KECI internship

This week at KECI we're shooting a commercial for the Montana Club.  It should be a pretty fun shoot because we get to use a camera jib.  They're really cool to see being used, and the guys at KECI let us mess around with it a little too.  It's taking a little bit more effort to get back into the swing of things at my internship because I was gone for about a week for my sister's wedding.  We're coming close to finishing up, and I've learned a lot about dealing with clients and also using new editting software.

Stand Ups

Today I shot stand-ups for stories at the Capital and the Jefferson Memorial - Pretty sweet! I can't believe I am almost done. I have really loved it here. Tomorrow I will finish up a story I have been working on about the construction of a new military hospital at Fort Belvour, Virginia and compile DVD's of the things I have done. Wednesday they are having a good-bye lunch for me and the other intern. Thursday I fly home to Montana! This summer has flown by. Can't wait to see you all again and hear about your summers!

Ich liebe Arbeiten in Fernsehen.

Only four more days of Deutsch and I cannot wait! My inernship has been going good except for the fact that the the best light to shoot with is in the mornings and I have been in Deutsche Klasse at the same times, so I have mostly been in office editting and doing some different studio shoots. Last week we did ID's shoots of all of the on camera talent which was cool cause we worked alot with setting up the lights for different looks on the different people. Other than that it has been pretty much buisness as usual. Hope that everyone is having a great summer and looking forward to the school year starting in four weeks.

5th week..almost there!

Hi everybody! My boss is in Vegas attending FOX promotions conference. Basically, he will go through shows that FOX will be producing and everything that has do with FOX. After that we will be launching new promos for FOX here in Missoula. By the way, its new cable channel is "2" and it is KTMF 23.2.

While my supervisor is away for 2 days I am working with the commercial producer and helping him out with shootings in field and studio. My favorites are studio shoots because we use different set of lighting which makes a huge difference in post-production. Also, last week we had a shoot in Hamilton, Montana. We were driving there with no idea what the client wants, it was sort of writing a script on-the-go. There, we met a client from Maverick group and she asked us to make a commercial for Hamilton Downtown association. It was random, but very fun and creative. We didn't have enough time to think about shots/composition/cuts...we just shot whatever we thought would be cool and interesting to work with in Adobe Premier. Also, I have shot and edited a little animation and now I am exploring endless possibilities of AFTER AFFECTS...my new addiction:)

4th Week

Well I am in my fourth week of my internship at KULR-8. I can't believe it is almost done. I really enjoy it here, I get a long great with everybody I work with, it will actually be hard to leave. These past few weeks have been a little crazy. For some reason people in Montana, more specifically Billings do not wear helmets when riding motorcycles. Every week we have at least one fatal accident as well as a few serious injuries. It is quite tragic when your top news for two weeks straight is about the next person that slammed their bike into a car. Aside from the dark stuff, it has been really great. I am turning over at least one package a day. I have done stories these past few weeks on lee the horse logger (you can google him if you are really interested...) He is a man that is riding across the US on a covered wagon. I also did a story on MRSA, Car Seat Safety, and Pet abuse. Well thats about it from me, hope all is well!

Beginning of the 4th week...

I can't believe I am half way done!!!HAHA! I actually really enjoy my internship place. It is a nice working environment, and people are being very kind to me. I definitely tried different aspects of media business starting from meeting clients who expect an ordinary commercial and the best thing so far for me is generating ideas at the commercial department. So, when it comes to field shoot clients usually want a specific thing and it is interesting how people working on the set try to distract them. While clients are being "disarmed" (simple conversation or showing some sample commercials), cameraman gets all shots he needs. Everyone is pleased:)
Last we shot the Wake up show; also I helped out with editing commercials for local businesses and weekly promos. The most recent one is Butte Silver Bow Fair. For that I shot Kitchen Guy host Chef Jim on green screen who will have daily demos in Butte, and now I am editing it using some Photoshop elements. And, by the way, one of the most useful softwares I found so far when it comes to creating graphics and text for promos is Apple's LiveType. I love it!

Monday's Finest

Yes, it's Sunday, but I'm going to mention Monday because it was my best work of the week... maybe even of my internship.

Barack Obama's Embarrassing Photos

I think I'm down to two weeks, which is crazy. I can't believe I've come this far. Rock on!

Finally Back

So I have finally returned to Billings to resume my internship at KULR-8. I have about four weeks left here before I have to be back in Missoula for RA training. I'm not sure what is in store these next 4 weeks...I imagine it will be a lot of reporting. My new schedule has me working weekends so I get more on-air time. So far I love it here. The first two weeks were great and I can't wait to get back to work! Hope you all are doing well! :)

3d week at ABC Missoula

Hi everybody. It's the beginning of the 3d week of my internship at ABC station. We are launching 4 more FOX stations, so it's been really busy here. Last week I worked on ABC promos and Craney award promo in Final Cut Pro. It is on the air already. I also had to learn about very important and tedious process-traffic on TV. So I had to go through the traffic to put my promo on TV for 15 days.

Then I worked at Master Control, I captured commercials from server that picks up the satlellite signal to the main feeding system. I worked on a new software NXOS, it is editing software for capturing and trimming short segments. My supervisor and people in the department tell me a lot about media world from inside out and I am getting more and more familiar with the network business which is really cool.

Next thing I did was shooting baseball games at Missoula Osprey!!!I went there with our sports reporter Varun who also showed me Velocity editing software which he usually uses for editing sports. This weekend, hopefully, we will get second camera and shoot together and so I will be able to edit my own shots at Velocity.

Internship

So I am selling advertising for my internship this summer and I have been having a hard time the last few weeks because of a medical problem. I have been losing my voice a lot lately so I went to the doctor and I have vocal cord nodules. I have not had a voice all this week and am becoming frustrated since my internship depends on my voice. Hopefully, if I rest it this week, I will be able to talk tomorrow.

A Tough Story

This week I have been working on a pretty touchy story. 8 doctors in Helena, have left family practice and gone to work for other organizations. 5 have left St. Peters Hospital, and a few others have moved out the V.A. Hospital. I was trying to get to the bottom of why doctors were leaving. I had a hunch, from what I had been hearing in the community, that doctors weren't being treated well at the Hospital, but nothing to substantiate that. I called several doctors, I got responses varying in degree from, "I have opinions on this, but I am not willing to comment" to "I would comment but I think it might jeopardize my career." I finally got ahold of a doctor who left St. Peters a while ago and started her own private practice. She did an on camera interview, exposing a lot of what I heard as rumor to be true.

I then called the Hospital to see if they wanted to comment. I interviewed the PIO and it went pretty well, the questions were answered for the most part, some questions were ducked, but all in all I was happy with the interviews I got. Later they called and asked me to leave out part of the interview. I told them legally I had a right to air it, but the station wanted to maintain a working relationship with the clinic and so we would hold it. The information wasn't specifically necessary to this piece, and I made a judgement call to not use it.

I put the package together, knowing it was going to stir some controversy. My ND was excited about the story and proofed my script. I was really nervous about running this, because one I wanted to represent both sides to the story fairly and accurately and two I also didn't want to burn any bridges for the station with the Hospital and three the doctor was very brave in coming forward with the information.

Before I aired the piece I called the doctor who was willing to talk and read her my script. She said that really put her at ease, because she was nervous about what the Hospital would do to her for coming public with the information, she was also leary about being misquoted.

This story has really been a learning experience for me.

