Week 2!

June 13: I got to travel to Bloomington with a crew to report on the Lauren Spierer case. WISH has been streaming the daily press conferences online. I got to sit in on the press conference and really had a difficult time hiding my emotions once Lauren’s mother began talking. I do wear my heart on my sleeve and show my feelings too easily. As a reporter, I will have to be able to put my feelings aside. I think that will be my biggest challenge in this field. I want to keep my compassionate side so it is important to figure out where to draw the line. Too often, reporters forget that they are dealing with human beings. I never want to get to the point where I am neglecting the pain and hurt that other people are going through even if it means more breakthrough news.

June 14: I followed my first female reporter. We were investigating these decorative ceramic pots that have been causing numerous injuries since they have an open flame. It was another story where we kept facing some dead ends. It was helpful to see how she took the reigns and was able to get a good package pulled together.

June 15: I was at the assignment desk which meant answering/making phone calls. Because I was stuck at the station all day I got to work on my package and it is really coming along! Editing is my weakness, but I know how important it is to be very versatile and able to do everything which is why I am forcing myself to really get more comfortable putting together a package.

June 16: Today I went out with a reporter on two different stories. It is always interesting to see how different everyone is when covering stories. I am learning that many of the reporters have very hard personalities. They cuss, have strong opinions, and don't care about what people think. I think it comes with the profession. They have seen and experienced so much in the field and think that the only way to survive is to separate themselves completely. Acting friendly to someone's face and then talking bad behind their back is fairly normal from what I can tell. People don't care about relationships. I, however, am a very relational person. It has been interesting because I have found that many of the workers really just want to know someone cares. I do care about getting to know them... I love asking questions about their families, how they got where they are, etc. I find that once I start asking questions, they are very eager and willing to share. They put up these walls to protect themselves, but deep down they are just looking for a place to fit in and for someone to genuinely care about them as individuals.

Summer Internship!

So I am officially moved in to my sister and brother-in-law's apartment and have started my summer internship! I am spending the summer at WISH-TV Channel 8 for 10 weeks. I started last week on May 31 so I decided I would highlight on some of my experiences so far:

May 31: This day was pretty slow. I got my official ID and was able to sit in on the noon news. The highlight of this day was probably my tasty lunch :)

June 1: I spent the morning with the producers, watching what they do, etc. Then I finally got to go out with a crew! We went to Martinsville to cover the trial for the school shooting that took place a few months ago. We got there plenty early, so I was able to try a few stand-ups! It was so fun and the photographer was really helpful/encouraging in his critique. We shot live at the 5 and 6 news so I was able to see how stressful that part of the job can be.

June 2: I went out with a crew again to cover a story on gas prices. We did a couple interviews and they let me try a standup. I was still pretty nervous, but am realizing I have to just pretend to be confident and hopefully someday I will be! We went back to the station and the photographer taught me how to use their editing software. I recorded my voice and made my first package!

June 3: I was in the station all day writing VOs for the producers for the evening news.

June 6: I went to the Children's Museum where they have a new exhibit. The exhibit opens for the public on June 11, but it was the revealing for the media. It was cool to walk through the exhibit (I have always loved the Children's Museum!) plus I felt important since I got to see it first :) After lunch, I went to a press conference about a child pornography bust. Apparently, a 23 year old from Bloomington was arrested for being the mastermind behind this huge child pornography conspiracy worldwide. He produced and distributed pornography of children under the age of 4! I found the whole thing very disturbing, but also realized that this is the kind of stuff I may see everyday in this field. The crew talked about how you really have to learn to separate yourself from your work.

June 7: I followed another reporter all day. We went to Gaston, where a police officer had shot his wife. We had to track down the police reports in Muncie. It was helpful to see more of the process of getting a story ready. We went to the sheriff's office, the circuit court, and the prosecutors office all in search of this story.

June 8: I followed a photographer to Bedford. We first went to a GM announcement and were given a tour of the factory. I got to interview a few people there. Next, we looked around for the storm damage from a few weeks ago. We found the area that the tornado touched down at and shot some footage to show how the cleanup process is going. It was incredible to see this entire house moved 30-40 feet off its foundation and another completely destroyed. I was able to do a stand-up and I'm starting to feel better in front of the camera. I know that I have a lot of room for improvements, but I am feeling more confident. I came back and wrote a script for the 6:00 news and then wrote a package to do of my own, incorporating my standup. I voiced it yesterday and will start editing Monday!

