Caitlin Esch, George Washington University (September 13, 2004 - May 2005) Also see 2005 Interns

Fife Tshudy, Weber State University (September 13 - December 10, 2004)

Stephanie Samuel, George Washington University (September 13 - December 10, 2004)

Sara Blatchly, American University (September 13 - December 2004)

Sena Christian, University of California at Berkeley (March 8 - July 30, 2004)

Jessica L. Chesnutt, Smith College (May 17 - August 14, 2004)

Cristina Juan-Lara, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain and University of California, Santa Barbara, USA (July 1 - August 27, 2004)

Jin-a Yang, Chosun University, South Korea  (April 14, 2003 - April 2004)

Jessica Beaton, Johns Hopkins University (January 29 - February 19, 2004)

Caitlin is a graduating junior, majoring in english, at the George Washington University. Upon graduation, she hopes to work for the DC public school system through Teach for America. This being her area of interest, she plans on researching issues of gender and inequality in the school system. Caitlin has also studied abroad and travelled extensively and is interested in women's experiences in different cultural contexts. S

"WIFP does more than fill a niche; it addresses a crucial point in media in this the information age, namely seeing to it that women speak for themselves. Presently, the majority of media marketed to women is not produced by them; the decisions about what news and information to disseminate to women are not made by them. If women are to communicate - both to each other and to the world - what is important to them, they must do the talking. I found my ideal internship at WIFP making resources by, for and about women more accessible, while supporting those women who work to produce them."

Sara Blatchly is a student at American University. She is a visual media major with a minor in art history. In 2006, she plans to enroll in American University's special education masters program. Sara has interned for several media organizations and written for school and local publications.

March 8 - July 30, 2004

When I was a junior in high school, I decided to check the box next to Journalism when deciding on my schedule for the upcoming school year. By the time the newspaper staff sent the first issue to press, I decided that I had found my calling in life and I wanted to be a journalist. While at community college, I served as Assistant Features Editor and Opinion Editor for the school paper. Upon transferring to University of California at Berkeley, I was a layout editor and writer for an ACLU affiliated publication, Civil Scope. There was no doubt that I was excited about the work I was doing and my desired career path, however there was something missing.

The void was filled when I took my first Women's Studies course at UC Berkeley. That course, and the subsequent ones that followed changed my thinking. The feminist history, theory, issues, writings and personal experiences to which I was exposed, expanded my mind, challenged me to understand the world around me in a different way and required me to question norms that before I had simply taken for granted. I realized that in my future career, I would always work to incorporate feminism and women's issues into my writing. In Fall 2003, I graduated with a double major in Mass Communications and Women's Studies.

As I prepared to graduate from college, I searched for an internship which would blend my passions-media, journalism and feminist issues-and found the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press. The WIFP is the perfect opportunity for me to be active in the Third Wave feminist movement while working to restructure the current communications system in the U.S.. Now as an intern with WIFP, I hope to learn more about the ways women can move away from the margins to the center of media and communication networks. I hope to better understand strategies for opening up public discourse concerning feminist issues. I want to help restore media to its intended role in American democracy; a central role which has been lost in the face of FCC deregulation and corporate media consolidation.

Several of the Mass Communication courses I took at UC Berkeley looked briefly at media representation of women-a representation which too often constructs women in degrading, disrespectful and misogynistic ways. A primary reason for this problem is that in the mainstream media, women are being constructed and represented by others, rather than doing the constructing and representing themselves. It is a media representation of women, not by women. This issue is a major focus for WIFP, and I have already learned-through the Directory of Women's Media-that women's media do indeed exist. However, women's media is often low on resources and low on exposure and this is not just a problem for women. As WIFP founder Dr. Donna Allen asserted, in order for democracy to function effectively, all people must have equal access to the media-whether through using the media to relay information, or as a way to obtain information. "Access to the public constitutes political power and in a democracy it must be equal. Freedom of the press is a citizen right of democracy, it should not be a right based on wealth." This is a founding philosophy of the freedom of the press with which I completely agree, and I am excited about helping to create ways in which this principle can be more thoroughly enforced.

In terms of feminist issues, media and democratic processes, I am primarily interested in raising awareness regarding gender violence against women. I want to discover methods of utilizing the media to increase awareness of gender violence as a blatant act of patriarchy and control, used to maintain women in a position of subordination to men. Indeed, women must have media outlets and communication networks to have a viable voice in democracy. However, in every society, a woman must first have her physical safety secured so she can venture out into the world, express her views, voice her concerns, convey her anger, vote her conscience and participate completely in the democratic process. Historically and currently, women have been silenced not only through their marginalization in media systems, but also through the threat of gender violence. And each act of silencing has been a slap in the face of democracy and equality. Fortunately, with organizations like WIFP, women will not be silenced much longer.

