Memoirs of a Couch Potato

The starting of a new year, like anything else, means preparing for the future. For seniors and dedicated students, that means internships.
Around this time, the Office of Student Media gets exceedingly busy. Stacks of paper are taken for clips, résumé paper is purchased, cover letters are written and packets are sent. Then the dreaded waiting game begins.
There is nothing sweeter than receiving a phone call from the internship you were applying for and having them tell you, “You’ve been accepted.”
Such is the feeling six twentysomethings felt when they found out they were being offered an internship at Rolling Stone in New York City. Founder, editor and publisher Jann Wenner would offer the winner a position as contributing editor for a year.
Being an intern means a lot of things; getting coffee, filing information, answering phones and being the all around delivery person. But for the interns at Rolling Stone via MTV’s “I’m From Rolling Stones,” being an intern means looking gorgeous, ready for a drink, being memorable enough to capture the audience’s attention for thirty minutes and enough writing talent to spell their names.
Take Colin for example. His first assignment was to interview the rock band We Are Scientist. Not only was Colin late for the interview, but he really didn’t know what to do.
It doesn’t look bad that Colin doesn’t know how to conduct an interview, but it looks terrible that after thousands of applicants, Rolling Stone chose people with no experience in journalism.
Everyone knows Journalism Rule #1: research your subject and write down ten questions you want to ask them. Just don’t come into the interview not knowing.
Then there is Peter, who on the first day at Rolling Stone responded to executive editor’s Joe Levy’s criticism on his article that he can only write when he’s drunk. Someone needs to send him a memo that drunken writers haven’t been in vogue since Hemmingway and Fitzgerald.
The oddest and probably the one writer who will not win and will not have a long career in writing is the grill wearing, hip-hop “wanna be” Asian-American Krishtine. Getting a job as a journalist is not a priority, but becoming an icon for the hip-hop culture.
I hope Russell, the former juvenile delinquent from San Francisco, wins. So far, Russell is the only intern with previous writing experience. Experience he brags about when an editor tells him his story didn’t need anymore editing.
The final two interns are Tika and Krystal. Both who will only get camera time when they are screaming.
I don’t think I’ll be watching anymore of the show, maybe the final episode just to see who wins, but I hope the real interns at Rolling Stone have more talent and skill than the ones on TV.