Summer Media Internship

As a rising senior, there is so much pressure to get a job,  but taking into consideration the economy, sometimes we have to start at the bottom which means an unpaid internship. It is always said that we have to work our way up, but how far does it go? As the article stated, newspaper companies are downsizing, and in order to save their budget and efforts, they are taking advantage of interns. Student interns provide cheap or in most cases free labor. Student interns end up doing the dirty work without any pay and in some cases without really learning about their industry. However, this does not mean they are working less, in fact they are given more responsibility that staff workers should be paid for. I see this first hand at my internship. Yet the decision is hard to make, especially for low income families. If they had a choice to work at a fast food chain versus an unpaid internship in the field of their interest, they might find themselves opting for the prior simply because they are earning a salary. While taking an internship will be beneficial in the long run with an addition to your resume and maybe a few references, in the short run, it is not enticing. I believe that interns at the least should receive a stipend for transportation and food, on the premise that there is a possibility of future employment.
In newspaper journalism, the available jobs are low,  however with technology and the internet, other forms of online journalism is spurting up. Since I do not get paid, I am a little bias, but I do feel as if my position could be done by a paid staff, yet the company cannot undertake the extra load. Personally the only reason why I would take an unpaid internship is if there is a chance of advancement.
I agree with a previous comment that said that if you work more than 20 hours you should be getting paid. Most internships require now that you get school credit if you choose to intern with them, this is not always a plus because students have to pay for tuition on top of that.