I've been a "writer" since first grade. I was always the over-extended student, involved in as many activities as possible. Yet it has been writing-whether creative, academic, or journalistic-that has always been something on which I've focused much time and effort. It's been the consistent passion in my life, and has led to many of my academic and job choices, including my discovery of the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press. A junior at Smith College, I am lucky enough to work and study in an atmosphere wholly conscious and considerate. While I read about inequalities in media representation for women, I know that my experiences at an entirely female institution, working for an entirely female publication are unusual. I have had little trouble covering women's issues, and have worked with very supportive mentors and peers.

I began working for The Sophian, our weekly, independent newspaper during my first year as the Assistant Arts Editor. Prior to college, my only journalistic experience was theatre criticism within the acclaimed Cappie program in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. At Smith, I have served as Arts Editor, Features Editor, and Associate Editor, and have enjoyed interviewing fascinating and accomplished female leaders. Yet I realize that in order to achieve true media democracy, there is a lot of work to be done.

I am proud to have the opportunity to learn and work within an organization striving to improve media representation and equality. During my time with WIFP, I hope to delve into many of the current political issues involving women in the Middle East, but also to explore many of the media inequalities here at home. I greatly admire Katharine Graham, whose tenure as president of The Washington Post included the breaking of both the Pentagon Papers and Watergate. I realize that her pioneering leadership is still unusual for a major media source, however. As such, in addition to investigating women's issues given unequal coverage in mass media, I hope to also explore the status of women's contributions and influence within said media.

After one year studying abroad in California, USA, I thought that I could not miss the opportunity of working also in the USA. My stay in California was awesome and full of new experiences for me: personally and professionally. The knowledge of a new culture, and the interaction of people from around the world made me discover that the world doesn't stop in your country and knowing more about other countries, and their cultures is very enriching. So, for this reason, I decided not to stop my trip in the states and extend it until summer, but in another different context, the east coast and working.

My professional experiences has always been related to my majors business administration and economics, but this time I wanted to seek a different field in the interesting world of journalism. WIFP gave me the opportunity to work for them, and collaborate with the organization to edit the web site, in the Spanish section "Nuestras Voces".

I am very proud to participate in WIFP, first of all, because WIFP deals with subjects concerning women's right, a subject very important for humanity and not very talked about. Thanks to organizations like this, concern with freedom of the press, women can express their ideas, and show a different point of view about women that we are usually exposed to. Secondly, through WIFP I have had the chance to attend very interesting activities in Washington, such as a press conference at the National Press Club resulting in an article that appears on the web. On the other hand, writing in Spanish has been an honor for me, since I consider eliminating language barriers important for communication around the globe.

Jin-a Yang Yang came to Washington for a year-long internship with the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press.

My name is Jin-A Yang, and I am from South Korea. Until my recent trip to the United States, I had traveled to several Asian countries but never visited North America. My major at the University of Korea was political science. Before focusing on women's studies in college, I traveled to India, Laos, and Bangladesh where I participated in volunteer programs. In these developing countries, I witnessed the terrible reality women face in their everyday lives. Initially, the only responsibilities women were given involved housework and childcare. However, labor shortage and sex crimes made matters even worse. Recently, Korea has been expanding industrially, and exposure to other cultures led many citizens to consider changing Asian ideas about women's subservient role in society. Consequently, the status of Korean women in fields like law and politics has improved. Today, many Korean women occupy positions of power where they receive recognition. Nevertheless, Korea still has many problems concerning the treatment of women. I learned this fact directly though my volunteer work.

In the academic course I took in women's studies, I learned that gender inequalities and inconsistencies are perpetuated by fixed social roles. My view of women also changed. When I began my studies, I was interested in the media. I concentrated on how women are able to express themselves in mainstream media, but I quickly learned that women are suppressed in this field. Some developing countries are much worse than others. The representation of women in the media is skewed and does not honestly display their precarious situation. Such distortion made me angry. I felt that women should be represented as they are, in hopes that such exposure will give women the help they need. Unfortunately, this is impossible given the structure of modern media in nations where women have relatively little power.

The mass media is extremely influential. People are affected by electronic images from early in life until death. Therefore, the public must be shown the truth. While conducting research on the Internet last year, I found the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press and its important ideas about restructuring the communication system. I was fascinated by what I read and decided to apply for an internship where I could work for a cause in which I believe strongly.

While working at WIFP, I would like to expose issues affecting Korean women through magazines, periodicals, newspapers, television, and radio. I hope to be given the chance to speak about women's rights and strategies to improve life for women by using the mass media properly. I want to help give women a voice within developing countries so they can express themselves effectively.

I would like to thank my parents and Martha for giving me an opportunity to study here. I am also grateful to the Washington Internship Program for arranging this position for me.

Jessica Beaton interned briefly during the spring of 2004 at the Women's Institute for the Freedom of Press. She worked on the WIFP UN page on the website.