As I prepare to embark on my final year at Western Kentucky University, I’ve found myself not only contemplating the future, but reflecting upon my past as well. Looking back at the experiences I’ve had over the years, I’d have to say that my internship with The Pioneer News ranks as one of my favorites. Working at The Pioneer News has been one of the most rewarding and educational experiences of my life. The editorial staff has taught me so much about community journalism and professional communication. I could sit in a classroom for years and never acquire what I learned from my internship in just 10 weeks with the Pioneer News. As a staff writer this summer, I not only witnessed the editorial side of the newspaper business, but I’ve had the opportunity to see printing, advertising, circulation, graphic design and more firsthand. What I’ve enjoyed most about working with the Pioneer News has been the community. I’ve grown up in Bullitt County and most of my family lives in the area. The community and the people in it mean a lot to me. Serving the community as a journalist has been an honor. I’ve learned so much about the people and places in my community and I’ve gained a new appreciation for my home. Besides the community, I’ve also enjoyed the subject matter I’ve covered. I’ve witnessed everything from an American Indian Pow Wow, to a community forum on the future of 47,000 acres of Louisville Metro, to a moped accident on a rural Bullitt County road. The diversity of assignments I’ve covered has helped me expand my horizon and become more versatile. It’s been a slow process, but I feel that I’ve grown as a communicator and that I’ve acquired valuable skills that will benefit me in whatever path I choose after graduation. I want to express my sincerest thanks to the Kentucky Press Association and The Pioneer News for giving me the opportunity to do what I love and to get paid for it. I’ve always thought that I would like a career in communication and my internship experience has affirmed that notion. I have learned so much from this experience and I am so grateful to Stephen Thomas, Mallory Bilger and the rest of the staff at the Pioneer News for showing me the ropes. I feel most fortunate having the opportunity to work with editor and publisher Tom Barr. His work ethic, his quick wit and his polished communication skills have been an inspiration to me. Since I was in high school, Tom has nurtured my interest in communication and he’s taught me a great deal over the past few years. He’s one of the greatest bosses I’ve ever had and I’m glad to call him not only my mentor, but also my friend. I’m so grateful I was given the chance to work for The Pioneer News. I’ll never forget what I learned from my hometown newspaper. •••••
As a KPA summer intern, I would like to thank the Kentucky Press Association and the Central Kentucky News-Journal for the opportunity to have experienced the day-to-day operation of a newspaper. I have had a well-rounded internship by writing hard news, feature stories, sports reports and editorials. But it was in writing one story that I saw how a newspaper really works in a community. I wrote a story about the growing problem of gas drive-offs in Campbellsville. When I interviewed the police chief, he recognized the problem and said the department wanted to be more proactive in these “piddly crimes.” However, the gas retailers didn’t see the crimes as “piddly.” The editorial board urged the city to consider adopting a gas prepay ordinance. At the next city council meeting, the chief recommended the council enact the prepay ordinance. The council is currently seeking input from gas retailers on the issue. The late Walter Lippmann said that the function of news is to present a picture of reality upon which man can act. That is but one function of a newspaper that I am proud to have seen in action. •••••
I spent my summer in Western Kentucky’s equivalent of the television show “Cheers.” No, I did not spend my summer at the bar, even though the recently legalized “wet” status of the town sparked more than a few debates. However, the city of Dawson Springs is definitely a place where everyone knows your name. I covered many events during my time at the Dawson Springs Progress. I reported on city council meetings, local sports and local businesses. I never thought I would have the opportunity to write articles about so many different events and people. One of the most surprising and challenging aspects of the internship was covering the local summer collegiate baseball team. I never envisioned myself doing any type of sports reporting. I did not know if I would be able to pull off a summer of “reports from the mound.” However, I accomplished it as best I could with only a few bumps along the way. If I learned anything this summer, I certainly will always remember all the information I learned about baseball. For example, baseball has extra innings, not overtime. Who knew? I did several jobs at the weekly paper. I did some design work and copy editing, and I watched the editor assemble the front page every week. I even helped put senior pictures on the pages in the graduation tab on my very first day! I learned even after years of practice, no one is perfect. Even the editor messes up sometimes, whether he leaves out an important front-page story or leaves the word “T-shirt” (with the “r” omitted) uncorrected for the world to see. The internship also made me appreciate the importance of community newspapers. Newspapers do not only report the news, they preserve a community’s history. I do not regret anything about my internship. It helped me understand what really happens at newspapers on a day-to-day basis. •••••
