Lakeland Florida PR/Journalism Internships

Over the next several days, I hope to post information on a variety of Polk County and Tampa Bay area internship opportunities for college journalism and public relations students. Please check back frequently, but here are the first few:


State Farm Insurance

Internships are available at agency field offices and Claims and Marketing departments in Winter Haven, Lakeland, Orlando and Tampa. All majors are accepted, but preferred majors include Business, Communications, IT and Criminology.

Length of Internship:
May 19th, 2008 – August 1, 2008

Compensation:
$15.00 per hour

Requirements:
3.2 GPA or above
extracurricular involvement

Please fax resumes to (863) 318-3131 or email Deanna.Hughey.PYD5@statefarm.com

*Successful interns will receive an offer for full-time employment upon graduation.



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Cypress Gardens Adventure Park

Opportunity to gain Public Relations experience in the high energy tourism and theme park industry. Activities to include various media relations, community relations and special event and concert promotion.

Basic computer skills are required. A personal laptop is a plus, but is not necessary. The internship is paid and is available for the summer and fall of 2008.

Alyson Gernert, Public Relations Director
863-324-2111 ext. 1101
863-595-2315 Fax
alyson.gernert@cypressgardens.com
6000 Cypress Gardens Blvd.
Winter Haven, FL 33884
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Lakeland Magazine (A product of The Ledger)

We are seeking a junior or senior magazine journalism student for a 10- to 12-week summer internship. The successful candidate should have completed related coursework and have magazine clips.

The intern primarily would be reporting and writing stories for Lakeland Magazine and East Polk Lifestyles, quarterly magazines published by The Ledger newspaper in Lakeland. He/she also would take part in brainstorming sessions, set up photos and assist with photo shoots, as well as help with proofreading and caption- and headline-writing.

A stipend is available to help offset living expenses.

Please send a resume, cover letter and relevant clips to Sandra Dimsdale, magazine editor, P.O. Box 408, Lakeland, FL 33802.
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Paradise Advertising and Marketing, Inc.

Located in downtown St. Petersburg, Paradise Advertising & Marketing is seeking enthusiastic, self-motivated and detail-oriented interns to assist the fast-paced public relations department with internal and client activities. The interns would gain real-world experience by assisting the PR department, along with various assignments from the other departments (creative, account service, traffic & media). The position is both administrative and hands-on with national and local accounts.

Requirements:Must be an upper-level undergraduate or graduate student working toward a degree in mass communications, public relations, journalism or related field. Candidates must have excellent writing, speaking and organizational skills. Must be proficient in MS Office applications including Excel, PowerPoint and Word, and should be able to demonstrate working knowledge of AP style.

Responsibilities:-Research-Creating and maintaining media databases-Monitoring media coverage and compiling reports-Administrative duties-Preparing, editing and distributing press releases-Assisting with the coordination of media and promotional events.

This is an unpaid internship position requiring approximately 15 hours per week. While interns are not financially compensated, we make every effort to ensure your experiences at Paradise will equip you with the tools and skills necessary to succeed in a full-time PR position.

To Apply:
Please send your cover letter and resume to Missy Hurley, Missy@paradiseadv.com.
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Quest Corporation of America- Click on Careers. This public relations company offers internships in public information, video production and graphic arts.
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Polk County Board of County Commissioners- Communications Division

Student internships are available in the Communications Office. The position will have a variety of duties and responsibilities, including the following: special projects involving working with the media, writing press releases, preparing presentations, contributing articles for the internal newsletter, copy editing, creating/updating databases, preparing for seminars, trades shows, speeches, award entries and special events. The ideal candidate will have the physical, developmental, and mental ability to perform assigned job tasks; a knowledge of AP News Style writing, grammar, punctuation, spelling and basic mathematics; excellent oral and written communication skills; ability to receive and understand directions and work independently with minimal supervision; computer knowledge in word processing, graphic design and presentation software.

The Communications Division prefers a student majoring in Public Relations, Journalism, Communications or Marketing.

The position is full or part-time, Monday-Friday**, at the Neil Combee Administration Building, located in Bartow, Florida. Most often this internship is unpaid, but depending on vacancies, it may be paid as well.

** Occasional (and optional) weekend work may rarely be requested to help cover special events

Interested students may apply by completing an application on the Polk County BoCC website
@ http://www.polk-county.net/

Students also may call Cindy Rodriguez @ (863) 534-6090 with questions relating to the internship.

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Polk County Supervisor of Elections

Description of internship: Public relations, community relations, marketing and political science combination. This position is a customer service opportunity for a person who would like to learn more about promoting a positive image of the electoral process in the community. The individual should like going out in the community and interacting with the public in teaching them about voting, election laws and election procedures. We register voters, demonstrate voting equipment, instruct voters about the importance of voting, encourage people to become involved in having a say in government and promote goodwill between the Elections Office and the public. We serve citizens of all ages, from 5 years of age to senior citizens. We participate in school programs, summer recreation programs, make speeches at civic organizations, march in parades and register voters at local businesses.

Required Skills: strong people skills, must enjoy working with the public, strong customer service background. All supplies and equipment are provided; however person should be able to type, answer telephone and schedule events.

This position could be a paid position for the right candidate.

This is an ongoing internship.

For more information, contact:

Judy M. Walker
Outreach Services Coordinator
Polk County Elections Office
863-534-5888

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