By Kris Leonhardt
Pass it Forward Program Director
MMC Senior Editor
Dear readers,
As we enter 2024, we usher in a new group of interns through our “Pass it Forward” internship program.
The internship program was born out of a pilot program in 2022 that led to the hiring of two dedicated editors at the Press Times in Green Bay, which I have the pleasure to work beside now.
The spring, summer and fall 2023 programs were supported by the Packers Give Back initiative and Nicolet National Bank. The pair will continue that support through 2024.
In 2023, we worked with two dozen college-age interns who showed an interest in exploring the journalism industry. With limited college courses available to offer this opportunity, Multi Media Channels (MMC) is willing to provide this opportunity.
Working with St. Norbert College, UW-Green Bay and Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, we have been able to reach those students; it is a win-win-win for all of us. We are able to help local educational institutions provide a service for their students and our backers are able to help our community stay connected through enhanced journalism.
The benefits to us are numerous: the obvious, help in covering local news and features to keep the community connected. The benefit I knew was there, but didn’t see the full potential: learning from them.
Learning from them comes in two forms – technology is the most obvious and expected, but there is more. I am learning how they view the world and what they see that other generations might not be aware of, which is also reflected in their writing. That 1,000-foot view they have looks a lot different than mine.
Now you might think that I am talking age, but I am talking experiences. Not the amount of experiences, but the types of experiences. They are learning through a different lens and an entirely different scope.
I am grateful that I have been given this opportunity to share my passion with them and learn about their passions.
The two dozen interns who have completed the program thus far are change-makers, and they are looking for the place where they will begin that work.
We want it to be journalism.
This spring, we are opening our program to two high schools to reach secondary students who would like to explore journalism. We hope to expand this program through our entire company footprint, but we can’t do it alone. We are hoping that others join us in continuing to keep communities connected.
One of our 2023 interns illustrated it best stating, “I thought I was connected in my community until I started this (internship.) Now I realize what I was missing.”
MMC is the publisher of the Tomahawk Leader.