magazine by Meghan Davidson Ladly

Thursday 5 August 2010

I had barely sat down in my chair when I was given my first story to fact-check. It was late in the afternoon on my first day and getting into the work of the magazine so quickly was great. I was able to walk in on my second day feeling as if I was actually going to contribute to the production of the publication during my time here.

At some internships you feel as though you are doing predominantly menial tasks that don’t relate to your field. This was not the case with my experience at the FT. While I did do the occasional trivial task, like typing something up or photocopying, it was a very small part of my work. I came into the internship thinking there would be much more of that sort of thing and was happily wrong. Instead, I found myself doing a lot of fact-checking, and research with a bit of copy-editing, tweeting and runs for prosecco thrown in as well.

I am from Canada and I really wasn’t sure what to expect coming to intern at a paper in the UK, but I found the working environment here overwhelmingly positive. The FT Weekend staff are dedicated, talented individuals and any trepidation I felt initially about working here was dismissed by how genuinely friendly everyone was.

Being here in the summer has meant that I have been working with a changing group, as people take holidays.. While I would have liked to have had more time with some of those individuals, this has meant that I have been able to work closely with several core staff at the magazine. I have come away from this internship with a sound understanding of the work it takes to publish the magazine each week and regardless of whether I spent my day chasing people for interviews or trying to organize the delivery of a hydration vest from another continent, I always left the office feeling motivated.

As far as getting that elusive byline is concerned, I have been able to do some writing while I was here. While writing is not the focus of this internship, you should definitely come prepared to pitch ideas because they are expected and considered for possible articles. I also found the editing and advice I received for my piece was extremely helpful.

My time working at the magazine has been very rewarding. I am not looking forward to leaving on Friday, but this month has been a great experience.