Superhero Intern...

I like to think of an intern as a type of superhero. Always around when someone needs help, but slips cleverly out of the way when need be. If you work at a place that has interns, all you have to do is call. You name it, you got it. (okay, within reason, of course.) And it's great being a superhero intern because you get to meet all the important people and there are lots of perks. Like, how cool is it for a producer to ask you to run down the street to the HBO studios to pick up a tape of The Sopranos! (Of course, it does make the trip a little less fun when you end up getting the heel of your boot caught in a sewer grate...during the lunch hour crowds...right in midtown Manhattan. yeah my superhero intern powers did not help out there.)

But sometimes, it takes some grunt work. And I'm okay with that. Check "An Anchor's Best Friend" video on this page. Here you'll find my MSNBC.com debut, where a little part of one of my not-so-broadcasting-oriented-tasks is put out there for all to view.

There is actually a point to this. I've decided to make my senior project a little "How to" guide for interns. I want to lay out a guideline of tips, do's and don'ts, and maybe throw in some of my own experiences to round it all out. Finally, I've decided what to do! <>

And as for my alumni profile project, I already contacted the wonderful Melissa Batulis of WFMZ. She gave me some great advice that I think I can easily turn into a profile on her. She's a great example of what the Westminster Broadcasting program can do if you put it to good use.

Until next time, I'm flying off to perform more superhero intern duties...bright and early in the AM!

Back to work...

I traveled all the way to WC last weekend for homecoming and boy was it fabulous. Though I didn't get nearly enough time with people as I would have like. I got to chat it up with Mr. Weaver and Dr. B, which is always a good time. I got to see DJ, who was busying being an amazing announcer for the football game, Mike, directing like a pro, and Amy, working her magic on the game graphics with that pretty new fangled computer in the remote truck. Oh and I also got to see Stevi before the parade. So where were the rest of you, eh?

I can't wait to get back. So many things I see around my house would make great stories. I'm going through such withdrawal that I'm constantly thinking what shots & sound I'd start with if I were to do a story on something around here. I edit entire packages in my head, I swear, haha.

A little update on what I'm up to now: I'm starting to really honestly plan for what I want to be doing after college. I'm trying to set up an informational meeting with the leader of the Page Program just so he at least gets to know who I am in case I decide to apply for that. I'm also looking to find out more about affiliate contacts from someone I know who used to work on Weekend TODAY. And finally, I'm doing a lot of research on various TV news outlets in the New Jersey area. There are actually lots of choices. I've decided that it's best for me to try to get my first job around here so that I can continue to bum off my parents because at this point, there's no possible way I could afford my own place. It's actually pretty exciting to start thinking about all of this. I feel like I'm in a better mind-frame now than I was the last time I interned. I'm more open minded about my possibilities and what I want.

Even still--can't wait to come back for a final hoorah at WC! :)

Senior Project??

For the past week or so I've been trying to figure out what I should do for my senior project. Ideally, I'd like to be working on writing and shooting new packages, but since I'm not at school that's not possible. And it doesn't seem right to not use my internship as some sort of project. But what?

One idea I had was to put together some sort of database/resource thing for myself with all the contacts I'm making. It could include both places and people. I could write about meetings I've had or will have with these people and suggestions they give me for my career. It's not a very exciting project, but it could be useful.

As for anything else, I really don't know what to do. I wish I had something more exciting or broadcasty to do, but I'm at a bit of a loss.

Any suggestions? Please let me know!

See and Be Seen

I learned a lot today. Or maybe I should say I re-learned a lot today. I had to go to an Intern Orientation thing at 30 Rock today. I wasn’t looking forward to it because I’ve been through it before and I knew what they were going to say. But now that it’s over, I’m so glad I went. It’s always good to get a little reminder of the opportunities you have as an intern—IF you choose to take advantage of them.

NBC Universal takes amazingly good care of its interns. There are many workshops to go to for help with interviewing skills, career direction, resume help, networking, etc. They don’t think of interns as free labor at all. So after being reminded about all of these great opportunities, I decided to head into the office for a little chat with my supervisor.

