Week 1: Environment/Initial Impressions

This past Monday I began my internship at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO), and so far, it is going great. The building that I am working in is an entire city block (avenue length and street width) and MSLO is on the entire 9^th floor, so you can imagine how massive the office space is. I knew that I personally was working in the beauty and style department of Martha Stewart Living Magazine, but what I did not realize is that since the office space is so massive, every department of MSLO is housed there. From the Living Magazine, Wedding Magazine, Video department, 5 photo and video studios, the merchandising department for 5 different lines, the human recourses department, and every other department you could imagine, the office is quite overwhelming. That being said, however, everyone in the office is extremely friendly and willing to help, even if he or she is in a completely different department than you. The dress code, being extremely business casual, also adds to this feeling of a low-pressure community even among all of the different departments. Each department surrounds the center of the office space, the clerestory, in which employees and interns from different departments can all gather together for breaks, lunch, or “Town Hall Meetings” in which the entire office gathers for a conference in which Martha Stewart speaks and gives updates on the company (we had a Town Hall Meeting this past Tuesday.” I am still getting used to the massive office and all of my responsibilities, but so far, the internship is going very well.