How the Left-Wing Media Exploits Unpaid Interns

[bdad]

Vice.com's Charles Davis takes a brutal look at the hypocrisy of a left-wing media that privately exploits its own unpaid interns while publicly championing a "living wage" and trashing retailers like Walmart. Even if you don't agree with Davis that all interns should be paid a living wage, there is no question that the hypocrisy being practiced by the likes of Mother Jones, Robert Reich's The American Prospect, Salon, and The New Republic is breathtaking.

Former Clinton labor secretary Robert Reich, a far-left economic proponent of the "living wage," who just two weeks ago blasted Walmart for paying some of its workers $8.80 an hour, founded The American Prospect, a left-wing magazine that makes Walmart look generous by comparison. Full-time interns are paid a stipend of $100 a week. At 40 hours, that is $2.50 an hour, well below the minimum wage.
Mother Jones only recently agreed to start paying its interns. As of now, its interns still only receive a stipend of $1000 month, which works out to less than $6 an hour. According to Mother Jones' own living wage calculator, that is $900 less than what is necessary to enjoy" a secure yet modest living.?
According to one source, Mother Jones advises its interns to sign up for food stamps.
Salon's hypocrisy is especially notable. The same left-wing outlet that has written stories titled ?Intern Nation?: Are we exploiting a generation of workers? doesn't pay its interns anything.
The New Republic was recently purchased by a left-wing Internet tycoon worth over $600 million. The outlet still refuses to pay its full-time interns anything.
Democracy Now!, a left-wing hour-long newscast, pays its interns only $15 a day and treats them like kitchen servants:
In 2011, Democracy Now! asked its $15-a-day employees to work the program?s 15th anniversary gala, a major fundraiser. Interns were asked to ?greet and thank guests, check their coats, make sure the event goes smoothly, and help clean up,? according to an email obtained by VICE. ?We will provide you with a delicious pizza dinner, but ask that you refrain from eating the catered dinner at the event.?
The fact that the leaders of left-wing thought in America see themselves as above their own rules, should not be at all surprising. The left always believes that their punishing ideas and laws are for little people, not the overlords in charge of the social engineering. There is a reason why the first person to sign up for ObamaCare was not Barack Obama and probably some poor working class dad who just had the affordable insurance he liked canceled.
Switching gears for a moment, this rampage against interns is not a smart idea. While it is fun to point out legitimate hypocrisy from the left, the loss of internship programs would be a loss for those looking to break into any glamorous profession.
In both Hollywood and in media, I worked my butt off for free for years, and it was the smartest move I ever made. Opportunities came my way I never would have been offered had I stupidly demanded a job instead of a chance to prove myself. And I was married, pushing the age of forty, and working full-time. Not exactly the best time to do this. But I wanted to change my life and was willing to pay the price.
If you want to work in any profession in Hollywood, get your butt on a film set or in a production office, and be the best damn unpaid latte fetcher in the history of Tinseltown. If you want to work in media, do the same. Do everything that is asked of you and more. Worse case, you will make contacts and learn a profession at a price far cheaper than any college education.
One thing you should not do, though, is puff yourself up as a left-wing champion of the little guy via sanctimonious articles that have been researched and proofed by those you refuse to pay.

[Little Wing]

i see internship more as school not work. you don't get paid to go to school in most cases. " I worked my butt off for free for years, and it was the smartest move I ever made. Opportunities came my way I never would have been offered had I stupidly demanded a job instead of a chance to prove myself."

interesting angle and yes, that's pretty brutal...

[KelJu]

Hey dumbfuck! There is a difference between an intern and employee. Interns get shit pay, or none at all, in almost every industry. I agree that running a campaign using interns as the engine is cheap and crappy, but both parties do it and will continue to do it.

But, this weak ass attempt at exposing some "huge hypocrisy" is fucking retarded. Those interns are living off of mommy and daddy while they start their careers in politics. They will probably be fighting for the chance to fuck over future generations of Americans, so fuck the interns. It is insulting to anyone who works 40 hours a week for minimum wage to be compared to an intern working on a political campaign. .

[IronAddict]

Left wing, meet right wing...Now, lets both work together and make this here birdie fly.

[bdad]

Hey dumbfuck! There is a difference between an intern and employee. Interns get shit pay, or none at all, in almost every industry. I agree that running a campaign using interns as the engine is cheap and crappy, but both parties do it and will continue to do it.

But, this weak ass attempt at exposing some "huge hypocrisy" is fucking retarded. Those interns are living off of mommy and daddy while they start their careers in politics. They will probably be fighting for the chance to fuck over future generations of Americans, so fuck the interns. It is insulting to anyone who works 40 hours a week for minimum wage to be compared to an intern working on a political campaign. .

Dumbfuck??? Back at you old boy, next cat I see I kicking in the name off KelJu.

[KelJu]

Dumbfuck??? Back at you old boy, next cat I see I kicking in the name off KelJu.

You would kick an innocent cat in spite of me?

[maniclion]

Left wing, meet right wing...Now, lets both work together and make this here birdie fly.

Wird!

[maniclion]

You would kick an innocent cat in spite of me?

Kickin cats to the curb for decades and still kickin......the middle ground is where its at, a few guide wires at opposite ends and we can fly this mothership as high as we want to....

[troubador]

i see internship more as school not work. you don't get paid to go to school in most cases. " I worked my butt off for free for years, and it was the smartest move I ever made. Opportunities came my way I never would have been offered had I stupidly demanded a job instead of a chance to prove myself."

interesting angle and yes, that's pretty brutal...

Chemical engineering co-ops pay $20+ an hour.

The Mother Jones (what a creepy name for a political propaganda publication) crowd seems so wretched I'd pay them not to work there.

[KelJu]

All of these liberal arts majors cry a lot for making shitty life decisions.

Nursing, radiology techs, teachers, law undergrads, and veterinarian medicine are just a few non-liberal arts internships just off the top of my head that usually do not pay. However, anything heathcare related uses internships as class credit, so it isn't exactly the same. Non-paid internships are just an easy way for businesses to fuck people.

[maniclion]

You know who pays interns? My boss, we had several come through during summers to learn PV from me and my now deceased mentor. 3 of them are now well situated in great jobs, one sells remote electrification systems in Marshall Islands, another is an exec at a large cali solar outfit, and the one girl that came through is an electrical engineer at a photovoltaics research and dev. firm. Of course our company has a very egalitarian anarchy way of operating, so that may be why we differ from the norm on everything....

[Big Puppy]

You would kick an innocent cat in spite of me?

I don't kick cats. That's cruel.

I throw them as high as I can and see if they can land on all fours.

Cats are for pussies

[bdad]

You would kick an innocent cat in spite of me?

Yes, but I usually use my 17HMR.

[KelJu]

Yes, but I usually use my 17HMR.

[LAM]

All of these liberal arts majors cry a lot for making shitty life decisions.

only in the US, but this country is ALL about greed which is exactly why it's tanking the fastest in the OECD. in the next 30 years EVERY single job that can be outsourced will be and this place is going to be the biggest shit hole with not except very low paying jobs for the masses and few high paying jobs at the top.