I woke up at 9:17 a.m. on June 25 to the sound of my housemate pounding on my door. She told me she was sorry to wake me up, but there was an emergency. We needed to get dressed, she said, there was a shooting at Atlantis Plastics and as the cops reporter for The Gleaner, she needed to get to the police station as soon as possible. She said she wanted to take me with her. This was the beginning of my fourth week as The Gleaner intern. I got dressed quickly, put on a pot of coffee and less than 30 minutes later, we were out the door and on our way. Covering a shooting like the one at Atlantis Plastics is something not a lot of journalists will ever experience. I was impressed with the way The Gleaner staff worked together to cover the shooting and the way they included me in the coverage. It was a surreal experience, going from covering a goat show to covering a shooting in less than 24 hours, but it taught me a lot. Every day while I was there I learned something new. I got helpful, relevant feedback on my articles and have several interesting clips that I hope will help me get a reporting job after I graduate in May. I will be sad to leave The Gleaner, but am thankful for the experience that I had there. The people I met were extremely kind and I’m lucky to have gotten the chance to learn from them. •••••
The future of print journalism may be unsure to many journalists and citizens alike, but if there is one thing I learned through my summer internship, it is that newspapers will always have a place in small towns like Lawrenceburg. Community journalism was what I wanted to pursue this summer, and my wish came true. The Anderson News focuses on locality, printing stories that people in this close-knit community really care about. At first I would get discouraged that I was writing about seemingly insignificant events around town. But every Wednesday when the paper came out, I would realize how vital that information was to certain people in the community. Unique story ideas were not just handed to me. My editor encouraged me to be creative and really dig for stories around town. I am proud of certain stories I turned out this summer, from the profile of a local belly-dance instructor to a narrative about shopping locally in Anderson County. The news desk is my comfort zone. The staff at The Anderson News helped me develop those skills, but they also pushed me out into the world of features and opinions. I learned to use a camera and I wrote a weekly column. I am more comfortable now contributing to editorials, and I can employ those skills in my position at my college newspaper. The news staff at the Anderson News may be small, but they wear many hats. Having to write news and editorials, take pictures and copy edit truly prepared me for my job as an assistant news editor at the Kentucky Kernel. I will be comfortable delegating to a staff knowing I can fill in for most positions should the situation arise. I really do believe that print journalism will be sustained by communities like Lawrenceburg. I am very grateful I got to be a part of it for a while. •••••
Summer has always had a special place in my heart for a number of reasons. However, my summer has been drastically different from past summers. Instead of sleeping until noon and hanging out with friends all the time, I traveled to a neighboring county and learned about others and myself via an internship. My internship with the Henry County Local was not only a job, but it was a learning experience that a classroom setting simply cannot offer. This summer, I learned how to look at life from different perspectives. One of these perspectives was from a park bench, conveniently located under a tree that doesn’t leak, in front of the courthouse in New Castle. I listened to the infamous” tales” of Pete Raymer and Sam Herrell. These two men serve as the town “loafers” and have sat on the bench every summer day for around the last 20 years. I listened to them tell me “what has happened, should happen and will happen.” With over 80 years of life experience each, it was impossible to not learn from their stories and histories. Interviewing Leroy Wright, better known as “Huck-a-Buck,” also taught me to look at life with a different perspective. Wright was a mentally challenged man who never missed a day of work in 37 years. I learned from Huck to not sweat the small stuff and how I can only strive never to miss a day of work like him. He redefined the meaning of the words, “work ethic.” I also learned to look at life from another perspective. I covered two total-loss house fires during my internship and I witnessed how communities pull together to help out neighbors, friends and total strangers. Covering the house fires has definitely put things into perspective. For instance, I realized that I lost my favorite University of Kentucky shirt