Ben Capobianco

Communications Internship
Final Report
Dr. Chase
08/21/14
The Heartland Institute Internship
Final Report

Over the course of this summer, I spent two hundred hours on the 27th floor of
One South Wacker in downtown Chicago. The 27th floor of this beautiful building is
home to The Heartland Institute. The Heartland Institute is a thirty-year-old non-profit
think tank devoted to developing free market solutions to social, political, and economic
problems. While it may not be the biggest think tank in the country, it certainly is big
enough to house several different departments, one of which is the communication
department. After 10 weeks of working in this department, I can look back with fondness
and gratitude at everything I learned. From the menial tasks to the thrilling ones, I saw a
direct and practical outworking of the principles we study in the communications
department.
During my time at the Heartland Institute, I learned a lot about public relations in
theory and in practice. My tasks at work varied a lot, but everything contributed to a
greater understanding of public relations and how it works in the corporate world. I spent
a lot of time recording media hits in the company's records, and then compiling monthly
reports from those numbers. In other words, whenever The Heartland Institute was
mentioned, it was my job to record that information (where it was mentioned, in what
context, etc.) and input it into our virtual records. When the time came, those numbers
would then need to be compiled into monthly reports of our communications numbers

(how many people we are reaching, and through what medium of communication). This
albeit menial work, could actually be enjoyable. I was able to gain some insight into the
blogosphere, as well as just learn a lot about social and political issues and current events.
Although this kind of work could be boring, it is important to do these little things in
order to know how the company is doing in the eye of the public. This information allows
us to track our numbers and then make improvements to increase the success and
outreach of the company. In addition to managing media hits, I also spent a good deal of
time managing The Heartland Institute's blog, "Somewhat Reasonable." Whether it was
writing my own pieces, or posting other articles, my work on the blog taught me a lot.
Whenever we were asked to post an author's work, it was my job to format that material
and find some photos to go along with the articles. This task was actually a lot of fun, and
it was a direct exercise in visual rhetoric. It was my job to pick the image that would be
featured in the article. This image becomes the thumbnail for the post and is therefore
very important, as it is the thing that will either entice potential readers, or push them
away. These images are direct means of communication with the audience, and I tried to
take the principles we studied in the visual rhetoric module into consideration, as I chose
these photos very intentionally. In addition to the more day-to-day tasks, I was also able
to work on a series of very different projects as things came up. One week, the
communications department took on the task of creating a series of short web videos. My
team and I got to do everything from setting up green screens, to writing short scripts
about a variety of social and political issues. Writing these scripts, I felt very prepared by
my class work in rhetorical theory. I needed to compose short speeches that would appeal
to the uninformed as well as the informed. My studies of Gorgias and the sophists as well

as Aristotle, led me to implement direct and clear logic into flashy and engaging
rhetorical flourishes. Several weeks later, I had the privilege of reading a piece written by
Heartland President Joe Bast and writing a list of mock questions for him in order to prep
him for interviews. All of these tasks contributed to equipping me with real work
experience and helping me see how the academic side of communications plays out in the
corporate world.
During my internship, I encountered a lot of different people, and therefore a lot
of different management/work styles. While there were some individuals I hope to be like
one day, there were others that really showed me what to avoid in the corporate world.
The president of the company, Joe Bast, is a great example of a hard working person who
sees the big picture, and knows the importance of the little things. Joe Bast virtually
created The Heartland Institute from nothing, and he really is its President. Bast is
unbelievably central to the operation and is extremely involved in every single aspect of
the company. In addition to his importance, he always makes an effort to reach out to all
the employees (including the interns). Joe Bast took all of us interns out to lunch with
him one day, and gave us all advice/answered question. I think Bast is really good at what
he does. He is an exceptionally hard worker and he really cares about what he is doing.
On the other hand, the head of the development department, Gwendalyn Carver, was an
example of a very poor manager. She did not treat her subordinates with the same care
that she did her work. I learned from these two individuals how critical kindness is in the
workplace.
I faced an interesting challenge in interning at The Heartland Institute. Essentially,
I was faced with requests that I could not fulfill without sacrificing my integrity. I believe

that The Heartland Institute does a lot of good work, and I agree with them on a lot of
issues, however, there are also things with which I strongly disagree. Heartland tends to
focus on certain social issues on which my opinion is very different than that of the
company. Usually, this would not be a problem. However, in the case of this internship,
my boss Jim, the head of the communications department, asked me to write for the
Heartland Institutes blog several times. He asked me to write about a specific issue
regarding climate change. The message he wished to convey through the blog post was
not a message that I believed in or agreed with. Because the piece would have held my
name, I felt I could not write it without blatantly lying and thereby sacrificing my
integrity. I was not entirely sure how to deal with the issue. I did not want to alienate
myself from him or the company by just saying I cant right it because I completely
disagree with the message. After some thought, I decided to tell him that despite my
desire to write for The Heartland Institute, I did not feel like that particular subject best
suited me as a writer. Jim completely understood and told me not to worry. I walked away
from the situation feeling more confident. I believe that it was good for me to have this
sort of experience, and I hope that I am better equipped to deal with these types of issues
later in my career.
In conclusion, my time at The Heartland Institute was definitely positive. I look
back on the internship fondly and with much gratitude. I learned a lot about
Communication and how Communication departments work in corporate entities. I was
even surprised to see just how relevant my classwork is and how much it is preparing me
for the future. There is a very real and strong connection between the work done in the
classrooms of the Communications department at Wheaton, and the work done in the

boardrooms of the Communications departments in the corporate world. In addition to

this realization, I also believe this internship equipped me with skills that I can take with
me into future job opportunities. The Heartland Institute internship was an undoubtedly
valuable experience, and I would definitely recommend it for other Communications
majors at Wheaton College. While it wasnt perfect, I find it difficult to recall any
negative aspects of my experience. The worst part of the internship was the sometimes
repetitive and menial tasks. However, I feel confident that even those tasks were less
repetitive and menial than the tasks other interns are often asked to do. In contrast to
many other internships, my internship always asked me to do educational and important
work for the company. I was never asked to fetch coffee, or find something to do, or
make copies all day. All in all, I would give my summer internship at The Heartland
Institute a 9/10.