Since January 15th, 2001 I have been interning at WABC News, which is located at W66th Street and Columbus Circle in the city. When I first accepted this internship after going on an open call interview, I thought it would be a piece of cake. I would just roll out of bed some days of the week, hop on a train to the city, work a few hours, and then just come on back. Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong! This internship has practically taken over my every day life, and let me explain to you why.
I totally underestimated the amount of effort and work needed just to get to my job. First of all, I foolishly agreed to work 5 days a week, Monday through Friday from 9am to 1pm. This means that since I live all the way out in Suffolk County, Long Island, I have to get up 5:30 am every morning to be at ABC at 9am. I take my car to the train station, hop on the train for 1 hour, 10 minutes, then walk to the subway. I ride that for another 20 minutes, then walk a few blocks until I get to ABC. This whole daily process takes over 3 hours every morning, and needs to be repeated of course on the way home. The say the least, I was not a happy camper about this.
After my first week I was so upset at the amount of time consumed in my day that I wasn't sure if I could handle it for 3 more months. Especially because two days a week, I have another internship, down in SOHO, which keeps me in the city until 7 at night, and I do not get home until 10 p.m. That's over a 15 hour day for me, twice a week. I was so used to working here on long island, driving to my classes at St. Johns, that to be honest, I was totally and completely overwhelmed at this new lifestyle and responsibility.
But after seriously contemplating leaving for an internship with better hours and closer to home and work, I decided to stay. I made this decision for two reasons. One, was that I feel ABC News can give me a very valuable hands on learning experience that I couldn't get in a classroom, and two, once I am actually there and I got use to the environment, I began to feel comfortable in the newsroom and liked my fellow co-workers. So when I force myself to roll out of that bed at 5am every morning, I remember what my ultimate goals are. I want to come out of this experience with a confidence. I want to be self-assured enough so that when I graduate this coming May; I can walk into any interview with certainty that I have my education and the indispensable experience from ABC to get me the job.
There is a segment on Eyewitness News called 7 On Your Side. 7 On Your Side airs at least three days a week during the 5pm newscast. This segment deals with consumer problems, questions and solutions. The reporter for this segment is Tappy Phillips. I met Tappy the first day I was there, because her office is somewhat close to where I work on the news floor. I interact with her the at least once a week when I accompany her and her cameraman Glenn to a shoot that could be anywhere in the Tri-state area. So far I have been to a YMCA, a lady's home in NJ, and a Dentists Office.
The person I work with the most everyday is Steve Livingstone. Steve is the producer for 7 On Your Side. He oversees all the work I do on a daily basis. There is a hotline that consumers can call and state their desires, questions, comments and concerns with consumer problems. Everyday I listen to the messages they leave, and I chose the ones that I feel can be a potential interesting story, and I document them on the PC. From those Steve chooses the ones he feels are the best and I call those people back to get more information. Once Steve has enough info he calls them back and sets up a shoot date. From there I will either be chosen to go on the shoot, or another intern will go. After the shoot Glenn the cameraman comes back with the Tape that has to be edited. I then transcribe some of those tapes onto a Word Document so Steve can pick out important and relevant scenes and quotes to air on the 30 second spot. I also type up a B-roll for the editors.
Now that I told you what I've done so far, let me tell you the good and bad points. The bad points are that sometimes I feel ignored. I went on a shoot with Tappy one day to the YMCA; no one said a word to me the entire time I was there. I just sat there and watched. Which is okay with me, but I really wish someone would actually acknowledge my existence while I'm at the shoot. When we met up with the people we were to interview and shoot, I wasn't even introduced to anyone. At some points it's a bit of a degrading feeling. Like I'm working very hard for these people for free and they are not even acknowledging me as if I'm completely irrelevant.
Another thing that bothers me is that it's now been over a month and Tappy and the Glenn do not know my name. I have told them several times when they ask but they never call me Donna. Glenn calls me 'the intern'. He even calls another intern Joe, and his name is Russ. He just calls him that because last semesters intern was named Joe. And Tappy constantly just walks by me and doesn't even stop and say hello. I could be sitting at the desk, and Steve the producer could be sitting right next to me, and Tappy can say hello to Steve and ignore me like I don't exist. The only time she suddenly acknowledges us (interns) is when she came to complain to Steve that the interns are 'not leaving her desk the way she left it'. (Some interns use her desk to work on the PC and accept calls.) Honestly, I kind of expected the reporter who reports on the everyday middle/lower middle class peoples problems and issues would be a little more compassionate, down to earth, kind hearted, and friendly. And most of all, I was kind of hoping to get a thank you sometime between January and May. We will see.
I put a lot of effort in the work I do there. I enjoy what I do, and I wish I was acknowledged by them that I'm going completely out of my way to get there, it's taking up my entire day, 5 days a week, and I'm putting forth effort in my work, and I'm doing all of this for free. I even quit my paying job and now I'm struggling financially, and I'm doing this all because my hope is that it the end, it will have a positive effect on my life and my career.
The good parts about it are that again, I am gaining valuable experience in my field. I watching first hand professionals do what I am striving to do. There is an element of excitement attached to working in a newsroom. There is action 24 hours a day, and you see hustle and bustle and all the hard work of the producers, directors, editors, reporters and managers. It's a strange feeling to see reporters on the air one minute and the next minute they are walking right by you. Without a doubt, I come home every day with an interesting story to tell. So overall, I'm glad I'm getting this out-of-classroom experience. I just wish It was different, maybe later, hours and not every single day like I chose it to be. That part makes it too overwhelming. I have no down time anymore. But how may people can say there very first internship was at ABC? I feel fortunate for that and I'm going to take as much out of it as I possibly can.