I was told by an owner of aradio station in Butte, Ron Davis, "Always ask yourself if you can live in the community you live in after you air the story." Wanting to stay in Montana and work in Helena, this was a story in which I asked myself that every line I wrote.

Check it out. The broll is really dry but the content is strong.
http://www.kfbb.com/news/local/50282007.html

Afghanistan

Today I got a really cool Facebook message - my friend Aaron Flint, ex-KTVQ reporter and UM alum, is serving in Afghanistan right now. He was at a Pizza Hut in Kabul and saw one of my packages airing on AFN, the Armed Forces Network. Awesome!

http://www.army.mil/media/amp/?bcpid=6981683001&bctid=28718141001

I hope I never hear "Michael Jackson" again...

It's hard to come up with new ways to mock the news when it's always "Michael this!" and "Michael that!"... blegh!

So this is what I came up with for his memorial service on Tuesday, when I heard that elephants were present.

Elephants Invited To Jackson’s Memorial Service

Click the photo to see it clearly. Their blogging software mangles my images (makes them blurry) when posted.

I can't believe I've been doing this for eight weeks! I thought I would have ran out of ideas by week four...

Michael...Michael...Michael

Hey all! I hope everyone's internships are going well!

I havent had a chance for an update yet. At both places we have been non-stop busy with Michael Jackson coverage. At KCOY, it’s been story after story about the local impact...blah blah blah. Don’t get me wrong, it is sad, and he did live here for 20 years, but come on people! A lady I interviewed at Neverland Ranch was saving a piece of pizza for Michael incase he came back!! I have been out to the ranch three times now to get interviews and broll for packages. I can’t even explain to you all the media frenzy there! Reporters from all over the world were there, and I mean from everywhere! I met some prima-donna reporters from LA and some not so nice guys from the AP, and some really nice Japanese and Australian reporters. It was cut throat out there for live-shot coverage and interviews. I shot a cool standup outside the gates of Neverland in front of all the other reporters and tons of fans, which was pretty intimidating. I will have about three packages all said and done on MJ.

At the Sheriff's Department it is the same situation, completely different experience. The S.D. raided the ranch in 2003/2004, so some people weren’t the kindest to us. However, since they were in charge of security at the ranch, I got to see some pretty cool things. I was able to be the first camera allowed behind the gates before all the networks scheduled time to go live for their shows. I even got to meet Matt Lauer as he landed secretly in his helicopter for the Today Show. It was pretty weird when I would take the camera out of the gates to get broll for the department. Everyone would film me because they thought I was of importance since I allowed inside the gates. People were seriously going nuts. I will put pictures up soon!

Other than all this drama, I have been learning a lot here. At KCOY I am being sent out with photogs to report, and have a large role in writing and editing stories for the newscasts. I have also been able to produce the weekend shows too. I have been shooting stand-ups on every story I go to, which is really making me think on my feet!

At the S.D. I have shot more stories on the gun and taser training. I have an upcoming story where I get to go up in a helicopter with the dive team and shoot them jumping out into the water for water rescue training. I also went to the courthouse to get video for a story about Jesse James Hollywood, who is facing the death penalty, and did a stand-up there too. He is who the movie Alpha Dog is based on. The S.D. has been a nice change from the newsroom. Getting out and shooting these stories are completely different than the hard news stories at KCOY. I think they are both benefitting me in different ways.

Other than working 50 hours a week, I have managed to have a little fun. I have been going to the beach and working on my tan :) I am going wine tasting soon, which I can’t wait for!

I am excited to hear more from everyone! I can’t believe summer is half-way over!

2 week at ABC

Hi people! It's really nice to work at ABC station, seriously! And I've never seen Missoula in such bright colors and I am glad to stay here this summer (I've always went back home for summer).

Anyway, week 2 has started, and it's going to be really busy. I will be directing "The Wake Up Show" on Wednesday and work on commercial for Wingate Hotels. I have to write a script with a complete shot list, audio and other kind of sound/video effects, go for a shoot and edit it, plus I will be creating graphics and lower thirds. Later this week I will work on graphics for the Wake Up show.

Last week I digitized big analog tapes from Family Guy, Deal or No Deal and other daily shows, I edited their promos and tagged them for the upcoming week. I met with the clients for Wingate commercial and also I went for couple of other meetings with clients to show them commercial products that were made the week before I started my internship. It was really nice to be involved in different stages of commercial making business. Also, I was a camera operator for the Wake up show and I helped with creating the set. My supervisor told me that this week I will be working in control room for the show. The latest thing I worked on is a promo for one of our creative services producer James Sally who won E.B. Craney award and 1st place in TV station promotions. Yahoo!

I hope everybody enjoyed 3-days weekend and 4th of July!

Timely News In Various Cities

There was no home game and no video shooting for week 4, so I basically worked on in-house and road game tapes.

In contrast it was pretty busy having home games during week 5. As usual I updated Deko graphics, game notes and so on for the scoreboard. I operated one of the field cameras during games and I started learning how to use another field camera also. I'm getting used to follow the ball and to get hero shots and some highlight shots for the ballpark screen. It is pretty exciting that more of my camera shots got taken for the screen by a director during the game.

Everything that happened in week 6 was unbelievable and amazing. I met a sports photojournalist who is taking photos for MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, and UFC, writes sports magazine articles and also writes travel guide books and some other magazine columns. Photojournalism is different from what I'm doing, but he invited me to go to Los Angeles with him because the Mariners were going to play against Los Angeles Dodgers. He said he could let me inside of the Dodger stadium to introduce me to people there, and I could get to see the control room, press box, and some stuff. Of course I said "Yes" for this great offer. It was too sudden and so random, and my boss and coworkers were surprised that I actually agreed to go down there with him because it was just a day before we were heading to LA. So, I reserved my plane tickets and decided to stay there for 5 nights.

For the first day in LA, the photojournalist took me to Dodger stadium. He got a media pass for me, and I took a look in the press box, and around the stadium. It was pretty interesting to compare their different camera locations and angles with Mariners ones. I also checked photojournalists working. After the game we had a memorial ceremony for Michael Jackson with great fireworks and music on the field.

On the next day we woke up early to meet up with a photo cameraman from Tokyo. Since the sports photojournalist can write articles and has many job offers from various genre, he got a phone call from Tokyo for Michael Jackson's newspaper article. So eventually I worked with them as an assistant and drove to possible places where we might hear the latest information about Michael, like Michael's home in Beverly Hills, the Grammy Museum in downtown and etc. I interviewed Michael's fans and security guys for possible info and gossip. At the same time I kept taking photos. I know it was really emotional moment seeing people crying, praying, and kneeling down, but I was feeling more like we got to report what is going on. I needed to talk to tons of people until I got heard unreleased information about Michael. I couldn't believe that the information we heard at the time was on the air in the next morning. After we were crazily moving around LA for the breaking news, me and the sports photojournalist headed to Dodger stadium for his photo work. He introduced me to a Dodger stadium video producer who is also working for Los Angeles Lakers. The producer suggested me to follow him working on cameras at the game. I even learned the different camera use for inning breaks. The producer also talked how he got his job, what he believes for his job, what kind of attitude/ passion is needed for his job and so on. The sports photojournalist also introduced me to a producer/ director at Los Angeles bureau of one of the top Japanese TV stations.

