| Intern revels in once-in-a-lifetime experience

He was one of six interns selected for a special creative summer retreat.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Isaac Ludwig can honestly say he never made coffee for anyone during his summer internship.
He was too busy giving his input on programming that affected the viewing habits of many of his generation.
Ludwig, a senior at Westminster College, spent the summer as an intern at MTV.
"They let me do a lot of hands-on stuff," he said.
Interns were put in charge of programming at MTV's online radio stations, Ludwig said. MTV executives felt the interns were within the age group that listens to it and would know the target audience better than they would.
Going to 1515 Broadway in Times Square was a long way from sleepy New Wilmington, Pa., and even farther from Salineville in Columbiana County, where Ludwig's father is pastor of Bethel Presbyterian Church.
But Ludwig said he enjoyed being in the Big Apple and living with friends of his family in Manhattan and New Jersey during his 10-week internship.
Getting in the door
A prior internship with Clear Channel Pittsburgh and work in high school doing band marketing through street teams were instrumental in his hiring, he said.
But getting in the door at MTV was tough. A contact his stepmother had at the music television network helped, he said. He had to go through one interview in New York and two telephone interviews before being hired for the unpaid position.
A typical day started at about 10 a.m. every day, clipping newspaper articles about music and entertainment for various people in the company.
Then he would do anything from going to record companies to pick up tapes, escorting talent to Web site photo shoots, attending and giving input at music meetings, developing copy for Video Music Award promotions, and programming for online radio stations.
Summer highlight
But a highlight of the summer was being one of six interns, selected from 350, to attend the MTV Summer Creative Retreat on Montauk, Long Island. He was chosen on the recommendation of his supervisor.
"We got to see the selection process for new shows and how new ideas are born at a huge network," he said.
MTV's new darlings Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey sang songs and mingled with interns before the interns were give a preview of the couple's show, "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica."
And, yes, Simpson is just as she appears on the show, Ludwig said. Her now-famous pondering over whether Chicken of the Sea tuna is truly tuna or chicken wasn't an act, he said.
A private beach party was the highlight of the week-long retreat, he said.
"It's definitely a once-in-a-lifetime thing," Ludwig said. "You are basically partying with everyone from the president of MTV to the guys from 'Jackass' and a couple of different smaller punk bands. Having the opportunity to be in that kind of environment and hanging out with people like that was very unique."
In touch
Ludwig said he still communicates with his MTV contacts through instant messaging every day. He believes they can help him when he decides to find a "desk" job in a few years.
For now he's looking forward to graduating in May with a degree in public relations. He has applied for a six-week postgraduate seminar in journalism at the Poynter Institute in Florida and then plans to travel to Ecuador and teach kayaking.
cioffi@vindy.com