Condé Nast, the publication giant behind magazines like W and The New Yorker, says that it will end its popular internship program in 2014. The program drew in a massive number of young students hoping to get their foot in the door of big name publications.
Hilary Flint, a 21-year-old public relations student at Humber College, and a participant in Teen Vogue’s Fashion University, commented: “Kids grow up dreaming of interning at Condé Nast’s various publications, and now that dream is dead.” Flint attended the conference run by the Condé Nast magazine in order to learn about the fashion and media industry, and to make connections for possible internships.
Jenny Giesler, a sophomore at West Virginia University majoring in fashion design and merchandising, also worries that she won’t get the experience she needs. “Most places won’t hire you unless you have prior internships in the fashion industry. It’s a chance of making it in the industry because you are showing your talents … and you are around the people that could possibly hire you.”
Condé Nast has not commented on the decision, other than to confirm it, but it likely has to do with June’s fiasco when interns at two of the publications sued the company for wage violations.
