Indy readers may have noticed names that appear in bylines for several weeks running and then vanish, only to be replaced by another new and interesting writer. Those are likely interns, members of a program the Independent has run for nearly as long as the anniversary we’re celebrating.
I didn’t start as an intern, as so many here have. I was a new mom when I applied to the paper, and newly tired of chasing after a lively short person. Taking pity on me, the Indy hired me as a proofreader until one of Santa Barbara’s many fires wrung the ranks of reporters dry. I covered a meeting to update residents on the aftermath, and the years since have led to more writing than reading. It can be an anxious endeavor, which may color how I view the interns who add their talents to the news department.
Often coming from schools across Santa Barbara, they are interested, active, thoughtful, and concerned. Most of them try really hard, though occasionally some just disappear. But the ones who stick with it bring us unique story ideas, like covering the Avocado Festival in depth, the car parked on the high school steps in the middle of the night, or the man with 17 college degrees. And they really put themselves out there, meeting elected officials and would-be candidates, covering meetings and taking photographs, researching issues and learning to write it all up in a readable way. They lift my hopes for the future.
They check back in occasionally. Many are working journalists at papers around the country. They win awards — one a team Pulitzer. They teach, they volunteer, they take up master’s degrees. And we can always proudly say they once worked here for the byline.
As the Santa Barbara Independent celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2026, our staff is sharing their “Indy Origin” stories and other memories. See more of them at independent.com/40.
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