Magazine deputy editor: publisher wants interns to work for free

The unidentified deputy editor of a leading lifestyle magazine has admitted being "told by management to take on interns who will work for free" in order to cut production costs.

According to the website that tirelessly campaigns on behalf of young journalists, Graduate Fog, the man works for a well-known magazine.

He made what the writer calls his "shocking admission" during an exclusive interview aimed at gaining advice for graduates who are trying to break into journalism. He told her:

"The sad truth of the industry is, we're understaffed but more staff costs money so we're told by management to take on interns who'll work for free.

I have friends on magazines where there are six full-time staff and three interns. When a third of the editorial team are unpaid it's a sign that margins are tight. Magazines (online or otherwise) are clearly now expecting people to write for them without payment.

Then they spend their days transcribing interviews or returning things from shoots – helpful to us but not exactly useful to them, other than getting the name of an international magazine on their CV."

The deputy editor – who also worked unpaid at the start of his career – made it clear that he was uncomfortable with the practice.

Graduate Fog commented that although it had known for years that journalism was one of the worst offenders in exploiting interns, it had "assumed that this exploitation was somewhat casual."

It added: "This editor's comments suggest something darker and more organised. Now, it seems that senior (well-paid) managers are giving explicit orders to senior editorial staff to deliberately take advantage of young job-seekers in order to cut costs. Is this a new low for an industry that's already on its knees?"

Source: Graduate Fog