Broadcasting Internship

Getting Down To The Basics

2010-06-26T12:22:00.004-05:00

The week started off great. It didn’t go as planned, but hey it happens in news. Monday was the grand opening of Sprinkles Cupcakes in Houston. A popular cupcake bakery celebs go to in Beverly Hills California.

There for the opening was Houston Rockets Forward Shane Battier. He teamed up with Sprinkles in raising money for The Battier Take Charge Foundation. The Battier Foundation also has a scholarship program awarding students from the greater Detroit and Houston areas.

Due to last minute changes a reporter couldn’t do the story, but I was able to go out there and take pictures.

Near the end of the week, I spent time editing and piecing together my first package. Frustrating but I got it done. I’ll work with an editor to add the finishing touches.

Also this week, I followed Fox 26 Reporter Isiah Carey out into the field. He is one cool dude and a favorite reporter for many in Houston. I followed him on a story about illegal street racing and a story on a documentary about immigration laws. Check it out!

The documentation made its debut in Houston Friday. A very interesting story, follow the link to check out the trailer. www.9500liberty.com

Isiah Carey is a great reporter to observe and learn from. He has a distinct voice, articulates very well and paint’s pictures with words when writing his scripts. I’m glad I was able to follow him. There’s a lot of work that goes into being a reporter or in any position in the news business. What’s seen on TV is just the easy part. It’s also the simple and basic things one must know in this field.

A good learning experience indeed!

Catch Me If You Can

2010-06-26T10:33:00.003-05:00

About a week ago, Fox 26 Reporter Pattie Shieh did a story on cyber bullying. I played a small part in it, along with a couple interns. Check it out!

Was it Abuse or an Accident?

2010-06-19T01:57:00.003-05:00

Monday was a gooood day! I went into the station at 2pm, just in time for the after noon meeting. One of the things I picked up on while interning is that, you gotta be quick! Luckily, I got the chance to go out into the field with News Reporter Sally MacDonald. I was able to beat out a couple interns.

Sally’s assignment was a story about a mother who lost her 2 month old baby. The twist or maybe question to this story is how did the baby actually die? One side says it was due to an accident and the other side says the baby showed signs of a ‘shaken baby’.

Here's the video to check it out:

Sally, the camera guy Mike and I went to the home of the family, where Sally did her interview. Also involved in the story and there for the interview was Quannel X, a community activist in Houston, TX... whom I shook hands with.

How ever the baby died, it was a sad time for the family. The mother shed tears when she spoke about her baby. As I stood there in the background, it was sad to watch and couldn’t imagine the pain she was feeling. A sad story but it was good experience to see how a reporter works.

After we were done with the interview, Sally did a stand-up. I got a chance to do one too. And after about 5 takes and with help from Sally and Mike I finally got it down.

Later back at the station, me and another intern spent some time talking with other employees at Fox. We also took lots of pictures. I ended my day sitting in the studio for the 9pm newscast and left station at about 10pm.

My first time going out with a news reporter and it was fun… But I hear sports calling my name. =)

2010-06-19T01:56:00.000-05:00

A week of observation for me, but not totally… I went in Tuesday bright and early at 7am. Each morning, I take about 15 minutes at a computer to read through the wires and catch up on what’s happening in the news. When things are pretty slow, I take some time to write short news stories. The morning shifts are good times to practice writing.

Fox 26 Morning News Anchor and Reporter Natalie Bomke, works the morning shifts. She’s great about giving advice to interns and really nice too.

Tuesday I worked with Consumer and News Reporter Emily Akin. She’s also the voice coach for the interns. We spent some time trying to train my voice, practice on-air speaking, being able to connect with the audience and worked on enunciations. It was a good session, gotta get used to hearing my voice!

Near the end of the week, I worked with Sports Reporter Keith Calkins. It was slow so he had time to show me how he prepares for his sports segments for the evening show. I also worked with the Sports editor, Richard. He’s the guy that puts together the sports video packages together that we see on the show. There editing system looks similar to what we have at RSU. Overall both guys were really helpful. I’m the only intern this summer with interest in sports but I’ll get to have more of their time and help so that’s cool.

A great leaning experience this week, but now I’m ready to get some hands-on action. This upcoming week I’m looking forward to following the sports and news reporters out in the field. Wish me luck =)

Round 2!

2010-06-19T01:51:00.001-05:00

I'm Back with a new internship! This summer I’m interning in my home sweet home, Houston, TX at Fox 26, one of Houston’s local news stations. This is my second internship since the spring of 09’ in Washington D.C.

I started my internship June 1^st, so it’s already been a full week. My first day was pretty cool even though I was a bit nervous; it felt kind of like a reality show for interns. It’s about 10 students interning for Fox, maybe even a couple more. I spent my first week getting familiar with the newsroom, getting to know fellow interns and employees at Fox.

Mr. Ruben Dominguez, Assignment Manager and Traffic Reporter, is also the Supervisor for the interns. I also call him "The Man". One of his top priorities is to make sure us interns get the most out of our internship. Through out his busy day, he's still able to check and see how we're doing and introduces us to the right people we should work with.

Besides being in the news room, I got a chance to sit in the studio during live news casting and see how things work behind the scenes. Also, interns are allowed to sit-in on daily meetings and pitch story ideas.So far I've only pitched 2 stories so I need to pick it up a bit

Through out the week, I met a lot of reporters, producers, editors and camera guys. So much, it’s been kind of hard remembering everyone's name. My main focus is in the Sports Department. Ruben introduced me to Keith Calkins, the Sports Reporter for Fox. I plan on shadowing him through out the summer.

During my internship, I'll be assisting producers, editors, photographers, and reporters with managing assignments and researching stories. I'll be able to go out into the field with the reporters and do stand-ups. I'll learn how to write, copy and edit videos, and learn how to run a studio camera and teleprompter. Near the end of the programs, interns will have a chance to put together a newscast! So I'll be working on my on-air skills.

Just about everyone I've met so far at Fox emphasized on writing, writing, and more writing and the importance of writing. So I know Professor Coomer’s, Writing for the Media class will come quite in handy.

Overall I’m excited about my new internship and can’t wait to learn more about the business and discover how much progress I’ve made.

I'm also blogging about my experience on Fox. My first blog is called "Introducing Erica Taylor". I’ll try to take lots of pictures during my internship and also show off Houston :)

So long for now.