On the third day in LA we went to Dodger stadium for a day game. After our work at the ballpark, we drove to see the photo camera guy who was waiting for some news in front of Michael's house all day long. There were still other media people but we started thinking that nothing will happen at the time, and it would be better to go to BET Award where Michael's dad, Joe was attending and to wait for Joe's possible comment. We dropped the cameraman off at the Shrine Auditorium, then met with a Clippers scout man for a magazine interview.

On the fourth day, we attended Clippers press conference about their new player, Blake Griffin. I got a media pass and met the scout man again. I kept taking photos and videos listening interviews at the press conference. Later I saw online news about the press conference with a photo which just looks like mine. At the press conference I helped a CNN reporter shooting video. It was funny that he has the same name as mine (I mean, the pronunciation is the same). After the press conference we drove down to San Diego, and the photojournalist got a media pass for me again to get in to Petco Park. I was thinking to go to San Diego by myself, but he actually arranged his work so that he could take me inside of Petco Park not as a fan but as a media and also I didn't have to spend money for the transportation to San Diego. I was taking a look around the stadium to see the camera setting, and also went inside of media deck where photo people working.

For day 5, I went to the control room to ask if I could get to see inside. They were willing to show me around even it was right before the game starts. Also I went to see the press box and suite level.

It was a really really long week and I barely slept, but it was an amazing experience. I'm glad that I got this great chance to get involved in MLB and NBA media, and breaking news. Also I really appreciate that the sports photojournalist took care of me really nicely all the time even for the expenses there. I cannot write or describe all here, but besides camera, I've also learned so much stuff personally and mentally. 

A 4th to remember

Work on the 4th was fairly typical for a weekend. I was the only reporter around after 6pm... and also the only one to edit the rest of the show. Being used to this, I shot a VOSOT for 5:30 and 10 and a separate PKG for 10 early in the afternoon so I could have time to do all of the work (no break of course). That's about when hell broke loose. A thuderstorm and hit Billings and a man was struck by lightning... this occured about five minutes after a motorcycle accident where the victim was having CPR preformed on her... remember, I am the only reporter and the show isn't anywhere near ready to go. Luckily, the anchor and director were able to go to the sites while I collected info and handled about 10 phone calls from concerned viewers about firework displays being cancelled. With about 30 minutes left until the show absolutely nothing was ready... Long story short- we somehow got the show off. I was supposed to go live in the newsroom about the lightning situation, but the camera died, and we didn't have enough people to man the camera's and the audio board anyway, so it kinda worked out... really hectic. but hey, that's the news, right?

Oh the joys of working in a bureau

I just found out that they are moving the reporter that I am interning under up to Great Falls for 10 days. They are going to be permanantely moving her there soon. That means I am alone in the bureau, and all on my own!

I had my first day in the office by myself today. I wrote, shot and edited three stories (vosotvo). So much for the days of one package a week! I covered a pro life rally, and a waterslide closure at the water park, and did a firework safety piece. You can check them all out online at kfbb.com.

I am really getting hands on experience, I am working completely independently. Working in a bureau is much different than working in a newsroom. I set my own schedule, and have very little contact with the station. I call into the station in the morning, then go do my stories and have to have them sent up to Great Falls by 5pm for the 5:30 show.

The Helena Bureau contributes a lot to the newscast for only having one news reporter. Christina (the reporter I have been interning under) often contributes 3-5 stories, which ends up being about 30% of the newscast. As a beginner I thought contributing 3 stories for the rundown today was pretty good!

The downfalls of working in a bureau, are you get the crappy equipment, the least amount of feedback and often feel lonely working in a office alone.

That wraps up my weekly summary... hope everyone else is doing well.

Here is a link to the pack I did today on Search and Rescue http://www.kfbb.com/news/local/49737982.html

Week Four

This is my fourth week at Soldiers Radio and Television, marking my half way point of the internship. I really love it. I am now working on radio newscasts everyday - the other intern and I will be doing most of them soon as the regular radio anchor is being deployed. Yesterday I finished a short package on the new GI Bill and today I did one on a health fair at the Pentagon. I am getting better at shooting as well as working on my voice. Plus, my skills on Avid have definately improved! Tonight I sat in on a panel discussion with journalists from around DC talking about the future of journalism - very interesting.

http://www.army.mil/media/amp/?bcpid=6981683001&bctid=28212782001 this is one of the radio newscasts I produced and anchored. Pretty cool! It aired at the bases and online.

Tomorrow I am helping to shoot a story at the Pentagon.

Halfway Through

So we just got done with Hoopfest weekend, which was chaotic but very fun to be a part of. The first day, went with a KXLY Sports Reporter and a cameraman to shoot four different stories at Hoopfest. Unfortunately, because of the time constraints of the packages being shot, I only got to do a little camerawork on the last package shoot, but I learned a lot about time management and the importance of having a story developed in your head before you get back to the station. The second day, Dennis asked me to help out with the KXLY Promotions Department, which basically consisted of throwing free KXLY gear into the crowds in between the Elite games-- they included fans, bags, and mini plastic basketballs that were blue (please refrain from making a "blue balls" joke because I probably heard it 20 times when I passed them out to guys...)

On a different note, I got to film an Arena football game last weekend (Spokane Shock). I did all of it with a camera on my shoulder, which proved to be very painful the next morning--never again will I complain about using a tripod. It was great being right up on the board to film the action, but it was extremely difficult following the ball on each play through a lens. I get to review my footage tomorrow...
I've also gotten to conduct several interviews with the Shock players. That's been my favorite part because it seems to come so naturally after all the practice that we've had in class.

I'm on my way to help film a Minor League Baseball Game Tonight. I filmed a couple plays last night and it was SO hard! You have to follow the ball while being aware of who's on what base. On top of that, you need to be able to adjust the iris when the ball moves in and out of shaded areas and quickly zoom in and out--all in one play!

I've been given to the go to anchor a sports segment on air when I feel ready--I think I may give it an extra week or so, but I'll keep you guys updated. Hope everyone's internships are going well, it sounds like you are all getting a lot out of them.

Laura

It's coming to an end

Well it has been a while since I have posted but not much has really changed for me over at KPAX.  I am still TDing Montana this Morning but I have also worked on productions like Community Spotlight and Face the State.  In fact last Friday we shot an episode of Face the State that focused on the election dispute in Iran.  It was actually a very interesting show to listen to, as I learned much more about the entire situation over there. 

Anyways, my duties have not really changed and I don't have anything new to report on really, so I'm going to leave it at that.  

First day at ABC

Well I decided to intern in Missoula and Ray Ekness helped me finding it. He introduced me to Tom Ciprari, UM alum in production side, and so this is how I got in here, at Creative Services department at ABC station.

The first day went pretty well, me and Tom went through the paperwork and since there was another new employee I got a chance to know everybody during the morning meeting:)

I am very excited because I will be able to learn more about After Affects and Photoshop and practice making video graphics in next few days. Also, today I went through digitizing daily shows from big BETA tapes and tagging promos for them in Final Cut HD.

Hopefully, everybody is enjoying their work, and I really feel that I am going to have a wonderful experience!

