Internship Weekly Blog: Week 5

Well, another week is in the books. It’s hard to believe that I am already five weeks done with my internship. This week I want to talk about perspective. Both for what my bosses do on a daily basis and how my college education prepared me for the real world.

First, I want to talk about what my bosses do. My main advisor, Helen, has one of busiest jobs in the company. She is basically the main person that is in charge in making sure all of the advertising, promos, and underwriting credits is put into every show every day of the week. She also has to organize how often or how many times they air and where they air. I don’t envy her job because she look at spreadsheets on a program called Marketron every day and use a lot calculating to make sure every thing fits. I now not appreciate what she personally does but it also makes me appreciate more all of the other behind-the-scenes production that goes into all forms of broadcasting.

Now, I want to talk about how my college education has prepared me for this internship. A lot of what I do with making promos has to do if they match a certain level requirement. My training with TV reporting and radio production has helped me with controlling levels. Also, when Bob and the main person in charge of the internship program, Kevin Gavin, talked about shares and ratings, I was able to understand what they were talking about because of my education in Intro to Broadcasting. Overall, this is another example of what Point Park means when they say they offer a real-world education.

Internship Weekly Blog: Week 4

Well, one thing that I can say about this week of work was that is was the busiest that I had. Due to the holiday weekend, instead one day’s worth of logs I had to cycle through, I had to go through three. I had to go over Saturday’s, Sunday’s, and Monday’s log. However, unlike most people, I like it usually when I get more work than usual because it keeps my mind sharper and also allows me to keep busy for longer.

Also on Tuesday, I made promos for two days worth, instead of one, which, like the log experience, gave me more practice at the craft. On Thursday, after I finished the typical log for WESA, I was asked to go over a log for the sister station, WYEP, which share the same building. While WESA is an NPR radio station, WYEP is a music station. It has been around for over 40 years and is known to play a lot of jazz.

Anyway, going through the log of WYEP was frustrating for me because usually when I go through WESA’s log, the spots I need to find are generally in the same place. However, for WYEP’s spots, the hosts say them at the most random times to me and are usually way off of when they are supposed to be said. That being said, while I was frustrated, I keep my patience and was able to find them in the end.

Overall, this week was a good experience because it provided with more work than usual to do while also giving me a lesson in patience and virtue. Granted, in the grand scheme of things, it was all about me just skimming through a video log at a computer, but the message remains intact regardless.

Internship Weekly Blog: Week 3

Once again, I worked 15 hours as always. I also generally did the same assignments that I have been doing over the first two weeks. The only thing new this week that I did new was work on Microsoft Excel making spreadsheets.

Therefore, this week, I will talk in more detail about my two advisors, Helen Wigger and Bob Studebaker. Helen is the main person in charge of operations and production at WESA and she serves as my direct mentor. She is a very kind and sweet person to be around is very flexible with my work schedule and teaches her lessons to me multiple times and is very patient with me as I learn the ropes. She will give me praise for when I do work correctly but will also tell me if I am doing something wrong or not as good as it could be.

The very thing happened this week. The first day on Tuesday, she said I was doing very well on working on the logs. However, when I was working on promos Thursday, she said very blunt yet gentle that I could be doing a better job with the audio. It is that kind but firm approach that I appreciate any advisor would do with me with my lessons.

Now, for Bob. The first thing I can say without a doubt is that he has a voice that was born for the radio. I hear his voice every day I work on the promos and the logs. For Bob himself, he also has the same approach to teaching as Helen. He is very open and patient with teaching, and will say good job whenever I do something well. However, like Helen, he is not afraid to say if I am not doing something up to their standards. Overall, I am very thankful for their wise words and words of encouragement and am thankful for being placed under their leadership for the internship.

 

Internship Weekly Blog: Week 2

This week, I worked a total of 15 hours. I will be working 15 hours a week unless something changes or I have to work on a special event.

This week, I did more of the same that a did last week. Every day, when I walked in the door at 9:30, I would listen to the all of the previous day’s recordings and make sure all of the underwriting credits were played. Underwriting credits are spots which vary in length that are pre-recorded and spoken by either Bob or Helen that is promoting or advertising  some place or event from the area.

After I worked on the logging, I would then work on making the schedule for the day for when all of the advertisements, credits, and promos would air for the following day or days in advance.

On Tuesday, I worked in Adobe Audition to work on a promo for a show. On Thursday, I helped organize some the CDs for the station’s massive jazz collection. Finally, at the end of each day, I would work on making the promos that would air the following day.

Unless something major happens or changes, this will be the main bulk and routine of what I do every day. It’s not hard work at all, but can be a little repetitive. However, it is one of the most important positions at the station and it is with those promos and credits that helps financially supports the station.

