WABC-TV NEWS (Sports Department) student report
From the start I knew this internship would be an experience, a learning experience as well as a fun experience. My first day there I met with one of the two sports producers, Mitch Fields, and another intern. Mitch gave us a brief description of our duties as well as give us a tour. He showed us the newsroom and the editing labs and then he brought us to the studio where we got to look at the equipment and the set.
My basic duties as an intern from the time I came in were to choose a game that I want to chart and then print out rosters of the two teams. The rosters make it easier to identify players on teams that you're not familiar with. During the game I pay attention to any important stats that could be used in the broadcast, for example in baseball when I was charting the Yankee game I didn't know if the Boston Red Sox still factored in on their playoff birth or not. I listened to the broadcast but to no avail, the announcers never mentioned anything on the Red Sox. My supervisor found out through phone calls that he made to every major sporting show and corporation in town. But information like that is very important to know, as well as the pitchers final stats for a particular game. Aside from that I basically chart the events of the game as they happen and highlight any big, wild, or crazy plays. Another good thing to look out for are "color shots". These are cut away shots that are out of the ordinary, for example a fan with a painted face and a flag in his hand, or a little kid in the stands dancing to the music in the stadium. Simple shots like that are what we use to intro and sometimes outro a set of highlights.
Once my game comes to an end I bring my chart down to the edit lab where I meet my supervisor and the sports anchor, in this case it is Scott Clark. There Scott asks me for my best color shot as well as any highlights that really stand out or anything that really made a big difference in the outcome of the game, so as you can see I play a pretty big role in the sports segment of the news broadcast. Now from the edit lab, I follow Mr. Clark to the studio where I can sit in live as he broadcasts the sports. I also have the option of sitting in the control room and watching all the behind the scenes stuff happen before my eyes. Being in the control room I met the director and the producer, along with the other technical staff. All the employees are really friendly and have no problem answering any questions I may have. I can tell you already that I have learned a great deal from this internship, and I feel that by the end of it I will know how to produce a full live sports show, at least for the news. I can take that knowledge and just expand on it, and take it to another level.
On my first day as a WABC sports intern I charted a Mets game. This wasn't that hard at all. All I did was write down exactly what inning and what part of the inning they're in and I chart what each batter does at the plate, whether it be a base hit or an out. After the game, as I mentioned earlier, I went to the edit lab and got my first experience in live television. I don't know if anyone knows or realizes this, but Scott Clark doesn't go out onto the set until about two minutes before he goes on air. He sits in the edit lab with my supervisor, along with an editor and me of course, until his whole piece is done. And when it is, he runs down to the studio just in time to look pretty in front of the camera. It was one of the coolest things I have ever done or saw in television. You truly get the full effect of live television. This is something that I will always remember and use to my advantage when I get out there in the real world.
My fourth day was interesting as well. Not only did I have to do my normal duties, but also I had to do double the work. We had so many events going on at one time, that I had to chart the US Open and a college football game. This was a tough challenge, but I lived up to it and pulled it off. It also made me feel good about myself because I saw my work on live TV. I picked out the highlights that the viewing audience saw at home. It would make anyone feel a little cool.
But along with live television comes a lot of stress. Not necessarily on me, but on the sports producers. If a game ends late they have to cut it and get out on air by a certain time. Along with timing problems there are problems with satellite feeds and just plain miscommunication. Just the other day my supervisor had a miscommunication with the director during the 6 o'clock news. Since both the Mets and the Yankees are in the playoffs and on the west coast, both of our sports anchors were over there covering the games. Scott Clark was in Oakland to cover the Yanks and Steve Bartelstein was in San Francisco to cover the Mets. This left my supervisor and me the only ones in New York to do all the work. We had to feed both of the anchors through satellites as well as their footage. So when my supervisor got a call from the director during the show about a certain sound clip, he told the director that it was dead and not to use it. In actuality my supervisor, Mark, was looking at an old run down sheet and told the director the wrong information. So the clip never got played when it should have.
That day I had come in early to take care of paper work that I had to get done. So after I got it done I stuck around to see if Mark needed any early help since I was already there. Sure enough he did. That's when he told me that he was the only one there to run the whole sports show. At that time he was in the edit lab with one of the editors writing script and cutting some last minute footage for the 6 o'clock news. He had me running around like a mad man, but I didn't mind one bit. I was going from the office upstairs to the edit lab down stairs, then back to the office, and then over to the news feed room to get tapes that were taping other satellite feeds. It was just pure mayhem for both the producer and me. Once the 6 o'clock was done, we finally had a chance to relax and get our mind back at ease. This, I would have to say, was the best experience I had as an intern at ABC. I felt as if I was co-producing the show. In a sense I was, considering all the important work I did. It may sound crazy, but this is what live television is all about.
So from that point on until about 7 o'clock we sat in the office and got our thoughts together for the 11 o'clock. The people there are very nice and pleased to answer any questions you may have concerning TV, jobs, or anything else that may be on your mind. They treat you like a person and a friend. They don't try and down grade you at all, like you may hear about some places. Mark was typing up the run down sheet and he walked me through step-by-step how to correctly write one up and what certain abbreviations mean, and why he did one thing instead of another. He basically gave me the nickel tour of producing right then and there. For example the run down sheet would start with the tease, then the first commercial break, followed by Scott Clark in Oakland introducing the Yankees and their highlights. But, we had to be sure the Yankee game was finished before we went on air with any highlights. Since the Yankees were playing on network TV, we could not air any highlights until the game was completely over. So we had to have a back up plan. Our plan was to have Scott mention the Yanks and then toss it over to Steve in San Francisco who would then do a one-minute or so piece on the Mets. If the Yanks were finished in time then we would have been right on schedule and continued the way Mark had planned it out. Everything seemed fine at that moment. My supervisor even treated me to dinner. But again things started to get a little crazy as time passed on. Mark finished the run down sheet, but could not get in contact with Steve Bartelstein in San Francisco. He needed to contact him because Steve wasn't aware that he was going on air live at 11 o'clock. Then he was playing phone tag with Scott Clark and the other producer, Mitch Fields, in Oakland trying to get a script from them so he could give it to the director.
That night I was charting the Yankee game and helping Mark with anything else he needed done, whether it be getting tapes or answering the phone. He also had to set up a satellite feed from the west coast for Steve and his footage. By the end of the night everyone was drained and the show went on fine, with the exception of us running heavy on time. All in all I must say I have learned a lot from this internship. I can honestly say I now know how to produce a live sports show and have it go off with out a hitch, or at least minor hitches. This is definitely a worth while internship, even though your not technically hands on, with the work that you do and the experience that you get, your bound to have a better background in television production.
I have made good friends at ABC, as well as good connections. I hope you take advantage of what they offer you and learn everything you can. Experience is the key to a better future.