Freya Parr

Working for the Sydney branch of Broadsheet enabled me to enhance my writing skills, as I had to research and write a huge number of articles on a wide variety of topics, primarily focussing on the Sydney arts and restaurant scene. I conducted regular interviews with some of Australia’s most well respected chefs, designers and directors, and weaved their comments into my work. I also managed the company’s content management system, uploading all the website’s content, individually formatting each article according to their category and then wrote copy for social media posts and organising their upload.

Working as part of a major global advertising agency gave me a close insight into how brands are marketed and branded. The branch of the company I was working with was responsible for bringing pharmaceutical products to market, so I had to put my research skills to use, and work alongside the medical writers. I worked in all departments of the company, from account management, to copywriting, to planning, helping with the creative development of several different campaigns.

I was the company representative for the University of Leeds, and had to run a full marketing scheme through extensive social media and face-to-face promotion. I was fully responsible for organising a Lock-In event at the Leeds store, a tea party for several university societies, as well as promoting an online competition. I had to form relationships with many societies in order to promote the company, as well as managing my assistants and reporting back to the Marketing Department.

The Views section of The Gryphon is based around comment and debate on current affairs. As the Editor of this section, I had to research stories or issues for the writers to discuss, and then run weekly meetings with them, deciding who was best suited to each article. I then had to follow them all up throughout the week, and consequently edit their work and lay the pages, both for the paper copy of the newspaper and the website.

Rotunda Media is a Perth-based publication that is currently expanding across Australia. I wrote many articles throughout the year; primarily theatre, exhibition and concert reviews, all of which I sourced information and tickets for myself. I also wrote feature and trending articles on local, national and international news, as well as public interest stories. My pieces always received some of the highest viewing figures, and I was continually praised for my work.

Although the internship took place a few years ago, I learned a great deal about the world of journalism, and I have taken this forward with me. I assisted the office staff, helping around the office doing anything from answering phone calls from clients, to running errands around London for senior editors. I also was able to research news topics and I even had the opportunity to write articles for the magazine’s website. I gained a lot from this internship, in particular being able to think quickly in pressurised situations, and working with a group of people I hadn’t previously met.

Although the internship took place a few years ago, I learned a great deal about the world of journalism and publishing, and I have taken this forward with me. I assisted the office staff, helping around the office doing anything from answering phone calls from clients, to running errands around London for senior editors. I also was able to research news topics and I even had the opportunity to write articles for the magazine’s website.

Graduated with a 2:1. Completed a year exchange programme at the University of Western Australia, where I studied English Literature, Art History, Gender Studies and Law.