Indiana University School of Journalism

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Matt Dollinger has interned with the Indianapolis Colts, attending the Super Bowl and blogging about the experience. From left are Colts’ vice president Craig Kelley, CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz and Dollinger.

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Despite tough times for news media, sports journalism is growing in both revenues and readership, according to media research groups.

And for the crop of IU students who have landed big-ticket sports journalism internships for this spring and summer, well, they’re doing exceptionally well.

From the Associated Press to the Indianapolis Colts, ESPN to MLB.com, these students will be working with the best of the best.

IU’s National Sports Journalism Center in Indianapolis networked with organizations to offer students these opportunities.

“The center has built a lot of relationships with news organizations around the country,” said center director Tim Franklin, who has traveled to New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., to find opportunities. “Having those connections and the reputation of IU is huge.”

Junior Zina Kumok will be moving to New York this summer to intern with the Associated Press. She said working with Franklin gave her a boost on the application process.

“I think that it helps when someone knows you and knows your work, and knows you’d be a good person to represent IU,” Kumok said.

Journalism students applied for internships last fall, submitting samples of their work and reference letters. Franklin and Career Services Director Marcia Debnam narrowed the list, then news organizations selected their interns. More than 30 students applied for fewer than a dozen slots.

Photo by Rose Soliven

Denis Jimenez is working at ESPN’s headquarters in Connecticut this spring. Only about 1 percent of applicants are selected for this internship. "I couldn’t believe it at first," he said.

Four of the internships were earmarked for IU students, but some students competed with others from all over the nation.

IUPUI student Denis Jimenez is spending spring semester with ESPN in Bristol, Conn., an internship that about 1 percent of applicants receive.

“I couldn’t believe it at first,” Jimenez said in a phone interview.

But now, ESPN is a part of his daily routine and his resume. Jimenez works Monday through Friday in the control room performing air checks for the cable feed.

“It’s a very technical side of ESPN,” he said.

His prior experience with WISH-TV in Indianapolis helped prepare him for the job. Still, the ESPN job is tough.

“You really hit the ground running,” he said, “but it gets easier and easier.”

After completing this internship, Jimenez is optimistic about his future prospects.

“Having ESPN on your resume opens up a lot of doors,” he said.

Franklin hopes the center will help open doors. It launched in January 2009 as part of the School of Journalism’s programming, with Franklin, former editor of newspapers including The Baltimore Sun, signing on as director.

The center aims to educate graduate and undergraduate students in the area of sports journalism, one of the few media areas to experience a boom while other media struggle to retain audiences and capture advertisers. It also offers continuing education to professionals who want to learn new skills in a competitive job market. And for both groups as well as the public, the center has hosted several panel discussions with big-name sports journalists.

Photo by Jessica Haney

NSJC Director Tim Franklin said securing high-profile internships is one of the center’s goals. Nearly a dozen students have internships and Franklin said a few more may be coming for summer.

The center’s goal always has been to cultivate relationships that will lead to internships, Franklin said, in addition to preparing students with classroom learning. Currently, 107 students are enrolled in sports journalism classes on the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses. The IU Board of Trustees recently approved a master’s degree as well.

All of this makes the program at IU stronger, said Franklin.

“Just having IU on the radar of these large news organizations helps provide a leg up for students,” he said.

Senior DeAntae Prince sure hopes so. After graduating this spring, he’ll be heading to Los Angeles for an internship in the sports department of the Los Angeles Times. After that, he’ll be looking for a permanent job.

“What the sports journalism center is doing is preparing people for a job market that’s pretty tough right now,” said Prince.

But with time, and an increasing number of IU students earning some of the top sports journalism internships in the country, it may get easier, Franklin said.

“I’m confident that the students are going to do great at these internships,” he said. “I’m also confident that we’re going to grow the number of internships.”

Franklin said he expects a few more internship placements for summer, including those with the Indiana Pacers and the Big Ten Network.

NSJC Interns Current: Denis Jimenez, ESPN, Bristol, Conn. Matt Dollinger, Indianapolis Colts Justin Whitaker, ESPN Radio, Indianapolis Emily Diekelmann, Indiana Fever, Indianapolis Nick Moreland, IUPUI sports information office Sean Morrison, correspondent on the sports desk of The Indianapolis Star Summer: Zina Kumok, Associated Press, New York City DeAntae Prince, Los Angeles Times Ryan Gregg, Chicago Tribune Greg Rosenstein, MLB.com, Washington, D.C. Emily Diekelmann, Indianapolis Indians