KECI

I'm going into my fifth week in my internship in the KECI production department. (I think it's my fifth week).  Today we shot a promo with Heidi Meilie at the X's on Higgins.  We focused alot on the framing of the shot and what we were actually getting in the background.  Also, I learned how crucial the lighting was for this sort of promo.  I didn't get to actually shoot, but I held one of the flexers and a homeless man gave me a flower. haha.  For my assignment today I'm supposed to write copy for an ad that we're doing for an electric company in town.  They let me take it home, so I plan on writing it outside since it's so nice out.  So far the internship is going great, the guys that we get to work with are really laid back and blunt about the things that they're working on.  I don't know if this is exactly what I want to do for a career, but I'm learning new things about framing and dealing with clients everyday.  

My internship is Pau already....

This was my 7th time visiting the islands and my second this year. But this was by far the best time I've had there because of the internship. My time in Honolulu came to and end last Wed. I put in work that morning and was on a plane to Seattle for a 12 hour layover by 2pm. By the way Hawaiian airlines is the S*%t, even though they misplaced my bag. Had a feeling my luggage would get lost with a layover that long, but I was happy to come back to Montana and not freeze to death. My internship was a great experience. and I see now why doing was is important in our field. If I ever want to move to Hawaii I've got work now, and if not I have a great reference for the future. My last day of work I tried to upload some of the work I did, but experienced technical difficulties, so I won't be able to share with anybody right now. I did make a couple DVDs for me and for the Rays. I'd probably say that the best part of my internship was shooting that wedding. I think thats what I'd like to do for a career actually. I got your support right Ekness? A close second was my time spent up at the addiction treatment services. It was a hard story to tell and an even harder story to get footage for, which was a great learning tool. I also learned a lot about addiction and met some amazing people, and heard some amazing stories. A very uplifting place actually.
I hope the rest of everyones internships go well for them. You were all in my thoughts often down there. Shoots then....

The Real Hurt Locker

Here's my entry from Friday on taking "The Hurt Locker" title seriously and drawing up what it would look like.

The Real Hurt Locker

I thought I'd also take a few lines and explain what I actually do. It's rather simple, really. I read the entertainment and sports news every morning and then I take on whatever I find interesting. I do one posting for sports and one for entertainment every day (3 from the two on Mondays and Fridays). I usually look for a key word that makes my imagination run, or I just take things literally (like in "The Hurt Locker" piece above). If the news is bland for the day, I'll just look for something that I can make fun of and go off in a non-topical direction. I often do photoshop pieces (as it's my strength), or I'll often do fake news articles (my newspaper writing style would be considered "loose"). Sometimes I'll just see something silly and write my opinion on it.

Other than that, I also do a lot of graphics or photoshops for other interns and my editor (even if some interns ask for something that takes me all day and then don't use them!), so that actually takes up the lion's share of my day when I get called on to do that. We also compile a top-2o list for various topics each week, research National Lampoon movies for future web paes, research holidys for humor bits and games, and research advertising on competitor websites.

Phew! That's about it, really. It's been a fun and fast six weeks, so far, and I'm sure the remaining weeks will be the same.

Day Trips on a Dime Part 4 and 5

These are the last two packages I did for the series. I shot, edit, wrote and tracked all five, it was a great learning experience! If you watch, post a comment and give me feedback. I love any help I can get!
http://www.kfbb.com/news/local/49151052.html

http://www.kfbb.com/news/local/49286297.html

A SAD DAY ON THE CENTRAL COAST

Today was a crazy day at KCOY. To start the day, as everyone knows…Farrah Fawcett passed away. We made calls to interview her friend and Charlie’s Angels successor, Cheryl Ladd. After going to Ladd’s house in the Santa Ynez Valley, we headed on to Santa Barbara to do a story on California’s raising gas costs. As we got back to the station, we heard news of Michael Jackson going to the hospital. TMZ was the first to leak news of his death, but we had to wait for an actual news source to confirm. CBS News came next, so we rolled with it.

As many of you know, Michael Jackson lived in this area where the Neverland Ranch is. The trial was held right here in Santa Maria in 2005, so this story hit home for many today. Personally, I have a vested interest in the court case, as my uncle led the investigation and raid on the ranch. The entire central coast went into a mini-meltdown today, as well as the newsroom. Normally every Thursday KCOY goes live from a surrounding town for the evening newscasts. Today, the entire event was cancelled, and reporters were called in to do pieces on MJ. The news of his death broke right before the 5 o’clock show, so you could imagine the hysterics. Although it really is a tragic event, it was really exciting to see how real breaking news works in a newsroom.

Soon after everything was assigned, we hit the road again, back out to Santa Inez to interview a few jury members from the trial. After that, I got to interview one of Michael’s defense attorneys that was with him all throughout the trial. He was very sorry for the loss, and when I asked him to describe Michael in three words, he told me “kind, gentle and humble.” He told me lots of stories about Michael and his family. It was a very sad day, and was very surreal to experience my first “breaking news” about such an icon.

I am working on making a package of all of this in the next day or two, and will be shooting a standup at the Neverland ranch.

It has been a sad day for many, but it has been a big learning experience for me.

This week I went to Andrew's Airforce base in Maryland and shot injured troops returning from overseas. It was really powerful to see, and I think my shooting skills are improving. The story we worked on was about the treatment the soldiers recieve at the hospitals and the faces that are there to greet them. I felt really privelaged to be a part of that. We interviewed some of the soldiers about their flights back and the injuries they endured.

I've also been working on a lot of radio stuff. If you go to http://www.army.mil/ and click on the media link you will see radio stories called 'army news.' I have had the chance to anchor and produce quite a few of those now. Until next time, I hope everyone's learning a lot and having a blast!

Here it is, week three in the KECI Creative Designs Department and I have been doing more of the same which is pretty cool since everyday is a different project for a different client. Shooting, lighting, editing, and making commercials. Some are different types of shoots that want artistic flowing shots with the jib arm and some of them just want to be in front of the camera telling about their product or business. Editing on Adobe Premier seems to be pretty easy and it is a Mark friendly program. Also been in Photoshop, which during school I did'nt grasp it very well, so I like the chance to get in and hone my skills.
I start with the second semester of the beautiful German language during second session of summer school so I will be coming in for only half days for the nest five weeks. Wish me luck (I need it).
I hope that everybody is having a great summer and having fun at thier internship. Sorry that yours has to end Buddy. Nice work on the Mt. on a Dime story, Marnee. KECI is putting together something similar.
I would post some pictures but I don't think that they would be suitable for this kid friendly blog. 'Til next time...

Links to stories I did

http://www.kfbb.com/news/local/49052731.html

http://www.kfbb.com/news/local/48958296.html

Pictures Please!

Hey everyone! I haven't seen any pictures yet. Post some pictures with your co-workers, on the set, in the newsroom or anything else. We'd love to see where you are. I'm glad to hear you're all working hard and having a good summer.
ray

Day-Trips on a Dime

I have been working on a series of 5 packages that air this week on KFBB. Each package features a different place that people can travel to cheaply in Montana. Check out the website for the pieces www.kfbb.com!

Here is the link to the first one, http://www.kfbb.com/news/local/48816312.html . The others will be online after they air each day at 5:30 pm.

Metro Accident

Things are going nuts in DC tonight. Two Metro trains collided and killed atleast six people. Atleast seventy more people have been taken to the hospital. My room mates and I are all fine, but it's scary. Two of my room mates take that train to work. I took it yesterday to the market.

Ceremony

Today I got to help shoot the Twilight Tattoo ceremony at Fort Myer. The name is deceiving; it had nothing to do with tattoos. It's was a big ceremony with the Old Guard and the military band and various units. I got to get right in the middle of things shooting. I met and shook hands with Chief of Staff General Casey and the army's Sergeant Major Preston. Awesome! Tonight was all about honoring the man who wrote the army song so many years ago. It was a really good, exciting night! I really hope to improve my shooting skills during this summer.

