(Written by intern Ralph Lee)
I have had an experience at the Agency Spy office, to say the least. From my perception of the place prior to stepping foot in the door, I expected an entire office dedicated to ‘Spying’. I was sadly mistaken. When I was taken on a tour of the office, I noticed that Mediabistro and its subsidiaries took a major stake in the entire office, except one small section that was dedicated to Agencyspy. This was when I realized that this internship wouldn’t be so bad after all. I realized that I would have a good amount of work and experience that I could get my hands into. So I shall start with…
The Good
There were definitely some pretty good aspects to interning at ‘The Spy’. I graduated college in 2008, and have had a tough time gaining ‘agency’ experience, so interning here has given me a good inkling of what an agency atmosphere is like. I’ve been exposed to the advertising world through networking events that I’ve been able to attend as well as the inside scoop on the big agencies and where clients are moving. It’s been pretty cool to be able to say that my day to day includes research on the field that I will soon work in.
The creative freedom has been great. Matt, the editor, gives me tasks to take care of throughout the day, but I’ve been able to tap into my creative savvy by producing my own segment to the online show, ‘The Week in Advertising’. I also assist in the production of the show (IE: working the teleprompter). You have to love a guy who can work a teleprompter! Please let me not forget about the most exciting, joyful, and importantly GREAT thing about this internship…free breakfast on Monday mornings! And when I say breakfast, I do mean bagels. It is a great way to shake anyone’s case of the ‘Mondays’!
The Bad
Now it’s time for the ‘not so good’ aspects of the internship. There aren’t too many bad things I can say about this place, but the few I can say will be said here. First of all, there is no free food on Tuesday through Friday, which is kind of okay, considering the fact that I only work Monday and Tuesday. My computer, a Dell Latitude D620 (not pointing any fingers), is probably worst computer I have ever used in my life! Talk about the slowest piece of machinery on earth, coupled with the fact that the ‘F’ key is popping out of place as I type this piece. (Probably to keep me from typing the word that I really would like to type in reference to this computer). So dealing with this pc on a daily basis here has caused a bit of a challenge, since I’m just an intern and interns aren’t worth new equipment, but the work still gets done. Another thing that I don’t look forward to here is the miscellaneous references to subjects that I am not versed on, actually that not many people in the gen pop is versed on. In mid conversation, I’ll hear a reference to a multitude of topics that have no relevance to what we’re talking about. But hey, the good thing about that is I’m learning a new language!
The Good?
I believe I am supposed to be giving advice to the next intern here, right? Okay, well here it is. Outside of my good and bad of the situation, there is definitely a lot of experience available here. This is essentially a blog site, which you have to gather content for and help the machine keep running, IE: the online show, the daily content, etc, but it also allows you to expand on what you already see. When you have something as fresh as this, you have infinite possibilities in enhancing it. There is a great team of folks that have a hand in making sure this site is up to par, Matt, Weston, Kevin, and Kiran. Matt, whom I report to daily and holds the title of editor, is a very creative guy. He’s also pretty funny and down to earth. He’s definitely someone that you need to keep in your Rolodex. He gives good advice and helps you to expand your potential. Weston is the producer of the show, the man behind the camera, and he always has a joke or some hilarious reference to whatever you’re talking about. Kevin is another funny guy. He doesn’t come off as it initially, but definitely a funny guy. He’s the editor for TV Newser, Mediabistro subsidiary, and a tech guy. Kiran, the other main blogger, is never in the office, but blogs from home, and he’s cool. He is like an almanac for pop culture. We had an hour long conversation about the evolution of rock bands one night. I definitely got a good lesson in music. All in all, this has been a great experience these past 3 months, and the next intern, I wish you the best of luck.
P.S. — Make sure you get ready for the tireless jokes during the taping of ‘The Week in Advertising’, because there will be plenty!
— Intern Ralph