last week, but I don’t know if I was more upset about losing the shirt or the fact that I was so upset over something so trivial in comparison with the other losses I’ve witnessed this summer. Things have changed. Journalistically, I broke out of my shell and learned to just keep asking questions until the story unfolded itself. I also tried to not take the easy route and to look for various angles to spice up otherwise mundane articles. This summer I also learned a variety of other lessons, but there are too many to name. Henry County is no longer foreign to me. It’s more than simply exits 28 and 34 off Interstate 71. It is the people who truly give the county its charm and substance and I am thankful for the opportunity to hear the stories, the histories, the “tall-tales” and to be a part of this great place for 10 weeks. •••••
Hello! You may have seen me in here before. This is my third opportunity to work at a Landmark newspaper during my summer breaks from attending school at Northern Kentucky University. I’ll be spending the summer interning with the News-Democrat in Carrollton through the KPA internship program. I am currently a junior at NKU majoring in journalism and receiving an area of concentration in photography. Last summer, I worked at the Spencer Magnet in Taylorsville and the summer prior I worked at the Henry County Local in New Castle where I am from. I grew up in Henry County and currently still reside there. I have really enjoyed working for Landmark and look forward to another wonderful summer that will provide me with endless experience for the future. ******
Stanford is a historic little town filled with big, friendly hearts. Upon beginning my internship at the Interior-Journal I expected to spend most of my time writing crime stories. The week before I started at the IJ, there was a high school student charged with kidnapping and other students were suspected of stealing a $400 snake from a pet shop while on a field trip. But I have learned that while there are many wrong doings that make the news, there are also those kind, gentle-hearted people walking the streets of Stanford. Andrea Miller, the executive director for the Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce, was the first in the community that I met. Because of her I had the chance to write many stories about new businesses in the area. Those business stories have put me in touch with many other people in the area. Nearly everyone I have met during my time at the IJ has been so helpful and outgoing. I also loved the fact that when I was covering a story at the Lincoln County Fair that I recognized so many people. Lincoln County is a relatively large county, but because I had met so many people along the way through the paper, I knew more fairgoers than my friend, a Lincoln County native. Overall, the kindness of the community, and the staff at the IJ, has made my experience worthwhile. I have learned there is much more to Lincoln County than what we put in the news. •••••
The first thing I tell folks when they ask, “What do you do?” is say that I am a journalist who teaches. That’s what I told John Nelson, managing editor, at The Advocate-Messenger in Danville when I wrote him seeking the KPA Academic Internship. My proposal, and I use that term loosely, was pretty simple: I wanted to work as a reporter or as I told John, “I want to be part of the problem, not the perceived solution.” I’ve made plenty of trips back to the newsroom from the classroom. I taught at Troy State University, now Troy University, from 1988-1998. I left my tenured faculty position there to take a managing editor’s job for a Freedom Corp. paper. And each summer while teaching at TSU, I returned to a newsroom to write and edit. One of those summers took me to The Gadsden Times in Gadsden, Ala., as the recipient of Alabama Press Association Academic Internship. Back then, I told the editor in Gadsden when he asked me what I wanted to do at the paper to “give me the stories nobody else wants.” He did. I told John the same thing in my proposal. It worked again. I could have proposed studying The Advocate-Messenger or serving as a writing coach. But I told John that professionals might learn more from reading my stuff and observing my work ethic, rather than from me telling them how to do their jobs better. And I also told John that the six weeks as a reporter in Danville would have great benefit for me. My students need to know that I can do what I tell them to do. And when I sat at my computer in The Advocate-Messenger newsroom, I never touched a key before reminding myself, “You better hold yourself to the same standard as those you teach.” And so I took every story the editors would let me have: high school graduations and a college graduation, stories for a special section on Danville’s Great American Brass Band Festival, stories during the festival, stories on the Boyle County Fair (my favorite), a story for the weekly food page, stories for the arts section and even a couple enterprise pieces on environmental issues in Junction City and Crab Orchard. And I took a couple that staffers probably couldn’t believe I did. On my third day on the job, my most excellent editor, Jennifer Brummett, cautiously approached my desk with a couple photos and