So that's been my experience so far! I really do love it and the more I'm here, the more I can see myself in this field. I have enjoyed getting to know the staff. I am surprised how comfortable I have felt asking so many questions, but people really do love sharing their stories. I enjoy hearing how everyone got where they are today! There are some things that concern me in this field... people rarely have your back and it sounds like people often have pretty superficial relationships with coworkers. It is difficult not to become calloused when you see such heartbreak daily. Despite these things, I am excited about the challenge. It may sound pretty cliche', but this is such a huge mission field. The tv industry needs Christians! I feel like I have successfully shown people at the station that I am genuine and I really do care about relationships... in return I have be able to have some awesome conversations! Just yesterday, I spent the hour long drive back with a photographer hearing him talk about hypocritical Christians. It was a conversation that only God could have opened the door for and in the end the photographer said he found my high standards very refreshing. It has been cool to learn so much about this field, but I am seeing that there may be a higher purpose for me this summer and I am very excited to see what God has in store!

Things are crazy but there is a light at the end of the tunnel! Media Scriptwriting is keeping me busy, but I have finished so many projects in the last couple of weeks. My group project and a powerpoint script are complete and I am almost done with my final project. It feels good to have so much accomplished!

In class today we talked about careers and it really made me think about my future. I have very high goals and I want to be successful in my profession, but right now I don't really know what the future holds. I understand that my field of interest is very competitive. I know that it will be a difficult journey as a communication professional, but I am very excited about the possibilities! We had the opportunity to listen to a friend of Dr. King's and some of the things that were discussed really caught me between the eyes. His main tip for aspiring writers was to know the material. Last summer, I had the chance to write stories for my local radio station. I would attend City Council meetings and then report on what I heard. My first few stories were absolutely terrible because I had no idea what I was writing about. I was too afraid to talk to people and ask questions and my lack of knowledge should in my work. Finally, I hit a brick wall and was forced to begin asking many questions. I started staying after the meetings and would talk to everyone on the board until I understood what was going on. I was then able to break down the news into easy terms that any person in my community could understand. I am hoping to work for my radio station again this summer and now I will not be afraid to ask lots of questions! My experience last summer is a good example of why it is important to know the material.

Wow I have really slacked off with this blogging lately. Everything is flying by and I am just trying to keep up!

Media Scriptwriting has been crazy with so many projects all at once. We did a National Newscast about a week ago and were told to rewrite them for Thursday. I thought that I had done really well on it, but after seeing all the red marks, I was very grateful for the chance to try again. That assignment included 8 short news stories with four of them using sound bites. Once I got started, I found that it was kind of fun to write little "teasers" about a news story. I made the mistake of putting the important facts at the end instead of starting out with them. Hopefully my rewrite will show major improvements!

We also started our group projects. My group decided to do a 2-3 minute short film. Luckily, one of my group members was very creative and able to come up with a simple, but entertaining plot right away. I enjoyed offering my input while working on the storyboard and trying to figure out what camera angles would look best. We are filming on Friday which will be a very exciting and completely new experience!

The next project that is coming up is the final project. This has to be a 10-15 minute script. I'm thinking about doing a children's video. It would probably have a very simple plot, but end with the characters learning some kind of life lesson. I'm not really sure where to start with this one but I am eager to begin!

News!

So this week in Media Scriptwriting we have started writing news stories. I am not really excited to start this. I enjoyed writing commercials because they allow me to be creative. I like coming up with my own topic and having freedom to write how I want to write. I feel like there is less freedom with news stories. There is a list of information that you need to include in a news story. My biggest challenge will be to still be creative when writing these stories. We have received our first assignment. We are to find two newspaper stories and rewrite them using both a hard and soft lead. I read a story and think, "Ok this sounds good," and then I struggle with trying to develop a completely different approach after the original is on my mind. Maybe I'll enjoy this more than I think and it's definitely going to be a skill worth perfecting!

Television Commercials

In media scriptwriting we are learning how to write commercials. I thought that this would be fun, it is, but I had no idea what commercials involve. Unlike radio, you have to think about the visuals (obviously). You have to consider your camera shot along with what is actually taking place on the screen. I don't really know how to describe the process, but writing my first television commercial script last night was very challenging! You have to explain the visuals, but also all the audio. There are also story boards which are small pictures of each scene. I know they aren't supposed to be really artistic and detailed, but I am very visual. I have so many ideas running through my mind and I really wish I could put them on paper! However, I have absolutely no artistic abilities so I have to rely on stick figures to get my ideas across. Tomorrow my partner and I will "pitch" our commercial idea to the class. I guess that will give me a good indication of how I am doing!

Bullies

I still don't understand this blogging stuff. Does anyone know how to post articles on here? I really need to become more computer savvy because I have no idea what I'm doing!

Classes are going well but I'm looking forward to spring break which is right around the corner! I am surprisingly enjoying writing these scripts even though I know I have a lot of improving to do! I wrote my second Cheez-It script and decided to try a dialogue. I created a playground scene with two kids fighting over Cheez-Its. The tag line was, "Don't want your kids to become bullies on the playground? Buy them Cheez-Its today!" I got some very helpful feedback in class and was encouraged to find a different word besides "bully." I understand that bullying could be a sensitive subject, but I feel like other words don't work as well. So my new challenge is to keep my theme while being more conscious of what people may think I'm supporting (violence, bullying, etc.)