Valley PR Blog

AZ’s Super Intern - Annalyn Censky

By Charlotte Risch on June 3rd, 2008 In People

Annalyn Censky is not just an intern. She is a SUPERSTAR intern! The name rings a bell, doesn’t it? Maybe you’ve read her articles in bizAZ, The Arizona Republic or Phoenix Business Journal? You may soon see her name in Fortune Small Business magazine, too. She just landed in the Big Apple for an editorial internship this summer. After that, she is off to serve as a goodwill ambassador for Rotary International while working on a journalistic project in Prague, Czech Republic.. What did YOU do on your summer vacation? Yup, see…I told you she was pretty super.

It seems Annalyn has always been an achiever. She grew up in Tucson and while other 15 year olds babysat or worked in fast food, she was writing for the Green Valley News, and not just fluff pieces, she even nabbed an interview and article on Joe Lieberman when he visited Nogales. She then moved on to graduate and go to ASU, writing for the State Press. Annalyn’s first internship was in Washington DC at the Bureau of National Affairs. Her work there consisted of articles about construction labor for a trade magazine. After that, a stint with seven other interns at AZ Capital TV, where she shot, produced and reported. Then, it was on to the Arizona Republic and Phoenix Business Journal (twice). Its a wonder she even needed journalism classes, she was getting a lot of real life experience with these awesome opportunities. As many of us who have worked in the media know, Annalyn said “Its not about your GPA, its all about your clips.”

Of course, she may be super, but she has struggles. She says her biggest challenge when writing is getting the lead “just perfect”. There is a stigma at times about her age or “title” as intern, but she says she has gotten past that with solid writing, building relationships and reaching out and not taking “No” personally. Annalyn’s passions include the environment, green living and organics and a dream job for her would be at a major Health magazine.

Annalyn may be interested in your pitches as she works at Fortune Small Business. If you’d like to know more about her or contact her, check out her LinkedIn profile.

I was truly impressed with the gusto and smarts of this young lady. I was also a bit embarrassed to have the wrong impression of interns in journalism. I didn’t realize how much real experience they got while working in print. Shame on me. Thank goodness she helped me see how important an intern is and also shared some tips I think we all could learn from.

Tips for working with and pitching stories to journalism interns:

Intern” is not a synonym for “infant”: On more than one occasion, I’ve had PR folks speak in baby talk and try to spoon-feed interviews to me. Yes, we interns may be inexperienced and a bit naïve, but please be kind. If we’re interviewing one of your clients, and you’re sitting in, please don’t try to take control of the interview. Let us ask our questions and try our own hand at reporting. On the same note, interns should be humble enough to graciously take advice and constructive criticism from PR professionals.

Feel free to send us the leftovers: Of course if you have a big, breaking story, you’re going to pitch it to a veteran reporter first, not an intern. But feel free to send us the leftovers when the dinosaurs won’t bite. Maybe we can turn it into a trend or feature story with some additional reporting. But don’t wait till the bait is stale either. If it tastes bad, we’ll send it back.

We’re not your kid sister: Don’t try to be extra hip and cool around us. Treat us like you would other professionals. Just because we’re in our early 20s doesn’t mean we want to discuss MTV, the hottest clubs and spring break all the time. One of the most valuable parts of any internship is learning to communicate one-on-one in a professional setting, as opposed to on MySpace.

Find out our interests: Just like you would pitch specific stories to beat reporters, learn the interns’ career goals and interests. For example, I want to be a health and science reporter, so I’ll get more excited about those type of pitches as opposed to others. In the end, my assignments are up to my editors’ discretion, but if I get excited about reporting a particular story – it’ll be easier for me to get their go-ahead.

Track our career moves online: Good interns are nomads. They move fast, from one place to another every semester and every summer. For me, those places included Phoenix, Washington D.C. and New York City. If you keep in touch with us, you may gain access to other media markets typically outside your scope. What’s the easiest way to follow us? Facebook and Linked In.

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