Worried About This Generation? Don't Be!

By Rita Henley Jensen

Editor in chief

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Women's eNews has relied heavily this year on a group of talented, unpaid interns. Their generous support and dedication has made almost every aspect of our operation possible. Rita Henley Jensen, editor in chief, says thanks.

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"In my time here, I came to see how many people depend on Women's eNews for their daily news," Amy said. "It has been wonderful to help bring that to our readers and it solidified my passion for women's issues."

Late in June, Angela Dallara, a recent graduate of the State University of New York at Geneseo, near Rochester, a political science major, saw the Women's eNews ad for an editorial intern on Idealist.org. Those spots were filled by the time we interviewed her, but we persuaded her to take on the support work for the Women's eNews' history walk http://www.womensenews.org/openingtheway . Working two days a week, she corralled prominent women to come midday to a nonprofit television studio to record the words of the 21 women featured on the tour. Visiting 21 sites between Chambers Street and Wall Street, the walk features 21 female heroes, from Susan B. Anthony to the women among the first responders on Sept. 11 who died in the line of duty.

Each of the 21 changed New York, the nation and the world. And those who recorded their words--from activist author and actor Kathleen Turner to Brenda Berkman, the city's first female firefighter--were selected to represent the continuous stream of the women's movement eroding the barriers to equality and equity.

Angela not only helped with the personal interactions that went into the recordings she edited them all, posted them all on our Web site and thanked all the participants. Not a single recorder expressed any annoyance with Angela; a true triumph of good organization and good communication.

Angela is still donating her time on the project and has committed to staying until June. Women's eNews would simply not have been able to create the walk without her. Thank you Angela!

Then came our two editorial interns, Colleen Flaherty and Mary Kate Boylan. They have both worked for Women's eNews to earn college course credits and provided the core of our 2010 election coverage. Both went beyond the call of duty to deliver compelling election coverage on a tight budget. They produced story ideas, scored important interviews and provided thoughtful reportage throughout the campaign http://www.womensenews.org/story/campaign-trail/101103/elections-put-first-women-color-in-governor-posts .

Wisconsin native Colleen Flaherty came to New York looking to become a reporter. She came to Women's eNews while a senior Minnesota State University, Mankato. She applied for the fall internship because she appreciated our in-depth journalism and has always been interested in women's issues. "I have never seen a publication like it," she says. The internship provided "a lot of room to grow and the right amount of help," she said. Thank you Colleen!

Mary Kate Boylan, a junior at Manhattan College in the Bronx, heard about us through our editor, Corinna Barnard, who lives near the college and has established a collegial connection with its communications-journalism department. Mary Kate told Corinna she was attracted to our site because of her interest in women's issues and journalism. She gave Women's News a full day on Tuesday, half a day on Wednesday for three months, between Sept. 14 and Dec. 14. She said her experience with WeNews opened her eyes to many women's issues and strengthened her commitment to journalism, and the necessity of raising awareness about gender issues. Thanks Mary Kate!

If you would like to make a donation in the interns' honor and to support the next generation of Women's eNews interns please go to http://womensenews.org/donation