22 February, 2016. 14:23

ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact

An unpaid intern at one of Australia’s most popular alternative news websites has taken the time this afternoon to focus her publication’s blowtorch on one of the most controversial talking points of her industry – unpaid internships.

Specifically, the dirty little secret that male unpaid interns are often paid more than their female counterparts.

“It’s something that needs to be fixed,” said media student Hyacinth Tomming.

“On average, unpaid male interns are paid 30% more than females. The work isn’t any different, either.”

The 20-year-old interviewed a number of final year communication students about their experiences on the unpaid internship circuit – with horror story after horror story emerging from the cohort.

In particular, an unpaid female intern at the Daily Telegraph explained to Ms Tomming that she was in the same intern intake as a male from another university.

“There’s one guy here from QUT doing the same thing I am and he’s taking more than a third more than me at the end of each week,” said the unpaid intern.

“It’s bullshit. He basically swings on his chair, picks his nose and writes something about rugby league twice a day and he gets more than me. I write six articles a day and all the editor does is give me a double thumbs up as I walk out the door.”

At her current role at Pedestrian.tv, Ms Tomming said she receives the same as the other unpaid interns, which is something the industry needs to adopt across the board.

More to come.