Ethics Debate: Unpaid Internships

Recently, there has been a lot of debate around the ethics of unpaid internships.  Back on February 10, the PRSA Board of Ethics and Professional Standards issued a Professional Standards Advisory regarding the use of interns in the public relations and communications professions.  The advisory provided legal and ethical guidelines to the industry to “help them conduct their internship programs in ways that are ethical and that will provide meaningful career development opportunities for their interns.”

Most of the debate on the topic is in regards to interns who do not receive any sort of compensation at all, monetary or otherwise.  PRSA believes that it is unethical to not provide any compensation to interns, either monetary or college credit, especially if the interns are doing billable work.  PRSA wrote a letter to the editor of The New York Times in response to an April 3 op-ed piece on unpaid internships, in which Ross Perlin states that “Colleges shouldn’t publicize unpaid internships at for-profit companies.  They should discourage internship requirements for graduation…They should stop charging students to work without pay.”

PRSA’s thoughts on the article were that internships are too valuable to be discouraged by universities.  While it really does suck that in order to receive credit for an internship, the student must pay tuition, it should not be looked at as “paying to work for free.” A good internship can be more valuable than an entire semester’s amount of classes.  Internships should continue to be encouraged by University career centers, while providing as much guidance as possible and promoting paid internships rather than unpaid.

If unpaid internship positions start becoming eliminated more, internships will be even harder to come by.  Sure, we can hope that there will be more paid internship opportunities, but in this economy it’s not something to hope for. As I am still trying to nail down my plans for the summer, I’ve noticed that compensation can be an issue for a lot of employers as well as applicants.  Some people just cannot accept a full-time, unpaid, internship or they would have no way to pay rent.  Holding out for a full-time paid internship may seem foolish because such a position may seem too good to be true.  But having to turn down an unpaid internship may leave you time for a part-time job, but what if no part-time internship comes along?  I know that there are many students in this same predicament right now.  

What would you do?

Written by Brittany Berger 

Objects of Study

On average, a television show lasting an hour long will contain 13 minutes and 52 seconds of commercials (TNS Media Intelligence). That is 13 minutes and 52 seconds of paid-for access to our eyes. Think about which commercials you remember the most. Ever wonder why they had such an impact on you (aside from the fact that they are shown at least three times while you sit and watch a few hours of TV)? We are objects of study, especially between ages 18 and 25, the target audience for advertisers. They conduct surveys, asking what we think about certain products or what types of television we enjoy watching. They dig into our personal desires and manipulate their ads around what they know that we are looking for. Have those commercials in mind yet? The first three I think of are all similar:

Google’s 2010 Super Bowl commercial “Parisian Love”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS4Lb-ie4Lc
Corona’s “Find Your Beach” commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-6V2ap7Vdk
The U.S. Marine Corps commercial

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=28022687393

How could those commercials have anything in common? They appeal to our desires, our fantasies and our personalities; exactly what all advertisers aim to do. Google (whose ad was not intended for the Super Bowl) utilized a classic love story of a student studying abroad and falling in love with a French girl. In only a few search terms, the audience finds a truly moving story, one that most desire. The Corona commercial, although not a love story with a person, shows a connection between a person, an amazing piece of Earth, and a nice, cold Corona. Watching this commercial, the viewer cannot help but fantasize about leaving their 9 to 5 job to take a vacation and drink with friends or loved ones. Lastly, the Marines commercial appeals to our patriotic and brave personalities. The powerful music, beautiful landscapes and influential words lead many viewers to desire that honor of fighting for our country.

The point is, is that we are objects of study. Advertisers constantly dive into our minds so that they appeal to our desires, fantasies and personalities. This is important to keep in mind whether you plan on going into public relations, advertising, marketing, or even simply as an average viewer. Next time you watch television, pay attention to what is emphasized in the advertisements and how they are presented to you. There is always more to it than just promoting the product.

In the words of the Most Interesting Man In the World, “Stay thirsty my friends.”

Written by Chelsey Rodowicz 

Another Look at Social Media: Healthcare

Social media is creeping into everything that we do, even into the lives of the characters of the TV shows we watch. About a month ago, one of the main predicaments of a Grey’s Anatomy episode was if the surgical interns should be allowed to tweet about a live experimental procedure.  At first the Chief of Surgery would not allow it because he wanted the interns to devote their full attention to the surgery in front of their eyes. Slowly but surely, the Chief was won over once he realized the interns were using twitter as an opportunity to create a forum around the world between hundreds of surgeons.

This new addition of twitter in the Grey’s Anatomy dialog reflects the reality of social media in the health care industry.  According to a panel of doctors, physicians, and surgeons hosted by The Racepoint Group to discuss “Harnessing the Power of Social Media in Healthcare Communication,” social media is just beginning to infiltrate the healthcare professions. Many surgeons have personal Facebook accounts and a few have Twitter accounts, but so far they don’t use those accounts for their professional lives. Some current uses of social media are informative Facebook groups such as MacArthur OB/GYN group for teens with information about avoiding teen pregnancy and STD’s.

There is also another form of social media that reimburses physicians for electronic visits to websites about pilot projects. This is also linked to a change in patient care that is focused on quality of the visit instead of the number of appointments a physician may schedule in one day. If doctors and patients can connect frequently about the patients condition, then the full picture of all symptoms will be much clearer.

My own physician’s practice has a website that allows access to my medical records, my upcoming appointments and serves as an avenue to contact my physician personally. However, I have never used this website because I rarely see my physician besides my once-a-year check-up; I do not see the need for such a service if care is so sporadic.

 I see Twitter and Facebook, and most likely YouTube becoming instrumental tools in teaching hospitals such as John’s Hopkins.  If students are able to ask questions of their peers and their mentors about live surgeries, and even view videos of experimental procedures, new techniques will flourish.

The worry I have about Twitter and Facebook expanding into the healthcare industry is the overload that could ensue. If patients have access to their doctors and physicians through social media, will the professionals become haunted by their work?  Healthcare professionals may never be able to put down or shut off their smart phones because they are expected to answer their patient’s needs. This could easily lead to abuse of health care professionals during all hours of the day.  Hopefully this can be avoided, and social media will improve healthcare in ways we can only imagine!

http://www.bbmarketingplus.com/blog/?p=1007&preview=true

Written by Sarah Vlach

Social Media: Channel for Free Speech or the Catalyst to Political Unrest?

We’re all aware of the political unrest presently unfolding in the Middle East. Most of us, connected and worldly university students that we are, probably found out through our constant and beloved social media sites. It’s how we share ideas, current events,and now political operations around the world, and why wouldn’t we tune in to hear the latest news?


Social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Youtube are facing issues regarding their policies of sharing and political neutrality. These sites are increasingly being used by activists and pro-democracy forces, especially in the Middle East and North Africa. Faced with posts urging rebel action, videos of rallies and military practices, groups uniting anti-government communities, and photos of civil unrest and destruction, social media is being forced to elucidate the limits of the fuzzy gray area between free speech and, well, TMI. Unless calls to violence or violent footage's involved (which are taken down by the sites because they are against policy), socialmedia conversation remains in shades of gray.


Current turmoil has put social media companies in a delicate position: how to
accommodate the growing use of social media for political purposes while remaining neutral and maintaining the policies that granted their services international popularity. The rules are not so black and white, especially when facing these issues on a global scale.


Can a social network provide neutral service when navigating the treacherous territory of international politics? How much information is too much to share on social media, and who owns it? Who has the right to determine speech limits when the channel crosses the borders of time and space? When the issues discussed have the potential to overthrow governments?


Stay logged on and we’ll find out.


Written by Gabriella Chiera