Students selected for inaugural Sky TV internships

Media release
30 October 2008

Film and Television students selected for inaugural Sky TV internships

Five students from the Department of Film, Television and Media Studies’ Sport and Media paper have been selected to become interns at Sky Television.

The Sport and Media class, led by Senior Tutor Margaret Henley, gives students the opportunity to experience television studio production alongside their academic study and for some students the chance to work in the sports units of film and TV companies at the completion of the course.

Margaret says she approached Sky Television with the hope of securing internships for some of her most talented students. The internships will provide each student with 100 hours of hands-on training over the rest of the academic year. They will gain invaluable experience in shooting sporting events, editing footage, assisting with outside broadcasts, and helping to produce live and pre-recorded studio programmes.

“One of the strengths of the University’s FTVMS department is our ability to provide students with access to, and experience within, the industry. These internships not only benefit our students however; they also expose potential employers to some of the finest young talent coming out New Zealand universities,” says Margaret.

Sky Television’s Director of Sport Programming and Production, Kevin Cameron, says he was delighted to help establish the inaugural internships. By partnering each intern with a Sky TV production manager, the students will gain experiences that are tailored to their individual strengths. He, too, believes both interns and industry professionals will benefit from the initiative.

“Our relationship with The University of Auckland is excellent in that it exposes us to the best students coming out of the University system, gives them some hands-on knowledge of what we are doing, and how, and it could lead to potential employment in the future as we continue to grow,” says Kevin.

The FTVMS students selected to intern at Sky Television are: Shalinie De Soysa who will focus on cricket; Allison Willard who will concentrate on rugby; John McDonnell, who will undertake work with magazine programme production; Alan Chapman whose work will centre on the Steinlager Rugby Awards; and Amy Friedman, who will work on studio production and post-production editing with the soccer production team.

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