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Q. I had to drop out of j-school, where I was planning to focus on multimedia, for financial and family reasons. Now I'm working regularly for a local weekly, but just doing print stories.

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It's my first reporting job, and I'm learning a lot, but I'm worried I'm painting myself into a corner by working for a traditional outfit with no multimedia opportunities.

I've thought about looking for an internship in multimedia, but I know it would be unpaid and many hours, and I'm the mother of a young child, with very, very little time to spare.

What do you think?

Maya

A. First, let's add your case to all the examples of why non-paid internships are a bad idea. They exclude all but the people who have enough money or support to work for free.

I understand your predicament.

Joe Grimm

One of the characteristics of this media transformation you're trying to be part of is that the barriers to entry have been wiped out.

Almost everyone can start a blog or Web site and, if their content is good enough, they can build an audience.

So take your cue from that. Using the content that you and others create for your weekly, start its Web site. Start small, showing what you can do and learning as you go. For example, you could start a simple blog of the newspaper's content at no cost.

As the editors catch on to what you're doing, ask them to plow some of the resulting ad revenues back into better functionality, more server space and news-gathering equipment.

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Coming Tuesday: He has freelanced for below minimum wage in hopes of getting a job, but is beginning to wonder if freelancing is nothing more than a trap.

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