Job Shadows: The First One!

Here's a sampling of some of the various job shadows done by you all (this will be updated as job shadow reports are turned in, so please check back frequently). Take a look and see what you can learn from everyone's visits. There's a lot of good stuff here to help you decide what you want to do with your lives; what you need to be doing to get there; and what to expect when you do get there.

Please give each one of these a quick read as they come in, will you?

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Job shadowing at WLNS gave me a totally different perspective as a journalist. I shadowed reporter Alexis Rosado and got to see the not so glamorous side of being a journalist. When I arrived at the news station, there were news tips already waiting for her. Although Alexis was a one-woman show, she did everything so well. Once she got the news tip, her responsibility was to go to the event and get news worthy information to shoot that she later edited, created voice overs for and made packages for that would later be aired on the 6pm news.

            In her opinion, a really fun day on the job is when she gets to interview children. Alexis loves children and loves being able to interact with them. I noticed that whenever Alexis interviewed a child, she made sure she asked the parents for permission for their children to be aired on the news. Getting the first story of the day was difficult because it was game day, and parking on campus was not easy. Alexis had to carry her equipment from Owen Hall all the way to the stadium to get her story.

            While riding in the news truck, she told me some important things that you needed to know about being a reporter. She said that in order to be successful, you need to know how to write, shoot, and edit. These are important because as a reporter you not only write stories for yourself, but you also write scripts for the anchor. In my opinion, Alexis has the hardest job, and although she does a lot, she is extremely great at what she does. I could also tell she is very passionate about her job and it came across in her stories. Alexis told me that she did not apply for the job at WLNS; the news station contacted her. She did not want the job at first because it was for a part time position and that was not what she was looking for. 

          She came to East Lansing to interview for the position and she still was unsure about working at the station. After thoughtful consideration she decided to work at WLNS and has been a reporter for six months now. Alexis’ job is not always glamorous; having to go place to place to get stories to make sure they are prepared for the news later that night takes a lot of time, however the non stop working keeps her constantly on her toes, and helps her make sure she is always making yourself more marketable because being a reporter is not her end goal.

            After job shadowing Alexis, I know that being a reporter is something I want to do. I liked that Alexis was not sitting at a desk all day. I want to be able to get out and interact with the people of the community. Being a reporter would help me understand not only the concerns of those in the community, but also help voice their concerns on the news.  I would love to work at a news station as a reporter and eventually become a news anchor.