Something uplifting to open the week with...

Yeah, I know it's Tuesday, but this was actually meant for yesterday.

Lindsay Lohan Rides Dragon

I'll try to write a post about my duties soon.

Rock on, interns.

The Life and Times of a Helena Intern

Okay people go ahead and laugh, Marnee is shooting sports. Today I went out with the Helena sports reporter Becky Holley. Miss Holley is the bossy one, and the one who tends to talk back (I do adore her). Today we shot a package on a once big league athlete who fell from glory because of alcohol abuse.

I am still working on the series of 5 packages entitled "Daytrips on a Dime". I have driven the news car (one up you Herbie), to Virginia City, Phillipsburg, Marysville, the Flathead Valley and Choteau. I also shot a feature on skydiving, if you all checked out my facebook profile you will see the injuries I got during my fall through a hail storm! My on camera work is now delayed until the bruises and welts dissappear. I should have gotten an internship with MTPR.

Oh and my number one internship accomplishment for the week is that I turned in my learning agreement to Ray!

I will post links to my stories once they air.

I miss you all, and can't wait to play catch up in the fall.

Thinkin of a master plan....cuz ain't nothin but sweat inside my hand

Started week five down here in Honolulu. Doing two more interviews for my A.T.S. project, and hopefully getting footage of the treatment facility. Once again a challenging thing to do since most people there can't be shown on camera, nor do they trust that I won't show there faces on the finished product. Just having a camera in that place tends to weird out the patients. This will be my third trip there, and I'm looking forward to getting more footage. I've also been busy editing small projects for people, and quickly losing storage space on my laptop. I haven't had the pleasure of shooting another wedding which I know will make Ray Ekness happy. Other than that, the southern swell is in and the waves here have been big. I am still not on da ice.

Shoots.....

Army Birthday

Hey everybody! This week is all about the army's 234th birthday - today I met the Secretary of the Army on a shoot. He was doing a book reading thing at Fort Myer for children at the fort and they had a big cake cutting for the army birthday. Pretty sweet! I'm having a great time!

KTVQ Week... Whatever

Hey All!

Most of my time lately has been concerned with filling any and all holes in the schedule at the station. Usually I am just editing stuff and running the audio board... pretty run of the mill. However, every now and then I get a reporting opportunity or I will work in the online department (which is pretty fun). Today I did something I swore I would never do... Katrina can vouch for that statement: I worked a morning show. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it thoroughly and want to do it again. I don't know if I have what it takes to actually anchor one in the real world... but I wouldn't mind working one, every now and then anyway. We almost had a couple of plane crashes the other day... one of those planes had 140 people on it and an engine blew out. We didn't have any reporters around at the time and a few were out of town. Luckily, both were able to make successful emergency landings. I really like being the utility guy. I like to liken it to being a guy who is the utility player on baseball teams... and hey, I still have time to re-adjust my cup and scratch routinely, so what's the difference, right? Hope all is going well everywhere... I think about you all frequently.

The KPAX Clan ain't nothing to F with

Dear Diary,
So this week I began going on all of my own shoots and it has been awesome, I’m setting up all my own stories, but I don’t get to drive the news cruiser because apparently I’m a “liability.” Jeez Diary! Who could think that little old me could be a liability? I also had my first day off in 13 days last Thursday, so things this week couldn't have gotten better. On a more important side of the business Diary, I scooped my first story, and we led with it at 5:30 on Saturday, eat it KECI. Actually it didn't feel as good as people make it sound like it should. It was rather depressing, because a bicyclist got nailed by this dumb b*tch driving on the wrong side of the road. He was pretty beat up, but I think he'll live. I was the only media on the scene and it was pretty dramatic. So you all better be on your best behavior or else I may just have to scoop your ass. Hmmm scooping asses, maybe not as cool as I first thought it sounded, maybe I'll leave the scooping to somebody else next time. I also start work on the morning show tomorrow; apparently my news director thinks it will be a good experience. The good news though Diary, drum roll please, I get to reunite with Dan “the man” Ryan for a week and see him work his magic. I don’t know who’s more excited me or Dan. Probably me. I’ll be sure to let you know how the week from 4 am hell goes; I know your dying to hear about it.

P.S. If you ever find yourself wondering what to do with yourself this summer, just think WWWD (what would Willi do) and then grab a brewski, and whatever else you may like to do in your free time and RELAX. But remember: Ice, not even once… or twice for that matter. Thanks Diary, I love you.
-Herbie

First Three Weeks In Seattle

So I'm interning for Seattle Mariners this summer and I've spent three weeks here already. Here're what I've done with them so far.

Week 1: I started my internship on a home game day at Safeco field. That was the best day as my first day of internship because I saw my favorite player, Ichiro practicing batting really close. I assisted the green room shooting which I had my another favorite player, Gutierrez right in front of me. It was pretty exciting moment. I updated Deko graphics for game notes, sports headline, trivia, etc of upcoming game. I also assisted roving RF camera for in-game production, like fan shots and so on. I also assisted interviewing players which was all in spanish and all of us had no idea what they were talking about. On non-game days, I logged game tapes. Oh and my boss made me go on a stadium tour for some extra information at Safeco field. It was actually a pretty good tour and we can even get inside of visitors' room. Press box was pretty amazing to me also.

Week 2: I logged game tapes, and also assisted updating scoreboard for WIAA Washington State Baseball Championships which took place at Safeco field. I did the same things as week 1 on game days. It was pretty exciting to be on the field to get some winning shots of players.

Week 3: I had the same routine for game days, and I learned how to use a field camera for live game shots. We didn't have any extra innings on that night, but the game was really long... took like 4 hours. So it was really good for me to get used to the field camera as much as I wanted. It made me really tired under a lot of pressure too. I assisted a green room shooting with Jakubauskas and Quiroz. They are really nice and friendly, and they even shook hands with me. I logged game tapes and assisted shooting pre-game promos of recycle at Safeco field. Shooting recycle video allowed me to see some different sides of Mariners, like how each person contributes for the team where/when we even don't see them. I assisted pre-game Mariner Moose video shooting, too.  I guess it was the first and last time in my life that I hear any mascots' "real" voice and actually get to talk to them in person. I also appear as an extra on the Moose video. We also went outside shooting for an upcoming Gutierrez bubblehead commercial. I love these bubblehead commercials... they really make me laugh. My boss took several pictures of us working as a "proof of internship," so I guess I might post some of them here sometime later...

Do you have a digital converter box?

Well another week is just about in the books, and I guess the major thing going on for me this week would be the digital conversion.  Our control room has seen some changes in equipment, but it really has not affected my job.  I am looking forward to the end of all the DTV PSAs, the daily countdown has gotten pretty old.  On another note, we also had some breaking news today when a massive fire started in a tire warehouse in Butte.  Because it was in Butte, I didn't get to do anything fun like rush to the scene and shoot, but I did get to see the other end of coordinating breaking news by working with your affiliates.  So we got the information together, got a live feed of the station's eye-cam up and running and were able to be the first station to get info on the fire to the people.   So even though I didn't get to actually take part in the exciting part of breaking news it was good to see how it gets handled when you have to coordinate everything with the affiliate station.  Also one last side note, Willi will be joining me on the morning show these next couple of weeks so once again the RO Drift Boats MIM dream team will be reunited and on the airwaves of western Montana. Until next time...