a note dropped off by a Danville resident. The lady wanted the paper to do a story about a bird that built a nest on the bumper of a delivery truck, a truck that remained in use while the bird completed the nest, and laid and hatched two eggs. “I know this is weird, but would you mind looking into it?” Jennifer said. No weirder than a story about a sweet potato that looks like Richard Nixon, I thought. The story about Jane Dove ran on Page 1. I wrote all the stories like my job depended on it. And the six weeks passed way too quickly. I have done nothing but teach and do journalism since 1975 when I graduated with a degree in secondary education/history from Arizona State University. My masters in journalism in 1980 kicked in the newsroom part of the equation. If I cannot report, write and edit, I feel unfulfilled. If I cannot teach, I feel unfulfilled. With the state of the industry’s finances, it has become almost impossible for journalism teachers to find media outlets willing to give them a shot during breaks. I have offered to do it for free and been turned down. This summer the KPA and The Advocate threw me a life preserver. My efforts to get into a newsroom during the summers of 2006 and 2007 failed. I was sinking a third time, until I got the e-mail about the KPA’s excellent program. And the summer in Danville went swimmingly. (Mac McKerral is an associate professor and News-Editorial unit coordinator in the School of Journalism & Broadcasting at Western Kentucky University. He can be reached at mac.mckerral@wku.edu.) •••••
I remember back in February when Stevie L. Daugherty, editor/general manager of The Lebanon Enterprise, contacted me to see if I was interested in interning at the Enterprise and The Springfield Sun for the summer. Well, of course I was ecstatic upon hearing the news and immediately jumped at the opportunity. Well, almost five months later, I’m coming to a close on this chapter of my life. I realize now more than ever that journalism is my passion. Through all the blood, sweat and tears, I must say I’ve loved every minute of my experience at The Lebanon Enterprise and The Springfield Sun. I’ve been the news editor at Northern Kentucky University’s student newspaper, The Northerner, for the past two years, but I had a little bubble that I was used to there. My internship showed me that I am confident to go beyond my comfort zone. I also did things I never imagined doing. I had the opportunity to do a lot more photography, and learn the aspects that go into taking a picture. I never considered myself that good beforehand. After being a “photo assistant” once, I saw what goes into making a picture seem natural by having the correct angle and the right lighting. I covered many crazy and unique stories ranging from a substance-abuse graduation at a medium-security prison, a full-page feature on cicadas, a story on a teenager who was in a tractor accident and a man biking more than 500 miles just so some people can have a decent place to live. Throughout my whole process, I learned that it is a lot better to interview people face-to-face, that I sometimes switch from present to past tense in my articles, sometimes public meetings can last more than three hours and almost anything can happen. However, I have learned some aspects about life also. I now understand what it’s like to get a nice paycheck and than lose most of it to rent and groceries. I know what it’s like to live hours away from my friends and family and truly live as an adult. In the end, I wouldn’t trade anything about my experience as being a KPA intern. I couldn’t ask for better newspapers to work with. I love the atmosphere at The Lebanon Enterprise and The Springfield Sun. I also learned how small of a world it is. I would have never thought my sixth-grade teacher, Stephen Lega, would end up being my editor for my internship. I want to thank Stevie, Jeff and Stephen for putting up with me for 10 weeks. You all have been amazing. Words cannot express how much I’m thankful for all the help you all have given me. •••••
Always be prepared. This has long been the motto of the Boy Scouts, but if I have learned anything through my 10 weeks of working at The Casey County News, it is that it would not hurt for journalists to adopt the same motto. No matter how big of a newspaper it may be, you cannot always predict what will happen from day-to-day. Even if you think you know what is coming, you really don’t because some things just can’t be planned. The first week on the job, I learned that batteries can die, even if you charged them a few days ago. Every year, Casey County’s fourth graders go to visit a restored one-room school that sits next to Casey County High School. Our editor sent me to take some pictures, so I grabbed the camera and left. I got there and turned the camera on to find that my batteries were dead. It can be embarrassing and you might miss a great shot. So, I quickly learned to always check before leaving the office and always pack extra, just in case. Despite checking, cameras can malfunction. It is easier to work big events, like the local fair, when you split them. During my time at the Casey County Fair, I was attempting to photograph the dog show when I realized that the camera was not working properly. I