My supervisor is awesome. She’s a senior producer and really knows her stuff. She keeps me in mind when good opportunities come up and trusts me with important tasks. So I asked her today for some feedback on how I’ve been doing and what more I can do. She was very positive about all of my work and she actually mentioned the possibility of a job (not internship—job!) over the holidays. Nothing definite at all, of course, but it means a lot to me that she’d actually consider me. She also gave me some advice on who I should contact to learn more about who to talk to at NBC affliliates for possible jobs after graduation.

To sum up what I’ve learned today, it’s “See and Be Seen.” A great motto, especially for internships. I want to do a lot of “seeing.” By this I mean, watch the way the show runs while we’re on-air, check out the process a producer goes through to create a package, see how the anchors prepare and perform. Basically, observe everything I can. And by “Be Seen,” I mean that I want people to know my name and my face. I want to make sure that I make some sort of contact with as many people as I can. And not just the people in power (although, they might be the first I’ll try to get to “see” me) but everyone I can. Whether that be the security guard, the secretary, the camera man, or the pages. Because frankly, they tend to be really fun, interesting people, and you never know where they’re headed or where they can possibly take you.

That’s all my inspiration for today.

Last week in broadcasting...

This past week at my internship, I was super busy. I had a bunch of producers coming to me for help with various projects. The tasks I’ve been doing lately are pretty simple—logging, transcribing, etc. But I try to look at these tasks as if they were part of my own project or story. For example, I was transcribing this one interview on Friday and I have to say, I got completely excited to see the final project! I talked with the producer a bit about keeping me in the loop with her scripts and stuff because I can’t wait to see how she puts it together. The interviewee was magnetic—such a good speaker, so there were plenty of bites that could be used. And it’s also interesting to see the b-roll (cover shots) that the camera man decided to take. He was obviously listening to what was said in the interview because the shots he took afterwards correlated with that. (Which is just what Mr. Weaver is always telling us to do!) So even though my responsibilities might not always be important, I’m getting to be an observer to see how the professionals do it. And just so I feel like I’m doing something towards my own career, I’ve been showing my resume tape around the office to various people (the EP, an anchor, a news reader, etc.) They’ve been able to give me some great feed back and I feel that by showing them my tape, I’m establishing myself as a serious future reporter, instead of just another intern.

The Elusive Job Search...

I am always looking for job postings on all sorts of different websites, but until recently it’s only been for fun. I can’t believe that I actually have to start being serious about it! Am I really a senior already?

In my searches, I look at job sites that list a variety of stations, markets, and positions, like Media Bistro, RTNDA, Journalism Jobs, Production Hub, to name a few. (I actually tend to keep away from site that charge you to see job listings, like TV Jobs or Media Line, because frankly, I feel like the live human connections I’ve made will help me get a job better than a paid subscription to a website.) I’ve also been looking into more specific company websites like PBS, The Discovery Channel, Channel One, and NBC Universal. The NBC Universal site is the one I keep my eye on most, because I think it’d be great to go from an NBC internship to an NBC job—plus there are plenty of options around the country. Someone I work with suggested Channel One, which I think I’ve heard before, but I guess it took hearing it from a big wig who I absolutely admire to get me to actually look into it. And as for the Discovery and PBS sites, I’ve been keeping my eyes open for non-reporter jobs also. I love doing feature stories and lots of the programs on those channels are really just long-format packages!

But in all my job searching, there is one thing I am totally looking for: travel opportunities. All I can think about these days is how much I want to travel. I will go absolutely anywhere, especially if it’s international. I am more interested in learning about other countries and culture than I am about anything else right now. And I’m not exactly sure how to loop that into a job, or if that’s even realistic at this point in time. But I’m only young for so long and I want to spend my younger years traveling the globe!

I’m realizing now, though, that I have to start getting much more serious about this. My job searches are very general. I think I need to find out what size market I can potentially go to, where I can see myself living, and exactly what it is I want to be doing 8 months from now. And that's no small task.