Internships at the Phnom Penh Post

Maggie Chen, a Master of Journalism student, has just completed a three-week internship at the Phnom Penh Post, organised for her by the JMSC.

Maggie Chen

Maggie describes her time there:

“I had a fantastic time during my internship at the Phnom Penh Post in May.

“Although I only had a relatively short time there, I was fortunate enough to write or co-write pieces touching on topics as diverse as crime, international legal enforcement, climate change and business expansion into Cambodia.

“Cambodia is a intriguing place and I met a number of interesting people who have come to the country to help rebuild it — and tell its stories — after decades of devastation.

“My work involved speaking to a women’s rights activist, spokespersons for the U.S. embassy and the Cambodian government, a defendant’s legal adviser, and attendees of an annual event which serves as a reminder of the atrocities committed under the Khmer Rouge regime.

Cambodian Monks

“I also sub-edited stories written by local journalists, which not only involves ‘line-by-line’ editing, but helping to ensure that articles are accurate, logically structured, clear and engaging – it was a great learning experience.

“Outside of work, I enjoyed going along to weekly informal Post staff get-togethers, reading some great books (both journalistic and personal accounts) about Cambodia and somehow managed to check out the city’s sights and night life. I definitely want to return some day, as there are many places in Cambodia that I haven’t yet explored!

“I highly recommend an internship at the Post to anyone keen on getting hands-on experience within a great newsroom and learning about a fascinating country.”

This is the second internship that Maggie Chen has done through the JMSC. She worked at Agence France-Presse‘s Asia-Pacific head office in Hong Kong over the winter break. She has subsequently done freelance work for them. Maggie starts another internship at the South China Morning Post this week.

The Phnom Penh Post has a very good relationship with the JMSC. It is taking two further MJ students, Christy Choi and Daniel Pordes, as interns this summer.