Cody Woodside, a senior majoring in journalism and electronic media, will be the inaugural intern abroad for Scripps Networks Interactive’s international division.
The internship, which began this spring in the company’s Knoxville headquarters, continues on location in Brazil from June 1 to August 15. During the internship, Woodside will assist the Food Network team in a variety of functions, from marketing to social media. The program is designed to encourage students to consider a career in international communication and to involve them in an in-country launch of a new television network.
“I began my college career focused on becoming a foreign news correspondent,” said Woodside, of Nashville, who expects to graduate in December. “Two earlier internships taught me to broaden my aspirations, and the Scripps Networks experience has helped me to further fine-tune my career goals. Learning about ratings analysis and network programming by actually working with the team doing the job has proven to be both challenging and interesting.”
Scripps Networks approached the College of Communication and Information to identify a talented senior or graduate student with international experience who could speak Portuguese.
Thanks to his participation in CCI’s study abroad program and his decision to study Portuguese after rooming with an exchange student from Brazil during 2013-14, Woodside met all the requirements.
“Scripps Networks’ generous funding of the internship will cover travel and living expenses for ten weeks,” said Professor Sam Swan, CCI director of internationalization and outreach. “Providing our students with immersive international work experiences will have a profound impact on their future careers.”
The inaugural internship was crafted by Jim Samples, president of international for Scripps Networks, and alumna Cindy McConkey, retired senior vice president for Scripps Networks, working in conjunction with the CCI faculty.
“Our ongoing partnership with Scripps Networks Interactive continues to have a very positive impact on CCI and our students,” said Dean Mike Wirth. “The Scripps Networks International Internship Program is just one more example of the great things that happen when industry and academia work together.
“We are very grateful to the company for its ongoing investment of time and resources to help our students gain the professional experience required to transition from the classroom to the profession.”
—
CONTACT:
Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, ablakely@utk.edu)