Internships tell a lot

I've always been a huge fan of the concept of internships.

When I was in college, my advisor highly promoted getting at least one internship in the junior or senior year in order to get hands-on experience in a certain field rather than just reading about it in a book.

By my two internships at WEWS with their 'Live on Five' Show and then in their editing department, it paved the way for my television career.

They were both fabulous experiences that I will never, ever forget.

I was one of the lucky ones.

I knew right away.

There are those folks who still don't know what they want to do or are not entirely in love with the internship they choose.


After being out yesterday with a sick Mom, I come back to find 2 amazing new phenomenon.

The first jaw-dropping announcement was that we finally received a new script printer. Trust me, this is BIG news.

We brought the printers, fax machines, scanners, etc., over from the old building.

I've written and shared before my frustration at trying to plan for my daily editorial meeting, printing out all of the pertinent information and my assignment sheet only to find a huge flashing message saying 'printer error' or 'printer jammed.'

It may seem like a small issue, but when the equipment is not working, it really makes it hard for one to do their job to the highest of standards.

Well, we have this fabulous new printer which makes no sound as it prints, and is just, perfect!


The second surprise is that my supervisor told me one of our new interns resigned.

It appears working in a newsroom was not quite what everyone touted it up to be.

I grant you this, TV is not a 'life or death' business like a doctor or nurse or even a pilot or someone who has other people's lives in their hands constantly.

But I will tell you this, working in the news business, on the news assignment desk is, at times, a very grueling grind.

We don't get lunch breaks. We don't get breaks. I don't smoke so I don't get the 'smoke break every couple of hours.'

My dance card is full from the minute I arrive until the minute I leave.

Heck, I can not even remember the last time I made it down the hall to the lunchroom for a soda pop.

There is no time to goof off, sit and chat about life for extended periods of time, or do anything that is not related to work.

Especially now since we have downsized and we are a smaller staff size, I wear many hats which entails me constantly working.

This is not even factoring in the hundreds of email received on a daily basis that we must read, answer, or put in the futures' files.

I adore this grind and am really good at wearing all of these hats and multi-tasking.

I LOVE working on the news assignment desk, being more involved with every facet of wkyc.com, and then all of the other duties assigned to me--or not assigned to me but falling in my lap which I must solve.


I was made for this role and love it! It's a wonderful fit!


However, it definitely is not for everyone.

And that's when internships come in handy. If you can't stand a particular task, you find out before you get a paying job and get hooked into doing it for a while.

You get the feel, see what fits, and walk away from those duties that are not quite your cup of tea!

In the words of Billy Joel: 'Movin' out'

It's that time of year when our group of interns begin burning the midnight oil to get the class projects wrapped up, their 'resume' tapes complete, and just try to take in any wise words of wisdom from anyone who will offer them!

We had a great batch this quarter. I know I've said this before and I hope I become a broken record. We've had some amazing interns over the last few years!

This session we had Aaron from Kent State....Diana and Jeff from John Carroll.

Unfortunately, I believe I missed Aaron's final day. I'm confident he'll give us updates and in today's social media savvy times, we've 'friended' all of our interns over the last few years.

Diana and Jeff are wrapping up their tapes and projects and soaking up all the advice being tossed their way!

It's truly a pleasure to be able to help someone entering the business you've been in for so long. You either enhance their excitement for their new endeavor or help them realize they need to go a different route!

Not only does it, hopefully, give them a solid start but it sharpens your craft. You revisit techniques, procedures, and stay on the top of your game.

I wish all of our current interns well as they impart on many different adventures. And gear up for the next round who will be arriving any day now.....

Out of the mouth of babes!

(photo courtesy intern Nicole Moyse and includes from left to right: Caitlin, Rob, Nicole, Lauren, Kate)

I was lucky enough to have Nicole, the intern, sitting on the desk with me a few days ago. We have a really good group of interns this term. They may not realize how valuable they are, but they are. They've been a huge help, even if they think they are doing 'busy work' at times!

Nicole, though not here very long, made an astute observation. She said to me, "you are the den mother of the newsroom!" Though, I would love to think of myself as the 'beautiful young lady on the desk' (ok, cease laughing!), she hit the nail on the head. At times, we have to be the 'mother' taking care of our children! After she commented, there were a number of instances that popped up, where she turned to me and said "see, knowing-all Mother of the newsroom!" Another problem solved, another question answered!

Every time we get a new batch of interns, I cherish the opportunity to learn from them and hopefully impart some wise words of wisdom on them! I remember my intern days at WEWS with their 'Live on Five' show as well as in their editing department! You work hard, and long hours to learn everything you can during your internship. I remember getting up at 315am to arrive at the station by 4am while I was an editing intern. I needed to set up the morning NewsOne feeds and roll on them. There were numerous tasks all day long. I then stayed through the 6pm news so that I could help feed the 'Live on Five' show and observe the 6pm News! It was great. It was hard work, but well worth it!

I am not used to having interns up here with me. This is the first time I've had interns helping out since the old Channel 3 News Building.

And then, I had one. One lone intern. But he was FABULOUS.

I bring up my former intern because I just received a very nice note from him! I must have done something right to still have this bright, young shining star as my friend!

Mark Zinni was my intern 13 years ago! Lucky 13!! He was a gem. He really ran the desk while he worked with me! A sharp kid who I knew would go on to bigger and better things, and he did!

Not only did he have an internship with us, but he also interned with the NBC Today Show! He brought back some GREAT stories!

One of the many memorable times with Mark was having the 1996 Olympics on NBC and keeping tabs on Bela Karolyi and his gymnasts! Having the Olympics on NBC is always an exciting time!

Mark made a number of stops along the way, rising up the ladder. He has made a nice name for himself at WPRI in East Providence Rhode Island. He's the weekday co-anchor for Eyewitness News This Morning. He's an Emmy and AP award winning reporter! I could gush on forever.

However, one wise thought to pass along: getting an internship in a field you think you may want to pursue is a must! Do it! Work hard! Learn as much as you can! It will pay off, even if you find out you really DON'T like that field. Then you have not wasted a lot of time and energy and can try something else!