Soldier Radio and Television - Week 1

Hey guys!
I'm wrapping up my first week in DC and loving it already. I started at Soldier Radio and Television, the r-tv department of the U.S. army, on Tuesday. That first day they let me and the other intern voice a radio package that aired on the army radio stations; it was pretty cool. We had to go through tons and tons of paperwork, but I now have my own security badge and clearance into both the Pentagon and the Defense Department - also pretty cool. I have learned lots of new tricks on Avid, which will be super helpful.
Wednesday we got to voice another radio package and work on some script writing and story research. Today we sat in on some meetings, wrote some radio script, and did some research. Saturday will be exciting - we are going to the White House for a shoot - awesome! I'm really pumped.
I am living in an apartment on the Georgetown campus and taking a couple of classes here. I'm having a blast and hope all of you are too!

Katrina Heser

First Week in California

Hi everyone!

So I am almost done with my first week at my internships. My background investigation was finally finished this week at the Sheriff's Dept. in Santa Barbara and I got right to work. I am really excited about working there because I not only get to shoot and write stories, but I get to see the other side of how the media works pertaining to law enforcement. They are teaching me how to deal with law enforcement as a reporter and tricks to getting information. The PIO (Public Information Officer) I am working with was an anchor/reporter for 20 years, and he is really teaching me a lot.

This week I got to shoot a story on the Special Olympics Torch Run, which law enforcement does to raise money. Since I am with the Sheriff's Dept. I get to shoot wherever I want, while the other reporters have to stay back.

Yesterday I shot an amazing story. During the Jesusita fires that recently damaged Santa Barbara, two firemen were trapped and badly burned in a house, but saved by two Sheriff's Deputies. They all met for the first time yesterday where the firefighters wanted to thank the others for saving their lives. I am heading to the area where the house burned with one of the Deputies soon to get broll.

I have been given free reign to choose stories I want to shoot. I am planning on going out with the SWAT team, the Dive Team, Search and Rescue, and I am getting set up to interview a very notorious California murderer who is in the prison here. Pretty soon I get to start going out on calls at any time of night whether it be murders or stand-offs. I even get a bullet proof vest. I have also seen some pretty funny celebrity mugshots that have come through the station!

We recently had a bank robbery and a high profile death, so the office was crazy and the media called all the time. Its funny how annoying some of them can get! (TMZ!!) I am really learning a lot about how to approach and not to approach law enforcement.

I am given lots of information about important cases that I am not to repeat to anyone. I have been recused from any cases dealing with the Sheriff's Dept. while at KCOY. Its kind of scary having all this information and having to watch what I say at the TV station. The news director is watching out for me so no reporters try and get info from me!!

At KCOY I have been doing a little bit of everything. Saturday I produced the evening newscasts and edited a bunch for the show. I worked the assignment desk a little but now I will be going out with reporters all the time. I will be able to go out with my own photog on Saturdays too! They even told me I am the best writer out of all the interns they have had!

I hope everyone's summer is going well!

Christopher Lloyd

I interviewed Christopher Lloyd! What else is there to say but that?

Magic Defeated By Lakers Despite Impressive Show

Another Photoshop by yours truly. This one actually had me laughing while doing it because I found the perfect photo of a magician from a costume catalog. Sometimes, things just gel together perfectly for concept.

Magic Defeated By Lakers Despite Impressive Show

Breaking News In DC

Today was a crazy day!!! After us interns got back from lunch we were told there was a shooting at the Holocaust Museum. One of the reporters went down to the Museum, which is close to the Capitol to cover it. Later we were pulled into the quest to find out who the shooter was, where he lived, who the victims were, etc. etc.

One intern went with the senior reporter to where the shooter lived. While the other intern and I were finding information for other reporters who were compiling stories, taking to the Jewish communities in the district, ect. We made phone calls to find out if Hillel groups were doing anything tonight, tried accessing court documents from the shooter who was charged and convicted of crimes in 1981, searched the net, busy busy! But it was great! And I even got to file a story on the security officer who died which will air in the morning.

So sad that this happened and people like that are still out there...but on the upside us interns gained vast amounts of knowledge of working in the newsroom.

KECI internship

So far this week, we've been doing the same things as last week.  Today we went up to Polson to shoot a commercial for Three Dog Down, a business that sells down comforters and stuff.  It was interesting because the client was incredibly unique and had the whole town pretty much involved in the commercial.  I think both Mark and I learned that you really have to be able to work with what you've got, and make sure that the client is happy.  

Week 4 at KFBB

Last week I covered the shooting in Helena. It was such a sad event, but also a story any reporter would love to cover. We don't have a scanner here in the bureau office, so I heard from my boyfriend that there had been a shooting and called the reporter I work under. She ran to the office and got the camera and I met her down at the police station for the press conference. After the press conference we went out and got broll of cop cars and did MOS interviews for the website. We were up filming, writing, and editing from 11pm to 2 am. It was quite the experience! The following day I did a package on Helena reacting to the shooting. I did MOS interviews and fronted the package.

I learned a lot doing the package. I am learning how to communicate working in bureau. I am learning to work under deadline and edit quickly. I am learning to edit in my camera. I am working under Christina Marrazza. She is a sassy 24 year old from New Jersey with a business background. I am having a great experience.

Week 2 in DC

Hey all! Week two is kicking off wonderfully in DC. I've had 3 stories air so far in the week and 2 days that I've been interning which is exciting. I'm receiving a lot of positive feedback from the assignment editor and reporters and constructive criticism and advice. The assignment editor and one of the senior reporters are really impressed with my tracking and how I sound on air, which is so very encouraging. AND they are looking at hiring two reporters so I hope to look into that and hope my chances will still be high, despite that I'm just out of college and am an intern there....We'll see how that all goes! :P

One of the other interns and I were very productive today on working on our series on Education and the Economy. We collected nat sound from a hs graduation and collected some names of students who graduated. We talked to a college guidance counselor with a private school and a woman who works at the station (but not in the news dept) has a daughter who goes there who happened to have a bunch of friends over and we were able to interview all of them! Very exciting! The other intern was worried because we hadn't gained much progress, but I think we're both very satisfied with the work we accomplished today!

Also, today I helped with a double ender for Pat Duggins, who is an NPR reporter for a station in FLA. He generally covers the big NASA liftoffs and such and I helped him interview a fellow who works for a private space company, SpaceX. He talked with the fellow over the phone and I held a mic in person and sent the file via FTP (better sound quality than over the phone). Plus, I made $75 for holding a microphone for 20 minutes! Nice, especially when my internship is unpaid.

If you ever have any time listen to some stories (esp mine :P ). They can be found at wamu.org/news/.
My most recent story was on a mass for people who donated their bodies to science.
Fun times!!

Glad to work near beaches...

Start of my 4th week here in sunny Honolulu. Have forgotten long ago I'm only here temporarily and Montana is really my home. Have been busy here in the office/editing room. Doing small projects for people on my Laptop. Becoming a whiz at final cut. Experiencing technical difficulties that seem to follow us all in this line of work hopefully and not just me. Thankful I can unwind at the beach after a long day here. When I got this internship and Ray Ekness checked the website he asked me please not spend my entire time here doing weddings. Well I shot my first and hopefully only one this weekend the Kahala resort. Its a place I had no business being in. Everything was immaculate. On the way to the shoot I passed a lagoon that had four or five dolphins in it. Yet even in all its overwhelming beauty, I couldn't help but think about how many wedding here were just a carbon copy of the last one. This one was no different. Today I had the chance to go to this manufactured paradise and help with another wedding. I declined. Say word....

