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Thirteen honors students from the School of Journalism are spending their summer in London, working in British media and studying British culture.

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Tired of London? Never!

June 28, 2008
Regan McCarthy

Photo by Regan McCarthy

One of Regan McCarthy’s jobs at the London Chamber of Commerce was to take photographs. Here’s a sample of her work, a photo of her internship supervisor, Peter Bishop, deputy chief executive, at a chamber function.

With only a few days left in London, I admit that the idea of going home to sleep in my own bed sounds pretty great. After all, I hopped on the plane the minute I finished my finals and I feel like I haven’t slept since Christmas. But as much as I miss home, I could never say that I’m tired of London. As Samuel Johnson said, “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.”

I feel as if I’ve spent every waking moment in London learning. Sometimes the lessons were simple. Vegetable oil, for example, does not taste like olive oil. But the most important lessons were those I learned through hands-on experience during my internship.

I interned this summer for the London Business Matters Magazine put out by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. My time was spent learning about both magazine and business writing, two areas of journalism in which it really pays to have experience.

My main tasks at the chamber were to server as a photojournalist at networking functions sponsored by the chamber and to contribute articles to the magazine. The London Business Matters magazine regularly features member businesses that have recently joined or are trying something new. I wrote one such article about Capital of London.

Capital of London prints and hand engraves stationary. It has done some pretty classy work, including birthday announcements for the queen and Margaret Thatcher’s letterheads. It’s a small, family-run business. In fact, while I interviewed Eddie, the owner, his two sons were printing birth announcements behind me on some very old-school presses.

After the interview, I headed back to the office where I wrote my story. Afterward my supervisor and I discussed my writing. He pointed out changes that I could make and talked about writing in an English rather than American voice. The tips he gave me were tips that I know I’ll be able to apply to any writing that I do in the future, especially if I chose to follow magazine or business writing as my future career path.