June 7, 2012

Manhattan PR Firms Kick Off Fifth Year of Summer Internship Program PRISM

This summer, a group of college students seeking a career in the public relations industry will participate in an innovative internship program offering first-hand learning experiences that go beyond the traditional account support role. Now in its fifth year, the Public Relations Internship Summer in Manhattan (PRISM) program includes five leading independent public relations agencies partnering together to offer interns hands-on experience in the public relations industry.

The 2012 participating PRISM agencies are Bridge Global Strategies (www.bridgeny.com), Herman and Almonte PR (www.herman-almontepr.com), Strohl & Co. (www.strohlnco.com), Makovsky + Company (www.makovsky.com) and RED PR (www.red-pr.com). Each agency brings a different area of expertise to the program, with specialties including beauty, design, technology, health, energy, travel and not-for-profit. The collaborative efforts of all the agencies are intended to give PRISM summer interns a one-of-a-kind learning experience, to maximize exposure to different aspects of the PR industry and to provide camaraderie and peer networking.

In addition to the daily responsibilities within their respective firms, PRISM interns participate in weekly "lunch and learn" sessions organized by the participating agencies. These will include lectures and field trips to provide exposure to different areas of PR and communications.

"'Lunch and Learn' gatherings are as valuable as they are stimulating. PRISM interns are given the rare opportunity to not only connect with influential media and PR professionals, but to sample other branches of the industry that are different from the specialties they experience in their individual firms. These meetings help college students cultivate a well-rounded understanding of the PR world," remarks Julia Labaton, President of RED PR.

Ken Makovsky, President of Makovsky + Company, added, "We've developed a program that provides more education than the interns could get from valuable work experience alone. The diverse specialties and expertise at the participating PRISM agencies allows us to offer our interns much more collectively than we (or other firms) could offer individually."

The 2012 PRISM program runs from June 6 through August 8.