On the Move at Bloomberg/BNA

By Dean’s Intern Maeve Allsup at Bloomberg/BNA

For the first ten weeks of my internship at Bloomberg BNA, I’ve been assigned to the International Trade Desk, which is a perfect way for me to learn the ropes here while still getting to use a little bit of background from my SIS classes!  I’ve been assigned a few topics to follow in regards to trade, including ‘Brexit’, the presidential campaigns, relations with Cuba, and the Arctic.

So far I’ve written several full-length stories, several of which have focused on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. One of the best perks to working at a company under Bloomberg is that most people are willing to give me interviews or statements, despite the fact that I’m only an intern. I’ve attended and covered a few events in the last couple of weeks, both on the Hill and around Washington, which I really enjoy because it gives me the opportunity to meet other members of the press and to get out of the office!

On a daily basis I work on a few ongoing stories, read up on the topics I’ve been assigned to follow, and work on any stories my editor sends my way, which usually includes calling around to various members of Congress and their aids, listening in on conference calls, and generally trying to find an angle that is new, unique, and specific to international trade.

Every week I have several intern events to attend, including a weekly breakfast at which the interns get to meet and speak with the heads of different departments within the company. There are about 20 interns in total, and seven of us work on the editorial team. During my first week of work we all participated in a team scavenger hunt in Georgetown, and two weeks ago we were given an exciting assignment, or ‘intern project’. After being divided into teams of five, we were assigned a problem facing the company, and asked to come up with some solutions and present them to the board of executives in a few weeks. My team is working on the issue of how to make the company attractive to young professionals, and how to tell them about BNA. We’ve been working to address the issue from two angles: changes to be made within the company to make it more attractive, and changes to be made externally in the way they market themselves and recruit recent graduates.

I really enjoy working here so far, and am learning an enormous amount every day, as I get to work closely with my mentor/editor as well as the senior reporters on the team. There’s definitely a lot to catch up on – Bloomberg has its own publishing system in order to ensure that everything shows up correctly on the Bloomberg Terminals, and I’m still learning how to create articles with it. So far, the internship has exceeded my expectations, and I can’t wait to see which news desk I get assigned to next!