Boomers Abroad

Description

This enthralling and unique internship experience placement enables you to take a peek behind the scenes of a magazine and get an insider's perspective on the Chinese media! In a world of competition where an army of graduates are lining up for the top jobs, this project would set you apart from the crowd and make employers look twice.

You will work as a Journalist and/or Photojournalist at one of two Magazines. Both projects offer work in both Journalism and Photojournalism and you should specify which you would like to focus on in your application.

The magazine you are placed at will do their best to provide a work experience for you that matches your skills and interests, however it is important that you can be flexible as you may not always be able to work full time in your chosen area. For this project, we are looking for volunteers who have particular interest/skills in one (or more!) area(s) but are also happy to get involved in anything the Magazine would like them to be involved in. As long as you are flexible and prepared to adapt, you will have the opportunity to learn and grown within this placement under the supervision of an experienced editorial team.

For Journalism Interns: You will usually be able to focus only on editorial work if you wish. This means that you will spend your full-time placement working with the editorial team, researching, writing and editing for the magazine.

For Photography Interns: You will usually be able to focus some/most of your time on photography work: taking photographs and choosing stock photographs for publication. However, you must be prepared to be flexible, as often there is not enough photography work available for a full-time project, and so full-time interns may need to spend a portion of their time working on other things. If you can write, you'll be able to get involved in journalism, or perhaps you'd like to get involved in design or marketing? You will need to be very flexible and happy to do things other than photography when needed.

One of the main additional areas that you can work on during your project is layout design. We would welcome design interns and students on this project, so please specify if you would like to work on design in addition to one of the main areas above.

On your first day you will be taken in by one of the Travellers Staff Members in Beijing, and introduced to the staff at the Magazine. You will also meet your supervisor. Dependent on the magazine you will work for, you will either work for approximately 6 hours or 8 hours a day, with an hour to lunch, but this can be subject to change.

You will be working both individually and as part of the team. The post, as with all work in such fields, will respond to the amount of energy you put in. If you are enthusiastic and offer a professional manner then you will be rewarded by being given better and better opportunities.

Communication with your fellow staff members will not be a problem and you do not have to know any Mandarin to join this project. Your Supervisor speaks perfect English and so do many of the other staff at the office. A little Mandarin knowledge will go down extremely well, however, so you should make the effort to learn a little before you arrive.

MAGAZINE 1: CHINESE CULTURE
The magazine you will work at publishes a variety of articles about Chinese Culture. Its aim is to introduce Ex-Pats to China while educating, informing and entertaining. The magazine features articles on travel, Chinese culture, food, modern life, language, art, business and more. The magazine covers a massive range of things and is a very interesting read if you're interested in getting under the skin of Chinese Culture, you'll love it. Examples of recent articles include:

* Travel Articles on various towns, festivals and tourist attractions all over China
* Chinese Old Wives Tales
* Chinese Modern Art
* Traditional Chinese Cookery
* Beijing's Avant Garde Architecture
* The History of Chopsticks
* Marriage in China - Ancient and Modern Perspectives
* Chinese Dining Etiquette
* Chinese Humour
* The life of Confucius through cartoons

The magazine has a global distribution of around 50,000 copies every month. It is sold throughout China, Hong Kong and Singapore, and also has readership in many other countries around the world. They also publish an e-newsletter each week, which you can be involved in writing.

Readership:

* Foreign students studying in China and overseas Chinese language learners
* Diplomats at foreign embassies in China
* Chinese and Chinese culture teachers from educational institutions and training centers
* Foreign tourists in China
* Foreigners working in China and business staff, including many senior government managers
* Chinese culture students from many countries

All articles in this magazine are published in English.

Sample articles written by volunteers available on request - please contact us

MAGAZINE 2: ADVERTISING
This project is only suitable for those with advanced Mandarin Chinese, as the magazine is printed in Mandarin and staff do not speak very much English. If you cannot write fluently in Mandarin script that's okay, as your articles will be translated for you before publication.

The magazine you will work at is the leading Chinese professional journal in marketing, advertising, design and media studies. It first started in 1983 so has a long history of experience in the field and in 1997 it was advocated by the marketing council. At this magazine, you may also get the chance to experience different departments, including Marketing, PR, advertisement and website design and technology. Please let us know if you have a particular interest in

The magazine is very excited to offer this internship to Travellers interns as they hope that they will gain further understanding of the western media with the objective of improving the magazine's world-wide influence.

All articles in this magazine are published in Mandarin.

Sample articles written by volunteers available on request - please contact us

ACCOMMODATION:

You will stay in a modern and friendly, central hostel along with the other volunteers. The hostel features air-conditioning, 24-hour hot water, a self-catering dining room, laundry room, general store, game room and a reading room. Internet is available at an hourly rate. Residents may use the heath center and other entertainment facilities at the next-door 5-star Great Dragon Hotel.

The hostel is located in a lively area, where you will have the chance to meet other backpackers and travellers. There are many shops in the surrounding area if you need to stock up on anything, and the hostel is extremely close to Beijing's famous Sanlitun Lu - or 'Bar Street', where everyone hangs out in the evening for drinks and fun! The Lufthansa Shopping Centre and other tourist hot-spots are within easy walking distance of the hostel

There are 35 rooms in the hostel and you'll share with 3 others of the same sex (you can upgrade to a single room if you prefer, just let us know at time of booking (there will be a supplemental charge for this).