Bailey Lewis (left) and Ardy Tabrizian joined the Malheur Enterprise staff as summer interns earlier this week. (The Enterprise/Rachel Parsons).
The Malheur Enterprise is employing a record four news interns through the summer to provide expanded news coverage.
Two will work as reporters and two will work as multimedia journalists, focusing on photography and video for the Enterprise.
Publisher Les Zaitz said he expanded the corps of interns after news organizations across the country canceled their programs because of the coronavirus outbreak.
“With the country more in need than ever of professional journalists, we wanted to do what we could at the Enterprise to provide opportunities for these talented people,” Zaitz said. “They bring to us additional journalistic muscle to report deeply as Mal- heur County recovers from the pandemic.”
The reporters joining the Enterprise at its Vale office include Bailey Lewis, a senior at the University of Oklahoma, and Ardy Tabrizian, who will be a senior in the fall at the University of Oregon.
The multimedia journalists will be Rachel Parsons, graduating from the University of Southern California, and Kezia Setyawan, who will be a senior in the fall at the University of Oregon.
During the 10-week paid internships, the interns will provide reporting and photography on a range of issues and people in Malheur County. They also will receive advanced journalism training through seminars put on by Zaitz.
The internships of Lewis and Parsons are supported by the In- ternational Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors. Tabrizian and Setyawan were selected by the prestigious Snowden intern program through UO’s School of Journalism and Communication, which is also supporting the interns.
That support and contributions from readers and supporters in Malheur County and around the West enable the Enterprise to fund the internships, Zaitz said. This is the fourth summer that the Enterprise has had an internship program.
Now, meet the interns:
BAILEY LEWIS
She expects to graduate with a journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma later this year. Lewis was the news editor of the OU Daily, the university’s student-run newspaper and last summer was a fellow at Arizona State University’s News21.
“I decided to come to Vale for the summer because I am extremely passionate about lo- cal journalism and serving small communities,” Lewis said. “Last summer, I had the opportunity to cover wild re recovery in rural areas in Wyoming and Utah for News21 and saw firsthand how important it is to give a voice to underserved areas.”
She said she expects to develop her journalism skills while in Vale.
“Over the summer, I hope to learn more about interviewing skills and how to find interesting stories,” she said.
ARDY TABRIZIAN
He will be a senior next fall at the University of Oregon, where he will continue working for the Oregon Daily Emerald, as its associate news editor. He did an internship at Portland television station KOIN last summer.
“I wanted to come to Vale this summer to join a publication that is distinguished for its work in investigative reporting,” Tabrizian said.
“I’m so excited for the opportunity to be challenged in my reporting, writing and editing at the Malheur Enterprise,” he said. “Few things are as important to me as ethical reporting, and I can’t wait to immerse myself in the community, get to know the people and learn what is impor- tant to them.”
RACHEL PARSONS
She graduated from USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and will go on to graduate studies in the fall. Parsons has been a freelance reporter for Reuters and produced The Peregrine Dame, an international travel show on public television.
Rachel Parsons plans to hone her photography skills while working as an intern for the Malheur Enterprise this summer. (The Enterprise/Bailey Lewis).
“I decided to come to the Enterprise because I wanted to have a newsroom experience and learn in a collaborative environment,” Parsons said. “I freelance and work for myself often and the idea of being part of a group that has the Enterprise’s reputation was appealing.”
Parsons said she plans to “hone my photography skills within a quick turnaround work ow. I am also extremely interested to see how a small news organization has achieved so much success and how it serves its community.”
KEZIA SETYAWAN
She is graduating in June from the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communications. In 2018, she covered political and social issues in Ghana. Last year, she created a photo and audio archive of Chinese Indonesians in Indonesia.
Kezia Setyawan aims to produce journalism that will help the community as an intern for the Malheur Enterprise this summer. (Submitted photo).
“I wanted to be invested in a small-town community and be in a reciprocal relationship where I can learn a lot from locals but also share my perspectives as well,” Setyawan said.
She said she wants to produce journalism that “is a public service and good for the community. Also, while the modes of communication change, whether it’s in video or social media and more, this is a great opportunity to see how the ethics haven’t changed.”
Have a news tip? Contact the Malheur Enterprise at 541-473- 3377 or [email protected].
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