India: Volunteer Journalism Internships

India: Volunteer Journalism Internships and Work-Experience

A volunteer placement working on the monthly Madurai Messenger is open to anyone, from gap year students to highly experienced journalists.

On this Print Journalism placement you will get the chance to put together an impressive portfolio of work, which will enhance your CV and give you some fantastic work experience - greatly increasing your prospects within the highly competitive journalism industry.

You will also be able to gain an insight into all the different areas of production that a magazine has to go through, from the early planning stages all the way through to distribution.

On this placement your input is always encouraged and appreciated, and an adaptable 'can-do' approach will make you very popular with your colleagues.

Print Journalism Placements in India with Projects Abroad

Formerly known as the Sivakasi Times, the Madurai Messenger was set up in 2002 by Projects Abroad in collaboration with the local business community. This is the first-ever English language magazine produced in the Madurai area. It is sent free to schools and other institutions and is also available online.

The Madurai Messenger magazine is run by volunteers along with our local staff who have experience working as journalists throughout the South of India. This means that volunteers with no experience can be involved in the entire process from writing, researching, editing, photography and layouts to the final printing stage. On the other hand, volunteers with a host of experience can bring their specialised knowledge and assistance to the paper and even act as mentors for the less experienced.

Each magazine has its own theme. Recently this has ranged from the problems of water-supply and environmental controversies to women's issues and sport. Volunteers are involved from the first planning meetings about what to include in the month's issue to helping to get the finished copies to local distributors.

The magazine gives volunteers a real opportunity to get involved, whether it be interviewing a local politician or finding out local opinions on the latest Indian cricketing debate. You may have to travel to meet a local farmer who is upset by a government decision, or you may be sitting on the editorial board deciding what to include this month.

We also arrange weekly writing workshops and monthly photography workshops for all journalism volunteers in India. Every day is different. Thanks to our volunteers the magazine contains a diverse range of articles and reports which makes it a popular and entertaining read.

There are opportunities for volunteers to work on the online version of the magazine, www.maduraimessenger.org by developing and contributing to the website content. Volunteers from different countries can also write articles in their own language for the online version.

This project is available for two weeks if you don't have time to join us for a month or more. This project has been selected by our local colleagues as being suitable for short term volunteering for both the host community and the volunteer. Although you will gain a valuable cultural insight and work intensely within the local community please be aware that you may not be able to make the same impact as someone volunteering for a longer period. Madurai Messenger is a monthly publication so by joining the project for two weeks you may not be at the placement when the edition is printed.