 

 

 

Internship Weekly Blog: Week 1

Hello, my name is Nicholas Vercilla. Just like last summer, this summer I am participating in another mass media internship. I took this internship to get a vast experience for the work force as well as to get knowledge about a side of journalism that I normally don’t consider, behind-the-scenes production.

This summer, I am interning at 90.5 WESA. It is Pittsburgh’s non-profit NPR radio station that is located in the South Side. I am an intern in the Operations and Production department under the supervision of Helen Wigger and Bob Studebaker. I took this internship for a variety of reasons. One, because it was a radio-themed internship and radio is the one form of journalism that I have the least amount of experience and exposure in. The other reason that I mentioned before is because it is more behind-the-scenes work, which again, I do not have much experience in.

I worked 15 hours for two days, which is what I will do every week. As far as my daily assignments are concerned, I will do the same things. The main focus that the department focuses on is making sure that their daily promos are made and distributed throughout the day on the air. Therefore, last week, and every week for that matter, I will log and record the promos from the previous day to make sure they were played correctly and in the right spots. I will also make the promos for the next day in advance by working in Adobe Audition.

There are other smaller assignments that I do throughout, but that is generally the bulk of the work that I do. Obviously, it is a lot different than what I am used to doing in the past, whether it be making news packages on TV or writing articles in a newspaper. However, the actual work itself is not hard once you get used to how things operate and how to work the equipment and programs. The only downside to the work is that you do the same things every day, which in reality, is not the most exciting thing in the world and is very repetitive. That being said, it was cool to learn how some of the behind-the-scenes operations work and that many of the radio programs that you hear are not live, but instead are pre-produced ahead of time. Overall, I will stick with the internship for the summer and I will certainly hope to get the most of it to learn more skills for the future.

Internship Weekly Blog (Week 9 for me)

Well, this is it. The end of the road. This is my last week as an intern for the Ledger. I cannot believe that I have reached the end already.

This week was nothing too special as I only had to complete 6 hours to reach the requirement of 200. I worked 1 hour on Monday talking to performers that will be at the storytelling festival. On Friday, I worked five hours. I finished the storytelling festival preview and got an assignment to do for next week. It is about the result of the contest that the Ellwood City Historical Society did to name their mannequins.

I will be a freelance writer for the Ledger periodically. I was very humbled by all of the kind words that they had to say about me and that they wanted me to continue working for them.

I also had an exit interview meeting with my editor and supervisor, Jim Orr. He overall was very impressed with my personality, work ethic, and structure when it comes to my stories. He was glad to have me on the paper this summer and is glad to have me continue to work for them in the future.

The only criticisms he had for me is that I need to work on condensing my stories as well as to make sure never to misspell somebody’s name again. He also gave me advice on what to do in the future in order to improve upon my writing.

Overall, this chapter of my journalism career has ended. However, it will most definitely lead to more possibilities to be made in the future. It was a good paper to work for, as it was small enough to get a holding of the print industry without getting overwhelmed. Now I feel like I have the capabilities to work under bigger newspapers, such as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette or the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

Internship Weekly Blog (Week 8 for me)

Well, this is almost the end. After this week, I only have one workday left for my internship. It is hard to imagine how fast this internship and this summer has gone by. I am grateful for the opportunity and what it could bring to my future.

This week, I worked a full work week. I worked 41.5 hours this week total. In a way, I am glad I worked this many hours as it will get me used, or at least a taste of what my work schedule will be like in the future. There could even be a possibility that I could work even more hours during a week, depending on what job I have or where I work.

On Monday, I worked eight hours and I covered the first day of the Lawrence County Fair that I did a preview event on last week. I talked to the fair’s director, State Representative Chris Sainato, the fair queen and alternate, and a few of the vendors and guests at the fair.

Tuesday and Thursday were interesting days. I worked eight and a half hours and nine hours respectively on those days. However, I did not do much work on those days. On Tuesday my editor did not have an assignment for me and wanted we to wait in the office in case something would come up. On Thursday, I did research for a preview story on an event in Ellwood called the Storytelling Festival. However, I had to wait all day to hear responses to people I called.

On Wednesday, I worked eight hours and I did a feature story on how kids in the Ellwood area spent their summer and how they felt about going back to school.

On Friday, I did more research and got some interviews for the festival preview. I worked on the draft of the story to be completed at another time due to still waiting on one final interview. I worked eight hours that day.

The only trouble I had during the week was the story on Wednesday because it was a man on the street interview and I struggle the most with those. I have a hard time interviewing random people on the street and it made matters worse that I had to talk to children. Not only do they give lousy interviews but sometimes the parents refuse you to talk to them.

However, for my pre-ultimate week, it was interesting and has made me think of how far I have come as a writer this summer.