tried to figure out the problem but I couldn’t and was worried that I’d miss something. Eventually, I had to return to the news office and get another camera. Pens, pencils and notebooks can easily get lost. Those are things that are vital for a journalist no matter where he or she may go. Otherwise, you have to depend on your memory. I can safely say from past experience that attempting to remember what was said doesn’t work and you will probably have to contact that person again. Having extra clothes and bringing sneakers is something I learned the hard way. One afternoon, I was heading out to a wreck in flats. I had to park a slight distance from the wreck and walk close enough to get pictures of it. Flats aren’t bad if you’re in the office but walking up the side of the road through a construction zone in non-supportive shoes can be painful. After that, I learned to always bring sneakers. Having dressier clothes is good for those occasions where you might have to meet someone for an interview or go out in the community for an event that suddenly came up. When covering meetings or these sudden events, I learned that I had to be slightly dressier because I was representing The Casey County News. Some days, things happen at the same time and I would have to help cover them. In one night, I had to cover a banquet, which was dressy, and interview someone at a baseball park, where jeans and tennis shoes were appropriate. Being adaptable and bringing extra clothes is necessary. The weather can be unpredictable. It rained at the city of Liberty’s Fourth of July and Bicentennial Celebration. I had my raincoat and an umbrella in my car, but that didn’t help me when I was in a different part of town covering an event. I couldn’t leave just because of the rain but I couldn’t let my notebook or my camera get wet. Thanks to some nice people, I was able to keep both dry by putting them, and sometimes myself, under umbrellas. For me, these past 10 weeks have been a great learning experience. Working with the staff of The Casey County News and the people of Casey County has been a blast and I am glad that I was given this opportunity. •••••
Continuing a long tradition of providing community newspaper experience to college journalism majors, The Crittenden Press is again hosting a summer intern. Emory Williamson, a Louisville native and editor-in-chief of the University of Louisville’s campus newspaper, joined The Press for a 10-week internship. While in Marion, Williamson is eager to immerse himself in the community, meeting as many people as possible and experiencing life in a small town, which is unfamiliar to him. There were 415 students in his graduating class of 2005 at Eastern High School in Louisville, or about as many seniors as the total student body at Crittenden County High School. He is also working in a county with about as many residents as live within a few blocks of his college residence near historic Churchill Downs. “I want to be like a sponge and absorb as much as possible,” he said of his time in Marion. “I would like to get to know and understand the community better.” He hopes to take a different perspective back to Louisville and share it with his co-workers at The Cardinal, the university paper. Williamson has already begun visiting churches and volunteering in the press box at Marion Bobcat games. “It can only help out my staff more,” he said of the 30 or so under his supervision at the campus newspaper. “It’s a good thing for me, and it’s a good thing for my staff as well.” Williamson, who will be a senior at U of L this fall, became interested in journalism when he started taking newswriting classes in high school. “Once I got involved, I couldn’t stop,” he said. He hopes to continue his career in journalism if he does not pursue a career in law. His father has his own practice in Louisville. “He would love for me to take over,” the junior Williamson said. His parents, Jim and Sondra Williamson, live in Louisville. He has an older brother and sister, both of whom also live in Louisville. Though Williamson has traveled around much of Kentucky, prior to his initial trip to Marion in April for an interview, he had visited only Hopkinsville and Owensboro in the western portion of the state. After less than two weeks in Marion, his initial impression has been a good one. “It’s very peaceful, but a lot different from what I’m used to,” he added. The 21-year-old is spending the summer with Scott and Melissa Tabor of Marion, a situation he couldn’t find more accommodating. “It’s absolutely a perfect fit,” he said. “They are a great host family. Among his new experiences in Crittenden County, Williamson drove on his first gravel road; having never seen a mobile home park, he learned the difference between a singlewide and a doublewide mobile home; and he had someone else pump his gas for the first time. “I thought that was so weird,” he said with a chuckle. Williamson will remain with The Press through early August before returning to campus to resume his editorial duties at The Cardinal. •••••
