Week Five

Wednesday I went into the station for the morning show. I helped Allyson with the production. I learned more about stacking the show and keeping up with time. I answered the phone for the trivia question and met with the guest for the show. Producing is definitely a stressful job, but I enjoyed learning more about life on the other side of the camera. After the morning show, we had a quick office meeting where the majority of the newsroom was sent out to the funeral of a police officer. The station had a reporter in a small plane to get aerial video, a reporter on the ground covering the procession, a photographer to help with live shots and editing, an anchor at the funeral and reporting live, and multiple interns to help with everything.  It was an insane day watching everyone try to pull together the most respectful story in honor of the event. I learned more about official burials. Two of the horses that pulled the officer to his final resting place also carried Ronald Reagan at his burial. The entire procession was extremely moving. I got teary-eyed at one point while helping to get video and photos. While covering the funeral, one of the officers told me that he was so grateful we were covering the event. I was happy that our video meant a lot to them at such an awful time. To watch some of the video click here. After a long day, we were awarded with a free dinner in Elizabethtown before heading home. 


Thursday I was able to drag myself out of bed and get to the station for the morning show. I was again able to help Allyson with the production of the show. We had an interesting nine year old guest on the air to talk about a music video she had created as an anti-bullying campaign. After the show, I was able to help Allyson put together a VO of the interview. At the morning meeting, I volunteered to go out with Cliff, one of the reporters, on a story about a man who was being sentenced for killing his own father. The story was crazy! The guy had gotten into an argument with his father over money and killed him. He then stole his father's wallet and used the money to take a cab to buy beer at a gas station. On the ride home, the man refused to pay his cab fare. Police were called and the man met them on his front porch with a shotgun in hand. The police arrested the man after finding the body of his father inside the house. At the sentencing, we were not able to bring the camera into the courtroom, so I stayed outside with the equipment while Cliff took notes from inside the courtroom. We were allowed to get video of the empty courtroom after the sentencing and an interview with the assistance DA. Through the interview, we learned more about the case and the plea bargain  the man took.  The killers father had been an attorney opposed to the death penalty, so the wishes of the family were met when the man was only given a minimum of twenty years! After finishing all of our video inside the courthouse, we went outside to record our stand ups. It took me a few tries but practice makes perfect. Having all we needed, we headed back to the station where I watched Cliff write and put together his package.  It was extremely interesting to see the way another reporter worked out in the field. Cliff was very big on writing everything down which made a lot more since to me coming from more of a writing background. To watch the story click here. While Cliff was working on his story, I was asked to voice a VO for six oclock show. To watch the video click here. As I was editing my own mock package, a breaking news report came into the station. A helicopter had crashed at one of the piers which became the lead story of the show. As one of the interns, I was assigned the task of calling every business possible to get a possible on air phone interview and get pictures of the crash. The feeling in the newsroom was extremely charged and exciting. I was thrilled to see breaking news in the process. After a long day of work, I went home for the night.

Friday, I got to the station at a normal hour of nine in the morning just in time for the morning meeting. I was assigned to go out into the field with Asha, another one of the reporters, who was covering a story on the changing gun laws in North Carolina. The story had been reported originally by USA Today, and the main person the story revolved around was from our viewing area. After a little research, we went to the courthouse and the police station to get more information on the man from the story. Our research took us first to the house the man had lived in before he was sent to jail for inaccurate charges where we were able to get some b-roll and practice stand ups with the consent of the current owner. The video Asha took was all done from a creative stand point, and I learned a lot watching her get video. Next we went to the ex-girlfriend's house where the arrest had been made. We were surprised to discover the house was still occupied by the ex-girlfriend, her children, and her sketchy current boyfriend.  A little bit of awkward conversation led to an on camera interview with the ex-girlfriend. We were also able to get another round of stand up video before rushing back to the station to put together the package. To see the final product click here. Around the time the show began, Laura, my favoritest tv producer ever, stopped by for a visit. I was so happy to see her and get the chance to watch some of the show with her. All in all it was another amazing week of interning.