By Lara Levin
Student Writer
It was the opportunity of a lifetime — the chance to report from behind the scenes at Oxygen, Ireland’s music festival that bears resemblance to Coachella, with the charming addition of the rain and mud that rarely appears in the Southern California desert.
Torrey AndersonSchoepe (pictured, B.A. Print Journalism ’10) quickly ran down to the nearest department store, purchased the first pair of “wellies” — a type of boot popular in Ireland — she could find in her size and headed out with her co-worker for an impromptu reporting stint, press pass in hand.
Boarding her flight to Dublin, AndersonSchoepe didn’t know what to expect from her internship with Real-time Editing and Design (RE&D). Of course she anticipated the copy editing, pulling a quote here and there, and even writing the headlines for the Irish Independent, Ireland’s foremost print news source. But one thing was for sure — Torrey never imagined she would reach one of her many career goals as a reporter of being published internationally, a feat that exceeded all of her expectations.
She found herself in Dublin through Annenberg’s newest international internship program, co-sponsored by the Career Development Office and International Programs Office. Open to rising juniors and seniors, the program offers students the opportunity to live and work in the heart of Dublin, gaining invaluable professional experience in the international communications arena. Placed in an internship with RE&D, the outsource editing company responsible for the editing and layout of the Irish Independent and its other publications, Torrey couldn’t have asked for a more hands-on experience.
“I got to do a little bit of everything, which is what I loved about it,” she said. “I edited at least one story in every section of the newspaper… Well, not the farming section, but I did a motoring one!”
Editing, writing headlines and subheads, and searching for the best pull-quotes in each article, Torrey felt that she was an integrated part of the editing process. Facing challenges in adapting to the Irish spellings and their unique editing style, all while working tirelessly to keep deadlines, Torrey knew that the staff was behind her.
“The people I worked with were so nice and willing to help out. They just wanted to make sure I got the most out of my internship.”
This willingness to help and include Torrey in all aspects of the company presented itself most when her editor agreed to publish her story in the daily lifestyle publication, Herald AM —“A Californian at Oxygen.”
“I decided I would write up the story and see if my editor would consider looking at it or maybe using it. He looked at it, had me change a few things, and it was published the next day! I got a full page, complete with a picture of my wellies!”
Beyond her daily tasks and getting to report from Oxygen, Torrey took advantage of everything Ireland had to offer. Traveling almost every weekend, swimming with dolphins at a small surf town (Yes! A surf town in Ireland!) and exploring the countryside, she found the trip to be not only a great experience for her future career as a reporter but an all-around adventure that she was able to share with her fellow Annenberg students.
For students interested in a Dublin internship, an information session will be held on Thursday, Nov. 5 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in ASC 240. The session will offer detailed information about the eight-week summer 2010 program. Please RSVP to Tim Burgess at tburgess@usc.edu.