From mailings to meetings, prospects to parties, I have seen what it is to be a non-profit in Kentucky. I have been interning for the Commonwealth Fund for KET this summer through the Kentucky Press Association. As a 2008 graduate from Campbellsville University’s public relations program, the experience I have gained from working with some of fundraising’s finest has been essential in deciding not only what career path I want to follow but also in learning skills advantageous to any position I could fill. KET Fund for Excellence is a place where learning is valued not just for viewers but also for employees. Through organizing database information, budget history excel sheets, and fiscal year paperwork, I have seen both the struggles and the advantages of being a non-profit in today’s economy. I have seen firsthand how clients are courted and information is tailored to fit their interests and needs. Through underwriting, telefunds and events, support is raised for programming and to pick up where state funding leaves off. The biggest and most anticipated KET fund raising event is the annual Summer Celebration. For me, Summer Celebration was a whirlwind of excitement. Between top of the line catering, live entertainment and a guest list of 1,000 of KET’s closest friends and donors, it was a night I felt privileged to be a part of. While an event of this caliber is quite glamorous, the work that goes into it is long and hard involving a fair share of sweat and time. I worked registration and the silent auction, giving me a chance to see how much planning must go into an event of that caliber. Internships are notorious for being necessary for job preparation. This internship has prepared me for not only my next position with public relations and communications but also convinced me of my passion for non-profits and helped me set a goal for myself to one day sit on a non-profit board or possibly head a non-profit. It is a large goal but one that I feel keeps me focused on the future and on working to serve others. •••••
Heather Canter served as assistant director of marketing for the Get Healthy Kentucky Bluegrass State Games from June 1 through Aug. 8. In her time in this position, she has been involved with the planning of Celebration of Athletes, the games’ new version of Opening Ceremonies, promotion of the games, and sponsorship fulfillment. She has been working with the new on-line registration program, which has made a huge impact on the increase in participation for the 2008 Games. In addition, Heather designed grass roots marketing materials which have been distributed throughout Central Kentucky and information sheets explaining the new look Bluegrass State Games. Her role on the BGSG team has allowed the games to restore some of its traditional participation numbers while adding four new sports in 2008. Heather will be a senior at Eastern Kentucky University this fall majoring in public relations. Her hobbies include swimming, spending time with family and talking politics. •••••
As a public relations intern with Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation, I learned many public relations practices, but I also improved my writing and navigational skills. From day one, I began receiving story assignments for Kentucky Farm Bureau’s publications, which included a newspaper, magazine and newsletter. Crafting all these stories helped me improve my writing dramatically and helped me feel more confident in my abilities. While researching the articles, I had the opportunity to travel across the Commonwealth. I visited places such as the farmland of Monroe County, an orchard in Hodgenville and the University of Kentucky. Needless to say, I now know my way around the state. One of my favorite experiences was doing layout for the newspaper in Lexington. I had never done layout before, and it was very informative. I got to help edit, and I learned what it really takes to put a newspaper together. As part of my public relations internship, I helped our director of public relations a great deal. I wrote dozens of press releases, edited educational materials and photographed special events. I also had the chance to experience other aspects of the communications field, such as video production. I assisted Kentucky Farm Bureau’s video producers for a day when they shot footage at Dinosaur World for Kentucky Farm Bureau’s weekly show, “Bluegrass and Backroads.” I had never taken a video class, so it was interesting to see how they produced the show. This internship has been better than I could have ever expected. It increased my knowledge, and, most of all, it has helped confirm that public relations is the right career field for me. •••••
