Internship Program -- Meet Bad Economy

Unfortunately it appears that internship programs have become acquainted with the poor economic climate. I received an e-mail the other day from Jo-Anne Preziosi, Ogilvy's New York Internship Coordinator. I had considered applying for their program, so my name was in their database. The main part of the e-mail said this:

"We hope your spring semester is going well. We are sorry for the delay in following-up with you regarding the 2009 Ogilvy Public Relations Summer Internship program. We have made the decision to cancel the program for this year and we are planning to resume the program again in 2010."

This is the first program I've seen do this (granted I haven't been digging around to see if others have as well). It's unfortunate because Ogilvy has such a great program. It would be an honor to intern for them. While the e-mail didn't say so, I can assume this cut has to do with the economy. Ogilvy pays their interns to work there, and that can add up.

What I'm wondering is -- why couldn't they just hold back from paying interns during this time? Sure, a paid internship can be a rarity and is certainly a plus, but I know if I received an offer from them Ogilvy, I'd take it whether they could pay me or not. The experience you'd receive from the agency outweighs being paid or not.

I hope canceling internship programs doesn't start to be a trend. It's agencies and firms like these that provide college students with such awesome experiences that they can't get from sitting inside a classroom.