Check out this job listing for a couple of entry-level publishing interns:
[link]
The Press is looking for promising candidates with an appropriate background who: have already demonstrated a strong interest in literary publishing; are very well read in literature in general and Dalkey Archive books in particular; are highly motivated and ambitious; are determined to have a career in publishing and will sacrifice to make that career happen; are willing to start off at a low-level salary and work their way upwards; possess multi-dimensional skills that will be applied to work at the Press; look forward to undergoing a rigorous and challenging probationary period either as an intern or employee; want to work at Dalkey Archive Press doing whatever is required of them to make the Press succeed; do not have any other commitments (personal or professional) that will interfere with their work at the Press (family obligations, writing, involvement with other organizations, degrees to be finished, holidays to be taken, weddings to attend in Rio, etc.); know how to act and behave in a professional office environment with high standards of performance; and who have a commitment to excellence that can be demonstrated on a day-to-day basis. DO NOT APPLY IF ALL OF THE ABOVE DOES NOT DESCRIBE YOU.
Apparently if your house is broken into and the cops call, that will get you fired. What a splendid employer Dalkey Press must be.
There's a response that it was sort of a joke: [link]
Yeah, I still don't see the "satirical edge", the demands are not exaggerated enough. I guess that is a fine line to try to walk.
The problem is that interns are abused enough already, in all sorts of environments (not just publishing, although publishing does seem to be among the worst); as -t says, this ad didn't go far enough to show it was satire.
do not have any other commitments (personal or professional) that will interfere with their work at the Press (family obligations, writing, involvement with other organizations, degrees to be finished, holidays to be taken, weddings to attend in Rio, etc.)
Yeah, I'm fairly sure at least some of this violates anti-discrimination laws. Like "you can't have this job if you have a family" for instance.
Pro Tip - if you are aiming for satire, make sure you sound funny and not like an actual asshole!
Apparently Dalkey Press is in Ireland, not the US, so I don't know what employment laws would apply. It would be hard in the US to sell that as an actual internship, since there's self-evidently no educational benefit to the intern.
ION, Louis CK and Matt LeBlanc were in the same high school class. What???
Paging flea: Gawker's list of the worst baby names of the year.
[link]
OK, and thanks to the comments there, I learned that Beth Riesgraf is Pilot Inspektor Lee's mother. I had no idea!
I am learning all kinds of celebrity facts while I avoid doing my job today.