Please stay off the ice

Hey all. This is the beginning of my second week at KECI in the production department. So far I have gone on two shoots, one in Ronan for a bullet manufacturer and one here in Missoula for an Oncology practice that we shot some cancer survivior testomonies. Other than that life goes on fairly well the same. We are editing on Adobe Premier 6.5 and it is very similair to Avid and Final Cut Pro. Logging, capturing, and a lot of doing while someone instructs from afar. So far on the shoots both Jamie and I have asked to work on lighting and we have set up lights and been able to see the huge difference that they make if used right. The production department is great here and fits me perfect for right now. Commercials are fun and give you a lot more leaway as to what you can shoot and the different "artistic" shots that just dont make there way into the news. Hit ya up again next week. Stay off that ice brah.

KPAXKPAXKPAXKPAXKPAXKPAXKPAXKPAXKPAX

So this weekend was pretty busy at KPAX. I had my first in studio live report, where I ran out of breath and almost choked on myself, but I guess it turned out ok. I also ran my first package and did a rap around on it. So my first and second times being on television for the news are in the books! Hopefully things become more routine and it feels a little more natural next time. I had a great support team in the studio so that made things a lot easier. I hope everyone is alive and well. God's Speed
-W

Slacking.

Seems to me I'm one who's been doing an internship the longest and still haven't written anything about it. Well, here goes.

Roughly mid-April (I think) I responded to the Program Director for Energy 107.5 FM here in the lovely Garden City. He was looking for someone with a basic knowledge of HTML and a more expert knowledge of Twitter. How could I have turned him down? Currently, they're re-vamping the website to be this crazy interactive online home, so to speak, for their listeners. Die-hard fans have the chance to upload pictures, video, audio clips, and txt messages to a clog (still haven't deciphered this new inter-word [and no, it's not a wooden shoe you'd wear in the Netherlands]), chat with other people in the area, stream the radio station, and all kinds of other stuff I'm sure none of you are interested in. I've been participating in the chat room and have e-met quite a few unique Missoulians.

On the Twitter end of things, I was responsible for establishing four new accounts with subjects the listeners were interested in. From there, I was to research four RSS feeds per account that would automatically update through tweets. The four I made up are as follows:

http://twitter.com/energyfrontrow - Concert listings for all of Montana and other large cities in the region.
http://twitter.com/NRGComingSoon - Upcoming movies, traliers, cool theatrical stuff
http://twitter.com/GotEnergyGetFit - Health, weight loss, other things
http://twitter.com/NRGPillowTalk - Sex and relationships, etc.

The links provided from the RSS feeds were supposed to link to Energy's website as a "middle-man" to generate more hits on the website. The idea is to get people to the website, find something else they may be interested in, and click around from there. Though it's not working now, apparently it wasn't my responsibility to get that established.

(I apologize if I've lost you in all this inter-speak, this post is long enough as it is.)

Aside from the internerdy duties, I've been helping out with events put on by the radio station. Last weekend they sponsored a giant free BBQ at Bonner Park. I ended up with the wonderful duty of monitoring children in the moon bounce. By the end of the day my hands smelled like little children's armpits and it solidified the fact that you'll never see any offspring from me.

This next week they're sponsoring a night at the movies on Wednesday, to which I'll get to see "The Hangover" again for free, simply by showing up and handing out passes. (The movie is hilarious, go see it!) Thursday the station is sponsoring the "Unite the Mic" tour, setting B-Real from Cypress Hill and Bizzy Bone from Bone Thugs on their new project (be still my beating heart.....) so I'll be there helping set up, schmoozing "rap" stars, etc.

By my calculations, I'm nearly done with my duties with the station. My one "final project" is to try and find someone who would want to take over after I'm done. It has been fun and the people at the station are absolutely great, so if you're interested, let me know.

Hope the rest of you are keeping busy and having fun!

Week three...DONE

I'm close to the halfway point here in Honolulu. Still have about another month down here maybe less. Shot another interview at the salvation army today. The women we interviewed worked more directly with the clients than the last interview. I think we may do one more interview next week and then I'll have to decide what kind of shots I'll need to get to tell this story. Its gonna be extremely challenging shooting at a place like ATS (addiction treatment services). Obviously everyone there is in some stage of recovery from either drugs or alch. Meth or Ice as they call it here in the islands, is even a worse problem here then in Montana. Its a side of Hawaii you don't really here about unless you watch Dog the Bounty hunter (stay off that ice bruh). ATS is located on the Pali Highway which runs right through the mountains to the other side of the island. Its nestled right against the mountain and surrounded my some of Hawaii's most lush vegetation. At first glance it may appear more like a vacation spot then a place where addicts go to get clean. I was told that it would be highly unlikely, but if by chance I saw someone in there I knew, I was not to approach them or speak to them. Next week i'll be going through the interviews and getting soundbytes. Sound familiar? Tommorow I'm helping to shoot footage at a graduation and the dreaded "WEDDING"!!! Luckily I don't have to edit that....

So I just got done with my 3rd real day at KXLY in Spokane. I was feeling pretty confident the first day after they asked me if I knew how to use Avid and INEWS. And then they told me to build the sports block for their 11 o' clock show. It is amazing how much harder INEWS is when you're introduced to new commands (FS and BAM, for example) and when you don't have your classmates' rundowns to reference! Today, they had me build the 6 o'clock sports block and went through it when I was done. Think back to when you sat next to Denise while she went through your rundown with you and wrote a tally mark every time you did something wrong--it was like that except for when they found three errors in the rundown, they didn't tell me what they were, they told me to go back through and find them (that was fun, let me tell you). I learned a lot from that exercise though, and when they told me to also do the 11 o' clock block for that day, I had it completed in 20 minutes. I even got to edit some highlights that will air here in about 10 minutes. I've already learned a lot from Dennis (who hired me), and he tries to lighten the mood by making jokes throughtout the day, including telling me that I'm fired--which leaves me laughing or on the verge of tears because I can never tell when he's joking. Hope you all are enjoying your summer!

Laura

The Show Must Go On

So week two is just about in the books, which means I can sleep in for two days.  But this week has been pretty much the same as every other week so far.  I am finding now that the things that used to be the most difficult for me are becoming enjoyable rather than extremely stressful.  I know this may sound kind of strange but I really enjoy TDing.  There is a great responsibility involved which makes it fun and challenging at times.  We just ended our sweeps period last week, so I am patiently waiting to see what the results are.  I would hate to fall behind KECI for a second period in a row.  I also had a very eventful day a few days ago, when all the power in our entire building went out halfway through the show, talk about stressful.  I would say we were out of commission for about 15 minutes before we were able to get all of our computers up and running in the control room, but I'm pleased to say we got back on air before our show was scheduled to be finished and closed it out with flying colors.  I have heard a million times from people in the business that I should always prepare for the worst and expect the unexpected...after our little power problem I will definitely abide by that advice ha ha.  Well I hope everyone is having a great summer, that's the good word from KPAX.

