Thirsty for change: my internship at Rappler

“Rappler, social news network po!” was how my fellow interns and I would introduce ourselves whenever we had to call up people for work.

Rappler made my dream of being a journalist possible.

The process

While most of my blockmates chose to do their internship in my home province of Negros Occidental, I had long dreamt of doing my internship in Metro Manila.

My dream of getting an internship in Manila started when a friend gave me a heads up about working in Rappler. As soon as I saw the announcement, I tried to accomplish the required documents.

I remember happily discussing the application with my friends and classmates who also wished to apply for the internship. An internship in Rappler then became part of my bucket list when I realized that I need to work with the kind of people at Rappler—thirsty for change and believers in the power of citizen journalism.

March was crunch time for me. I had to meet all my academic requirements and fix my papers for the advanced internship. By March 8, I submitted my application to Rappler. I was notified that they would inform successful applicants by the end of March—so I basically prepared myself to wait for the results.

Uncertainty

Last April 5, I flew to Manila—unsure whether Rappler accepted me. For more than a week I thought my dream would never come true.

Fortunately, by April 16, I got an email from Ms. Chay Hofileña who told me to visit the Rappler HQ as soon as possible. In the afternoon of the same day, I went to the office. There, my passion for journalism and Rappler met its purpose.

Destination: research

I like crisp information. I am an avid consumer of ideas and news.

Most of the time, I did not know what to do with all the information I absorbed. I thought knowing was enough.

Through Rappler, I realized that there could be patterns in data and irregularities that we would want the nation to know. The ability to convey data in a straightforward manner is part of what makes a good journalist.

I chose to be in the Research unit on a whim but I don’t regret it a bit.

Encoding, database formatting, talking to people, traveling to Malacañang, and rereading the data many times were just a few things that we had to go through in the research unit.

While most of my co-interns were happy about seeing their bylines on Rappler, I was just happy to see the data I researched, encoded, and provided to other staff members. Through my work, I was able to support the work of my fellow interns and reporters.

More than data

Aside from research, I also did other tasks which included sharing articles about Palarong Pambansa and pushing #PHvote stories.

We also met politicians and personalities who added spice to our internship experience.

I also have to mention that I wasn’t asked to make coffee or photocopy anything. I was treated as if I was a professional. All of us were given significant tasks. We were also given feedback directly by our supervisors.

Through Rappler, I have come to realize that my career lies in becoming a journalist—someone who can make ripples and make sense of the vast amounts of information out there.

I am Aliana May Juson of the University of St. La Salle-Bacolod—a proud Rappler intern. – Rappler.com