A whole new world of experiences at Veris Media

Internship Reflection

Spring 2024

John with Cassandra Skolnick, SBU intern Himma Sharma and  Adam French, a Public Policy intern with S.A.F.E.

By: John Neri

Working as an intern at Society of Advocates Fighting for Equality (S.A.F.E.) under Veris Media Group LLC was one of my greatest experiences in college. 

Holding the position as media journalist, I got the opportunity to pitch the topics I wanted to cover and pursue stories I never really got to in my normal classes. This position involved collaborating on articles often featuring photo/video documentation on a timeline of roughly three weeks each. Interpreting data and interviews in an investigative way was very interesting and there is now an investigative reporter position available for new interns aspiring to do this.

I enjoyed the collaborative element of the internship. Despite the weekly shifts being mostly virtual, there was plenty of team collaboration done throughout the week. As journalists, we had to constantly be aware of our inbox and group chat for new sources or updates. Criticism was constructive and helpful, and editors went the extra mile to help us do research. 

Our manager was easily reachable and gave a lot of patience to interns experiencing a problem. The schedule was designed with care so interns with similar positions could collaborate.

Working as an intern for Veris allowed me to utilize my strongest skills and work on my weaknesses. 

I was frequently put in a position where management felt I would perform the greatest and I appreciate every special opportunity I got. As an intern, I devoted a lot of my time doing things I enjoyed. Some of the things I enjoyed most were simply writing, taking photos, and meeting with sources for interviews. I would have never heard the information and personal stories of these sources if I hadn’t worked in this position. 

On top of all the experiences I had, I learned how it feels to be in a reporter’s position. I believe my time at Veris prepared me for when I work in a proper newsroom one day. Research, working with editors, and managing deadlines are some skills that were greatly emphasized. One of my standout moments here was traveling to New York City with my team to cover a hunger/workers’ rights strike outside City Hall. A very emotional day. I will be returning to the city two more times for the internship and look forward to it.

I would like to close with a shout out to the person behind S.A.F.E. and Veris: Cassandra Skolnick. Cassandra is also a member of the National Organization for Women (N.O.W.) Suffolk Chapter, a public speaker, an advocate, a feminist philosopher, and an inspiring person. 

I think the influence and presence of Cassandra made up a big part of the internship for me. When I first met Cassandra at an internship and job fair at Stony Brook University, she talked to me significantly longer than other tables who just gave me an elevator pitch and sent me away. This familiarized me with the position and made me want to follow up. She opened the internship with fun and educational orientation sessions that focused heavily on team building. Throughout the internship, she put in a lot of work to manage the team and assist in the assignments of every intern. 

With all of these factors in consideration, I would recommend any journalism undergraduate who is interested in interning for a local company on the topic of marginalized populations in society to apply to S.A.F.E./Veris.