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I'm a j-school student and am currently halfway through an internship at a pretty large newspaper. I've spent most the summer writing for the Metro section. It's been fun, but it's not all that different from the work I've done at other papers in the past.

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I've spent the past few days working for our online entity, and I think I've learned more in the short amount of time I've been there than I have reporting for print over the past month. By learning as much as I can on the online side, l feel like I'll be a more attractive job or intern applicant in the future.

Tension in the newsroom following recent layoffs has been palpable from the day I arrived. This makes me wonder what I should be trying to get out of the internship. I know the newspaper business is in a bit of trouble right now, but it never really hit me until I was thrown into a place where the entire staff seems to be worried about losing their jobs.

Would it be wrong for me to ask for the chance to spend my remaining time working online, where I feel I'm learning the most? Or should I suck it up, "pay my dues," and write the daily stories I was hired on for?

Thank you for your column and all the help it provides,

Glum Intern

Well, I don't know whether you were thrown into anything. I think you applied for this internship and were lucky to be selected. But the fact that you asked to be there doesn't improve the atmosphere you're in.

Joe Grimm

Still, you're there to learn, and this is part of what you need to experience to grow. I'm sorry it's painful for you and for so many others.

As for your question: Yes, ask for more shifts online.

You will not be evading your responsibilities or copping out -- you will simply be showing the kind of adaptability we need these days. The degree to which we can adjust as an industry will play largely in how we survive. You agreed to work on Metro and will if told to, but that does not prevent you from suggesting a change. The editors will make the decision. They may welcome your offer. Maybe not. But take a shot.

A lot of us -- including top editors and people in many other industries -- are wrestling with the rapid transformation of our businesses. We will emerge, but we don't know how. Online content is an obvious part of our future, though we are unsure about the timing, substance and economics of it all. But it makes good sense to get in there and become part of the new model -- whatever it becomes.

Help her out: She is certainly not the only one experiencing this. What advice do you have for her? Or are you in a similar spot? Add your comments.

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Coming Tuesday: He's intent on working in local news. It appears, though, that he's likely to get an offer to work in sports. Should he take the job?

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