A Letter From the Publisher

By Robert L. Miller

As editor in chief of the Columbia University daily, the Spectator, Sara Just, 21, spent a busy winter and spring organizing her newspaper's coverage of college life. That routine changed in June when she began her summer internship at TIME's New York City editorial offices. Before she knew it, Just was on the telephone with Government and business sources, gathering reactions to the selection of Alan Greenspan, who, as the newly chosen chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, was the magazine's cover subject.

Several weeks later Carl Bower, 21, a journalism major at the University of Maryland, learned that TIME had scheduled a Show Business story on the impact of AIDS on the arts. He promptly volunteered to photograph a gathering of entertainers paying tribute to AIDS victims in show business. To Bower's delight, two of his pictures ran with the story.

Again this summer, TIME's nine-week intern program, now in its eleventh year, is giving senior-bound college students a chance to get hands-on experience at a major news organization, and a rare glimpse of how TIME is put together. "It's fun knowing what will get into the magazine before anyone else does," says Intern Ruth Masters, 20, a European-history major at the University of Pennsylvania, who is researching and writing in the Economy & Business section.

Interns are chosen by TIME editors from among hundreds of applicants put forward by colleges. Their credentials are impressive. Intern Stephanie Thomas, 21, of Barnard College, has visited Turkey nine times. She wound up writing in the World section. Marta Lavandier, 23, studies photojournalism at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She became a picture researcher. Lisa Kazmier, 21, of Northwestern University, has worked for two daily newspapers. Her task: writing in the Milestones section.

For TIME's editors, one benefit of the program is the opportunity to hear fresh views on the magazine's operation. Says Leah Shanks Gordon, administrative editor and the interns' supervisor: "Sometimes what they say is bruising, but the interns' presence gives us an opportunity to hear from some very bright people. We learn a lot from them." And we hope they too learn a lot from their experience.