Better Business in Boston Katrina Lewis' business reporting internship took her to the Boston Business Journal, where she covered real estate news and development.

By Lindsey Nair
November 29, 2017

Katrina Lewis ’19
Major: Business Journalism

Where did you intern this summer?

Boston Business Journal

Tell us a little bit about that organization:

The Boston Business Journal is one of more than 40 American City Business Journals. It covers all kinds of business news happening in Greater Boston, from real estate and banking to health care and technology. The BBJ publishes stories online daily and releases a print edition once a week. This internship was made possible by Reynolds Business Journalism funding.

Describe your job there:

I worked as an editorial intern for the BBJ three days a week for 11 weeks. I wasn’t assigned to cover one specific beat, so I was able to get experience writing about lots of different industries. Most of my time was spent writing stories, but I also got to attend a couple of big company events, including award ceremonies for Best Places to Work and CFOs of the Year.

What was the best story or project you worked on?

The biggest story I worked on was a story discussing the better business movement in Boston. I talked with about a dozen people involved with B Corps and benefit corporations to learn about what their businesses were doing to give back. My story ran as the cover story for our print edition during the second-to-last week of my internship, which was definitely one of the highlights of my internship.

Who did you meet, such as a source, a story subject or a mentor, that made the most vivid impression on you – and why?

I really enjoyed having the opportunity to work alongside W&L alumna Catherine Carlock ’10, who is the real estate editor for the BBJ. Catherine was very welcoming and always willing to help, and it was great to be able to talk with her about W&L and all our time spent in Reid Hall. Catherine also noticed that I enjoyed writing real estate stories, so she gave me extra real estate stories to write and included me in what she was working on by letting me accompany her to different meetings and property tours.

When did you feel the most challenged and how did you meet that challenge?

As is often the case when writing stories with multiple sources, the most challenging part was working around sources’ schedules. I had a good deal of experience working with sources from Beat Reporting, but it can still be frustrating waiting on a source without whom you can’t move forward.

What did you enjoy most about the location of your internship?

I live in central Massachusetts, so getting to spend more time in Boston learning about my state capital was a great experience. Boston is also definitely in a boom period right now, so there was never a dull moment in terms of new projects being announced for the city.

Will this internship impact the direction of your career in any way?

I learned that I enjoy writing about residential and commercial real estate, so that’s something I’ll be looking into more as I apply for another internship for this coming summer.

How did W&L help to prepare you for this opportunity?

I completed Beat Reporting right before starting my internship, and that kind of writing and deadline experience helped me to work efficiently when I was juggling several stories. Also, on a more fundamental level, I used what I learned in Intro to Reporting every time I wrote when I was deciding on how to order my story. Lastly, working as one of the news editors for The Ring-tum Phi helped me edit my stories and avoid AP style errors.

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