1st story in DC-a size 8 radio market

Hello everybody! I started my first week interning at public radio station WAMU 88.5 in DC this week. On day two I was assigned to cover a conference on progressives gathering and I spoke with Congresswoman Donna Edwards who serves in our listening area. Check it out here: http://wamu.org/news/
It's the story entitled: Progressives Convene In Washington

So far there are 3 interns including myself, and I'm the only one with any broadcast experience. The other interns don't know how to use adobe audition...which is a tad frustrating because I have to take them under my wing a bit and show them how to use the program and the recording equipment and such.

We brainstormed our big project for the summer today and we're hoping to pull together a series on the economy and education. We're still ironing out the details but we're planning on pieces like getting into college and how people are going to pay for it, graduating (college) in a recession and the next step: the jobless job hunt or going to grad school. Should be fun to talk to some locals in this situation.

More later and much j-school love,
natalie

LeBron Barricades Self In Talcum Powder Fort

Yes, another fine posting from me! And I would post a photo of where I'm at, but I'm in my living room at home, so it's not that exciting. ; )

And to link:
LeBron Barricades Self In Talcum Powder Fort

Week 3 at KFBB

This last week, I was assigned a series of 5 packages. I get to shoot, write, edit, and voice track and do stand-ups for each one. They will air the week of June 22nd. The series highlights 5 places around the Helena and Great Falls area where people can go and recreate on the cheap. I got the opportunity to go and do my first shoot by myself. I went to Marysville Montana and shot footage of the old buildings and got an interview with a local resident. I really enjoyed going out and working on my own. The station even gave me my own business cards. I am now a titled reporter!

Drew's 2nd entry

I did a story today on one of the local high school graduations. The situation that we have dug ourselves into at KTVQ is one where if we cover one high school graduation, people complain if we don't cover all of them. Ah, you must be thinking, then why just not cover any of them. The answer, my friends, is that Sunday evenings in Billings, Montana are largely uneventful. Therefore, tonight (which is a Monday) I was assigned to cover the graduation. I ended up doing a package on it, mainly focusing on the aphabetical nature of the graduation procession. I interviewed the first person to receive their diploma and the last person, as well as a girl whose name was the most difficult to pronounce. The piece came off well despite the 30 minutes I had to edit the story upon returning from the shoot. It will be on KTVQ.COM if you want to watch it, but be warned, definitely not my best work... and that says a lot.

KPAX Week 1 (kinda)

So I have been working for KPAX for almost three months now, but I'm officially one week into my internship.  I have done just about everything that there is to do in preparing our show Montana this Morning for air.  I am TDing every morning and I have also done things like write, edit bumps, update the news ticker, run audio, and create graphics.  Last week, I also ran camera for the taping of a show that runs statewide called Face the State.  I have really settled in at KPAX now that getting to work at 4 am isn't quite so painful anymore.  I think the most difficult thing thus far, are the days when I have to TD and run the audio board at the same time for an hour and a half show.  If forces me to be more alert than I have ever been at that hour of the day.  So far so good.

My news station is better than your news station.

So I've been working at KPAX in our lovely college town for the past week, and it's been great. Luckily I knew some people over there so when things that sounded to good to be true, Cough Bill Knowles Cough, were to good to be true I had a back up. Everyone there is really nice and I've already packaged, and shot stories that have ran. It's been great getting to work in the morning, and then leaving the office to go out on assignment. I miss you all dearly, and hope that none of you are the first reported case of H1N1 in Missoula that I heard about this morning. Cheers -W

Week Two...

Just finished another 40 hour free work week. I earned some tip money though for a shoot I did of Walt Whitman play here in Honolulu. One of the guys in the play has been in Magnum PI, Lost, and just about every other thing shot on this island. I am getting used to the routine around here, and work close to the beach. As far as work goes, i'm loving it. Learning a lot. Will be shooting more footage at the salvation armies addict treatment center this week. Last week we shot an interview with one of the head people in charge. Amazing women. Looking forward to telling this story. Its going to be a lot of work. Almost another Made In Montana. I'll keep you posted.

Mahalo

California

Hi everyone! I hope your summer has started off great! I am getting ready to make my trip down to California. It will be a two day drive with my six year old nephew and my puppy--anyone want to join? :) The drive should be amazing..I am dropping my nephew off near San Francisco where my brother lives, and I will do a little vacationing there before I head to my mom's in Santa Barbara. Good thing the fires there have subsided! I am almost finished with my background investigation and all that jazz for the Sheriff's Department, only a drug test and finger-printing to go. I feel like I am about to work for the FBI! I am really excited about working there. I should be able to cover things like the SWAT Team and big drug busts along the coast. My other internship is at KCOY Channel 12. They have me producing and editing a few days a week and I get to report on Saturdays! I will have to represent for Montana down there with all those California interns and show them which school is better! I hope you are all off to a great start--sounds like everyone is getting amazing hands on experience!

Post pictures please

Hey everyone--don't you want to see where everyone is interning this summer? Post some pictures of your work place and your internship hosts. We'd love to see anything. Also keep the posts and links to your work coming too. Keep working hard. All right--have some fun too.

Bear Mauls Mark Cuban!

This is the kind of stuff I do every day for the National Lampoon. It's fun and exciting and all that jazz.

Cuban Claims Salmon Harvest Is Rigged

First Blog Entry

Hopefully I'm doin this right.  Its already week 2 for me here in Honolulu.  I'm workin for free, but I have obtained final cut pro on my laptop so thats a bonus I guess.  Tommorow my boss and I are going to the Salvation armies drug rehab place to shoot a public service announcement for the internet.  Should be interesting.  Other than that I have edited a coupe intros to a Ho'ike, (which is like a Luau without the food, and all the dancing and music), as well as the Hawaii Pacific University graduation.  I will keep all posted on further projects, and post them to the blog.

First Day

I'm interning at KECI in the production department.  It was my first day today and we went through paperwork and what I'd be doing this summer.  We're shooting a promo in Stevensville tomorrow so I'm excited to see how they do it from start to finish.

Interning at KTVQ

I've started my 3rd summer at KTVQ in the thriving metropolis that is Billings... but this time it counts! It's kinda like riding a bike at this point, but boy do they keep ya guessing about what you are doing at work. Today for instance, I was supposed to work in the online department. However, upon arrival to work I was assigned to a series of robberies that occured early this morning. Around midnight, there were four hotel robberies in eighteen minutes! Think they were related? Me too. The police department hasn't released any new info for a while though. So that has kept me fairly busy throughout the day. An old man called to tell me he had suspect information, it turns out he thought his neighbors were responsible because they are young and all have pony tails. Alright folks, enough from me. Hope all your summers are going well.

First Week

So in my first week at KULR-8 in Billings I worked on several different stories in which I did vo bytes for the 5,6 and 10:00 shows. This week I did my first package. It was quite fun! The story was on National Senior health and fitness day and I got to report on the different health classes they were offering at the local retirement home. Pretty much it was all about these cute little old people still staying active! As for work, I really enjoy it. The editing software is so much easier than avid and I get along great with all of the staff.

Interning at the Capitol

I am interning with KFBB NewsChannel 5 in Helena. The offices are located in the basement of the Capitol building. I work with two reporters here, going out on daily stories, shooting, editing, writing and will eventually get to do my own stories.

I am in the middle of my second week and so far I have helped put together a few stories. I am learning quickly that interning in Montana has its perks. I get hands on experience and am able to work directly with the news team.

I think that this opportunity will be really beneficial.