Internship Weekly Blog (Week 7 for me)

Compared to other weeks, this week I did not do as much, despite the fact that I worked the most hours so far with 31.

On Monday, I mainly did a few small jobs for my editor as well as write the story for the reunion baseball game I covered. I worked 5.5 hours that day.

On Tuesday, I worked six hours and I did more of the same typical work that I normally do during the day.

On Wednesday, I worked seven hours and I did a man-on-the-street story for a change. August 15 was the 38th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death. Therefore, I went on the street and asked people what they think of Elvis and his legacy. Also, if I talked to someone who was old enough to remember his death, what they thought and where they were when it happened.

On Thursday, I worked 5.5 hours and I did a preview story for the annual Lawrence County Fair. I talked about what is to be expected at the fair and what is the overall entertainment.

On Friday, I worked seven hours and I drove to cover an on-the-scene event of a fatal accident. It was something that I only ever did once but it was still a unique experience.

Overall, this week was rather low-key. However, I am only a few short weeks away from the end of my internship. The only problem that I tend to have is that I don’t do well with on-the-street interviews because it makes me feel weird to ask random people on the street questions.

Internship Weekly Blog (Week 6 for me)

This was my most unique week on the internship job yet. However, It was a great learning experience that can help me for the future. I worked a total of 29 hours this week.

Most of the time this week revolved around me writing police reports. In fact, that was the only thing that I did Monday and most of the day on Tuesday. In total, throughout the week, I must have written close to 20 police reports from police complaints from three different magistrates in Lawrence County. Tuesday in particular I wrote seven within the span of three hours.

Most of these reports were simple cases of people who have a DUI but there were unique cases involving a massive fight, a guy running from police, and a trio of people who allegedly stole merchandise multiple times within the span of a few weeks. Writing the reports took me awhile to get used to, since they are straightforward and having to make sure you use constant attribution to the police. However, once I got the hang of it, it became very simple to me. I feel that learning how to write police reports, as simple as they may be, will help me polish and expand my skills and help get a job.

I worked five hours on Monday and five and a half hours on Tuesday. On Tuesday, I interviewed Dr. Joseph Cioffi, a former Ellwood Little League Pitcher as he talked to me about his life with baseball and about how Ellwood Little League is celebrating its 65th Anniversary.

I wrote the story the following day. I worked five hours on Wednesday and Friday, and five and a half hours on Thursday. On Thursday, I reported and talked to the leaders of the Lawrence County Conservation District’s 2nd Annual Nature Camp. The camp is for children to become more knowledgeable and less afraid of nature and was filled with activities and guests to get across those messages. I started writing the story Thursday and finished it on Friday.

On Saturday, I spent three hours reporting on an interesting story. A group of guys who grew up in the borough of Ellport near Ellwood have a reunion every year in which they get together and play baseball all day. It is a way to relive their youth as well as keep in touch with each other.

Overall, this was a productive week with not too many issues to report on.

Internship Weekly Blog Week 12 (Week 5 for me)

This was another solid week for overall as an intern as I learned valuable lessons about reporting.

On Monday, I worked five hours. However, I did not really do much of anything. The reason behind this was that I was only assigned to work on one story on Monday as nobody else had anything else for me. However, I was not able to work on the story because I was waiting for a call from the contact all day. I tried everything to reach him. I tried called his relatives, emailing him, and contacting one of his clubs he is a part of. His number wasn’t in the phone book either. Jim Orr, my editor, said that reporters sometimes have those moments where you are waiting for a call, and was glad I had to go through with that.

On Tuesday, I worked on a simple story on how the Veteran’s Memorial Swimming Pool in Ellwood is a community staple and help keep people cool during the summer heat. I worked five hours that day.

On Wednesday, as well as part of Thursday, I worked on a profile story that was about a newly-ordained priest that is a part of Holy Redeemer Parish in Ellwood. His name is Zachary Galiyas and he said that he wanted to become a priest since he was a teenager. I worked for five and a half hours.

On Thursday, in which I worked for five hours as well, I finished my profile story as well as work another story. It was a preview for a community day in Franklin Township that is also a part of the National Night Out event going across the country. I also learned how to look up, research, and write police reports from one of the reporters. This is because I will be doing this for him next week while he is on vacation. I also talked to the Historical Society again about a booklet that they are working on for this year.

On Friday, I worked for four and a half hours. I wrote the story about the booklet for the Historical Society as well as finish off the community day story from the previous day. I then finished the day by doing more research for future stories.

Overall, I would say it was a productive week as I learned new skills and hard truths about reporting. My only problem is that there are times where I feel I don’t have enough to do as well as me sometimes misspelling people’s names wrong. I know better than to do the latter, as that is one of the things in journalism you are never allowed to do.