We will add more job shadow reports to the blog as they are completed. Please give each one of these a quick read, will you?
*****
For my job shadow assignment, I shadowed WLNS news anchor,
Jane Aldrich. This was honestly one of the best assignments I could’ve been
given. I haven’t had an internship yet, so this was the first time I was able
to get some hands on experience in my field. I was able to edit the script for
the teleprompter, sit in on a live broadcasting for the 6 o’clock news, help
edit some clips that were featured on the news, sit in on a meeting for the
review of the show, and even watched a car chase in Florida with the news crew!
I was kind of tossed around the office, watching various people whose job
contributes to the final product- the news! I learned that some local stations
get clips from other big time news outlets like CNN, and use those as a part of
the local news. The software that was used to edit the videos for the news
reminded me of a combination of final cut and iMovie.
I was assured that my career interest was correct. I want to
be a broadcast journalist for entertainment television, and hoped to start with
local news, and move my way up. Unfortunately, in this industry, you have to
move your way up to everything. I learned that you had to start off as a field
reporter, and move up to news anchor, Like Mrs. Aldrich (booooo, haha). I
didn’t really like the fact that the field reporters had to go out and get
their own stories, regardless of the weather conditions, circumstances, etc. To
me, that’s too much like class. I’d much rather proofread the script, and read
the teleprompter like Jane does.
The pace of this job is pretty fast if you ask me. Just like
class, there’s a deadline for everything. Instead of eight days though for a
story, you’re given a matter of hours! Reporters come in the morning to get
their stories approved, and that same night, they’re expected to go live (and
have to memorize their entire story)! It was explained to me that on intense
days such as breaking news tragedies, elections, etc. the office gets super
hectic.
Overall, I enjoyed my experience. Mrs. Alrdich and the rest
of the news crew were very welcoming and helpful. They enjoyed my company as
well, and said I could come back and visit them anytime.
I shadowed Rhonda Walker who is a
morning news anchor for WDIV- Channel 4. It was an amazing experience to
witness what it is like in a newsroom and what all happens behind the scenes. When
I showed up at the station, it was 3:45 am and it was one of the hardest things
that I ever had to do. Rhonda showed me around the station and introduced me to
the morning team. They sat around and talked about the stories that would be on
the show that morning and discussed the order that the show would run in. That
morning, Rhonda had to go on at 4:00 am by herself and tell the latest story. I
got the chance to sit on the couches that the anchors sit on when they have
special guests. I watched Rhonda as she was on air and reading a story.
During her breaks, she would look
over to me and ask me if I had any questions, or would tell me how she got to
where she is right now. Rhonda told me that initially she did not start in
broadcast and was working for a pharmaceutical company but was unhappy with her
job. She decided to try to be an anchor and became a traffic girl for Fox 2.
After a few years, she went to Channel 4 and became a morning news anchor. She
still has dreams of becoming an evening news anchor with Channel 4. Rhonda
explained how hard it can be to get into broadcast-journalism because there are
not always opening anchor positions but to never give up.
I feel like this job would fit me
because after shadowing her, I fell in love with everything that went along
with the job. All of the people Rhonda introduced me to that day were very nice
and answered all of my questions. They showed me that there are so many
different directions that I can go in in this field and I’m not really limited.
Rhonda told me that the biggest piece of advice she would give me is building
relationships and the importance of networking. Networking can help you advance
in your career or embark on different business ventures in the future. This job
shadow and the internship have solidified my want to go into this field.
*****
For my job shadow,
I shadowed breaking news reporter Kenneth Palmer at the Lansing State Journal.
I did not know what to expect coming in, especially with the journalist I was
shadowing being a breaking news reporter. Upon coming in, Kenneth introduced himself,
told me a little about himself and I did the same. What happened next in my
shadowing was probably the most informative part. Before taking me to the
newsroom, Kenneth gave me a long speech before entering the newsroom. He told
me about how print news is not the same as it was when he entered the industry
almost 30 years ago. He strongly suggested that if I haven’t before, that I
look into broadcast and TV journalism, because that field is a lot more stable
than print journalism.
Kenneth
then showed me what he does specifically. He explained that the specific day
was a slower day, so there weren’t any breaking news stories to go to at the
time, but he did explain to me a few stories that he was in the process of
writing. Kenneth then decided to give me a tour of the rest of the building.
After returning to the newsroom after the tour, and to end my day, we walked
right into the daily four o’clock meeting, where everyone in the newsroom talks
about stories that they might have that might make a lot of noise, and which
stories would be best to be published and which ones wouldn’t.
Though
I didn’t get a chance to go out on a day where Kenneth was out getting
interviews and stories, I learned a lot from this experience. Kenneth gave me a
lot of knowledge and advice, and gave me a different perspective on things that
I had before. Getting advice and seeing firsthand what goes on in the daily
life as a journalist really put things into perspective for me as far as what I
want to do with my future.
*****
For
my job shadow, I shadowed Kristen Wolosonowich. She is a radio talk show host
for “The Dish” and is also co-owner of Krave Marketing and Public Relations
Firm. Wolosonowich has been doing this for about a year now. I decided to job
shadow her because it is exactly the kind of profession that I want to get
into. I am majoring in journalism with a concentration in both sports reporting
and electronic news and my minor is public relations, so what she does is very
similar to what I will be doing one day.
For the day that I shadowed
Wolosonowich, she was working for her public relations firm and not the talk
show. She was responsible for setting up an interview between Dawn Jones of ABC
12 WJRT Flint, Mich. and Former MSU basketball star and national champion
Morris Peterson Jr. Peterson has his own foundation call the “Morris Peterson
Jr. Foundation.” The interview had to do with an event that will take place on
Saturday, August 27, where Peterson and his foundation will be in Flint filling
600 backpacks with school supplies so the children of Flint will be prepared
for the upcoming school year.
Wolosonowich set up the whole interview,
meaning she picked the time, date, and was able to get ABC 12 to have Peterson
on the show. She also prepared Peterson for the interview, such as helping him
with what to say and how to answer some of the questions. This job shadow
worked out great because I was able to see both what a publicist does on a
daily basis and all that goes on behind the scenes of a newscast. This was my
first time being on set, so it was amazing to see all of the work that really
goes into the show, not only for the anchors and reporters, but for the
production crew as well.
I asked Wolosonowich a series of
questions and she provided me with great information. What she told me is that
I got a perfect example of a fun day on the job. Wolosonowich said setting up
time to meet with the media, getting on television, and going out for a shoot
is all really exciting, fun, and why she loves her job. One piece of really
good information that she gave me was that the people, who are cool, calm, and
collected are the ones who thrive in this business. She explained that at times
the job can get frustrating, but you cannot get overwhelmed and get irritated
with people, you have to keep your cool and if you do that, people will want
and continue to want to work with you.
This job is definitely one that would fit
me because for one, I like to be out doing something different every day, I
like interacting with new people every day and I love to meet new faces and
this is exactly what Wolosonowich does. It is constantly go, go, go and that is
what I like. I am also a very relaxed person. I have a lot of patience with
people and I am always willing to work with people. I do not get irritated
easily and I would like to think that I am very easy to work with. Even early
in my career I have had co-workers tell me that they enjoy working with me and
that is why I believe a profession like this would fit me best.
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