Not to seem dramatic, but this internship changed my life. Six months ago I had no idea exactly how crucial it was for someone going into Television or Radio to get your foot in the door through an internship. I couldn't imagine graduating now without having this experience. If I had known how valuable it was, I would have gotten one my junior year also. All the communication classes I've taken combined cannot compare to the valuable hands on experience I received at ABC.
Since January I have been working 5 days a week in Lincoln Center on W66th St. Before I started, I wouldn't even be able to name a single subway line for you. I couldn't tell you where Manhattan landmarks were, where to catch a bus, good places to eat, or the difference between the Triboro Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel and the 59th Street Bridge. You see it was all the same for me. I was a true Long Island girl. I was born here, grew up here, went to school here, and never really had too much of an interest in the city. My Mom was never too keen on going. She never liked it very much. So as a child that rubbed off on me. St John's was about as far west as I was willing to go every day. Until ABC called that is.
Okay, so I knew when ABC called me I was going to have to break out of my comfortable little shell and start making my way out there 6 o clock every morning. Yes, that's right, every morning it was a two-hour trip from my house to ABC. Let's just say that for the first couple weeks I wasn't a happy camper. But once I realized what I was about to get myself into over there, waking up at dawn wasn't such a bad thing at all.
Steve, my supervisor, is the Producer for a segment on Eyewitness News called 7 on Your Side. 7 on Your Side airs during the 5pm News where we reveal consumer based issues and problems and try to find resolution for the victims. I worked with Steve the entire time I was there. He taught me how to transcribe tapes, log consumer calls, write scripts, find really good stories, interview consumers on the phone, and go out on shoots. He basically showed me by his own example how to be a good producer. Just watching him I learned a lot. Sometimes he would stop what he was doing and quiz me and ask me questions to see if I knew certain things or learned how to catch a good story. There was never a single time that I came up to Steve's desk and he turned me away. He always answered my questions. He always listened to my problems. He was always willing to make me feel a part of his team. And he did all this with a good attitude. Honestly, he doesn't realize it, but I feel so appreciative and lucky to have a boss like him. Wherever I go in my life and my career from here, I will always remember how kind he was to me and how willing he was to teach me the business. He let everyone of his interns feel like an equal part in that office, and that in itself is invaluable.
I also spent a lot of time with Glenn and Tappy Phillips. Tappy is the Consumer reporter at ABC and Glenn is the cameraman and editor that goes out on all the field shoots with us. I learned a lot from them also, but different things than what I learned from Steve. By example, Tappy taught me the demeanor a person should have to be a reporter. She taught me how to do teasers and stand-ups. She taught me the tone one should use when speaking in front of the camera. I realized there are certain words that need to be stressed. I realized that when you are dealing everyday with the public, you have to have a certain kind of personality where you can mesh with all different kinds of people from every social background you can think of. We went all over the tri-state area on these shoots, New Jersey, Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island etc. All places that I couldn't have been to more than 5 times in my life. It was an odd feeling at first to go to a stranger's home and set up a camera and start talking to them. I felt almost invasive at first. But then I realized there was one main purpose to doing all this.We were helping people. Every single story we did, we helped at least one person. And I love that! I love that every time I would sit down and have to transcribe a 20-minute tape, it wouldn't bother me. And that's because I found it interesting. I knew that when the tape I was transcribing would air, it would benefit at least a couple of people's lives. And to me, that was reason enough to keep going. That fact that we affected people in a positive way made me feel good.
Sometimes in the corner of my eye I would just watch Steve on the phone with some company trying to get resolution for one of our consumers. I would see that Steve had a determination to get that company to do the right thing and give the lady or man her money back or whatever it was. It seemed like he really genuinely cared about his work. And maybe the fact that he knows he helping people makes a difference for him too. But I know whatever work I move on to do in the future; I hope I can help people in one way or another. Even if it's just to entertain them. Maybe just making them take there minds off their troubles for a few minutes and get them to laugh or smile is enough.
Citibank, Lasik Vision, Verizon, CVS, Walbaums, Circuit City and Bradlees. These are just of the few companies that 7 on Your Side has taken on while I was working there. And in each case we were able to find some sort of resolution for the consumer. The way it works is that consumers can call a hotline number. When they call this number they have 3 minutes to leave their name, number and problem. The interns then go into the voicemail system and listen to all the messages. If we find the callers problem news worthy or interesting or we think we can be helpful, we log the call onto a Word Document. That document eventually gets to Steve where we will point out which ones we think are good and why.
If Steve agrees we call the consumer back and get more info about he problem. If it can then be made into a story, Steve will set up an interview. Then at that point Tappy and Glenn and usually an intern will go on a field shoot and tape Tappy's interview with that person. Those tapes are then brought back to the office where the interns transcribe and log them. Steve then uses those logs to write his script. Glenn then takes the tapes and does the editing for the 1 minute, 45 second segments. Then, next thing you know, Tappy is on the air and our hard work has hopefully paid off.
One of the most interesting things I have done is sitting in on the 12 o clock News. I mean, I have always seen it on TV, but it's a whole different feeling when you a re sitting 10 feet away from the anchors. First of all, I never knew that there are no cameramen. Instead, a switchboard a lady operates in the same room controls the cameras electronically. The second thing I found interesting is how much fun the anchors have between breaks. They laugh and make jokes, and then as soon as the floor manager counts down from 5 they throw their serious news faces on again. It's a very strange feeling at first to walk past all these people you see on TV everyday. But after a while I started to realize they are no different than me.
I don't really have very much to complain about as far as my experience goes. What I will say is that it seems as though depending what department you are interning in affects how positive or negative your experience will be. For example, my friend David is interning in the Sports Department for Scott Clark and he took away a completely different experience than I did. He feels his time there was wasted to some extent, and he didn't really learn very much. I suppose it all lies on the supervisor you get. If they are willing to teach you, and you are willing to learn, then your boundaries are limitless. But if your boss has you doing repetitious duties that are not very educating then your going to come out of the experience bitter. Many people say it's all about what the intern puts into it. But I believe it's a two way street. If the professional is not willing to open that window to let you learn then that lack of support is going to keep you in the dark for 6 months.I would also like to say that it makes a huge difference how flexible your schedule is. This semester I had no classes. All my 12 credits went towards my two internships. My supervisor told me that the fact that I came into the interview with an open schedule and said, yes I'm available 5 days per week, made a huge difference. It got my foot in the door.
My advice to all the undergraduates is to get an internship because the experience you gain from it, and the networking contacts you make, are so precious to your career.
Always think ahead to when you're past that graduation date. I know my first two years I had blinders on and didn't even want to think about how I was going to get a job or what exactly I wanted to do. Another important aspect is that I finally did realize what field I wanted to work in. Television interests me most and if I can do something creative like producing that's great. But even the technical aspect of it, such as editing and the switchboard and audio interests me. If I had not seen these things first hand at ABC, I am still be wondering what I want to do in my career.