Valentina Monsurro completed the MA in Ethnomusicology at City in September 2014. Between November 2014 and March 2015, she worked as an intern at Songlines, the world music magazine Songlines.

We asked her about her work there:

Can you start by telling us about the organisation that you have been working for?
Songlines is a world music magazine based in Brixton, south London. It covers traditional and popular music as well as contemporary and fusion, with a focus on artists and bands from the world music scene.

What did your internship involve?
As an intern with no previous experience in the publishing sector I was given the possibility to choose some areas of interest within the activities involved in the production of the magazine. This included editing, writing, design, page-setting and communications management. I also attended group meetings where I was invited to take notes about ideas and strategies to improve the magazine. This gave me opportunity to follow the creative process that leads to the final draft of the issues. The magazine also has an online blog which is constantly being updated and I was often required to write short reviews and posts about music events and new releases. Other duties involved doing research for the blog updates, archiving CDs, managing databases and managing contacts with artists or their agents.

What did you enjoy most about your internship?
Songlines was a very relaxed and friendly environment to work in. Apart from the practical skills I gained, working as a part of the Songlines team gave me the opportunity to get an insight in the daily work of the editorial staff and gain a better understanding of the world music market. It is an experience I would recommend to recent graduates.