Week 5 June 13- 19, 2016
Now at My 5th week at ABC 7, I’ve started to asked more questions about the operations of the individual positions to better understand how they work. I asked Mike Johnson (one of the producers) if it was difficult to condense all of the sports content into a 2-3 minute sports segment. He said that it was different from day-to-day, it all depends on what content was there. But for the most part it was difficult with all the shows he has to produce. Mike explained that most days he has to prioritize what sports get more airtime. This year was a bit easier because, while Chicago had two baseball teams, its hockey and baseball teams had finished their seasons early. But even then, there was plenty of content that had to be cut in order to fit everything in. Mike explained that it all depended on what drew eyes for that day (a successful Cubs team getting a big win for example) and what did not. Above all, you had to localize before you could nationalize. This means that you have to include all of the local stories before you include any of the national ones, unless they are earth-shattering. Deciding what gets in and what gets left out is one of the primary roles of the producer. I also got permission to accompany one of the sports reporters out into the field when they do a stand up. This is important to me because I would like to gain a better understanding of doing sideline at a sporting event because that is a skill I feel I could use some improvement on. There is no date set up yet but I am confident that it will go through, I just have to find a person to shadow.
Week 6 June 20-26, 2016
Wednesday was perhaps my toughest day during my internship and it was during this day that I learned a very tough lesson. No matter how frantic or tense the situation, it is critical to remain calm and keep your cool, even if it is easy to snap. This was one that I took to heart on Wednesday. As I now reach the halfway point of my internship, I realize now that more that anything I am being taught how to live and work in the real world and how to thrive in a top market like Chicago. Thinking about it, I think few college students at 21 years old have real experience on what it is like working in the real world, the nuances, the unwritten rules, the decorum etc. While the technical aspects of this job are important to learn as well, they are near useless if you cannot apply them in the real world. In addition if you don’t know the ins and outs of working in a newsroom you won’t be going very far. I am thankful to be learning this lesson now as opposed to later when it could be costly. When I was back at Michigan State, I was a big fish in a small pond. Now that I am here at ABC 7, I am now a (really) small fish in a very large lake. It is a bit of a culture shock but like I said earlier, I am happy to be experiencing this now.
On another note, some more movement on shadowing one of the sports reporters on a field assignment. After talking to Dionne Miller (one of the reporters) we decided that a Wednesday would be best for me to shadow her. All that remains is to find a suitable date.
2 Minutes 4 Ruffing 