Monday, May 5, I stepped into the familiar office of the Times Leader in Princeton. It was my second first-day on the job, since I had been a summer intern at the paper since 16 and was invited back through the Kentucky Press Association’s summer program. The office was much the same as I had left it the previous August, with the exception of a few technological updates. The staff was friendly, and the atmosphere laid-back, as always. In my few short months at the local paper, I was given various responsibilities that ranged from selling ads in the “Times Leader Signature Pages,” to taking pictures, interviewing local personalities and supplying stories for the weekly “Faith and Family” section. The experiences given me in my four summers in Princeton will be most beneficial to me, I am confident. As I continue my education at the University of Kentucky, I take comfort in knowing the skills I have been taught and the confidence that can only be achieved through stepping out of the comfort zone and into the world the subjects will be beneficial. While it is not into the world of journalism that I proceed, I hope to stay in close relations with it and benefit from all is has to offer me. ••••• By Kristen Miller Working for the Kenton County Recorder as a KPA intern was my first experience out in the real world as a journalist. It showed me what life is like after graduating from a college newspaper. Journalism internships aren’t typical internships. A lot of people asked me if I was doing things such as making coffee, running errands and making copies. Those same people were surprised when I told them, no, I never did any of those things. I wrote several stories each week, took pictures, went to city council and school board meetings and trekked around the community just to see what was happening. This is what I enjoyed the most about interning at the Kenton County Recorder. I wasn’t stuck doing everyone’s busy work. I was part of the team and my stories mattered for the paper. I didn’t feel like an intern, I felt like a worker finally out in the real world. Working for my college paper, I wrote stories and helped guide my writers in their work. But I rarely went to official meetings. However, working for the Kenton County Recorder, I went to several city council meetings and got to hear what was going on in the city. I also was able to attend school board meetings and write stories about increasing enrollment and an ongoing battle for a girl’s soccer team. I was finally able to write stories that impacted whole cities, a big step up from a college campus. My KPA summer internship has given me a leg up in the job market because it’s provided me with real world experiences that have helped me start to grow as a journalist. •••••
There are two separate experiences going on at the same time for me at the Franklin Favorite. On the one hand, I have learned much about the newspaper business on two fronts – the inner-workings of a small town weekly and a large company. On the other hand, there has been a lot of mentoring, constructive criticism and discussion between editor Charlie Portmann, photographer/features editor Amy Ellis and me. Apart from what I have observed of the business end, there is the experience I am having as a writer and a photographer, even somewhat as an editor. The most important thing to note is that Portmann and Ellis are two very open-minded and open-eared journalists. They have bestowed a great deal of confidence in me and, other than the typical typing of briefs and such, I am mostly set loose on this town with my intuition and curiosity to guide me into stories. I have been assigned most of my stories, but I have also run into subjects or thought up stories of my own and have always been encouraged to do so. Portmann and I have brainstorming sessions pretty regularly and he is very attuned to listening to my idea and helping me sort through it until it takes form. Also, once a story or an idea is settled on, he is constantly dropping into my office with some letter or story he’s found that will add to what I have or help guide me in the right direction. In that way, he has helped me a great deal to step out of the box and find stories that are going to be helpful and interesting to the reader. I share an office with Ellis, and so my day-to-day mentoring comes from her. She was also a photojournalism student from Western Kentucky, which makes her even more attuned to the atmosphere and foundation I am coming from to build upon. Before now, all of the photography that I have done for print has been for magazines. My first day in the office, she asked me what I’m capable of and what I need to work on. I told her that I am typically very good at features but have never shot spot news or sports. She immediately decided that she would take me to the Little League games that week so that I could get experience in a setting that is a little less intimidating and almost guarantees good shots. Since I’ve been here, she’s given up several of her favorite annual assignments to me so that I could work on my portfolio. She has even offered to bring me out to her house to teach me how to work studio lights, which would be a great help to me and of course offers no benefit to her. Although my superiors here have been encouraging and supportive, I’ve not been coddled at the Franklin Favorite. There are only three of us, counting myself, so no one has the time to go behind me and confirm everything I’ve done and said. Working at the Favorite has taught me a lot about the news business and has also brought to my attention more of my strengths and weaknesses. There is no doubt that I’ve grown significantly as a journalist as a result of my time here. •••••
As I walked into business manager Judy McCowan’s office at The Sentinel-Echo for the first time, I wished with all my heart I could be sitting underneath the huge dogwood tree that still stands on the farm where I grew up. That tree was my safety net when I was a child and all of a sudden, I needed that now more than I had in a long time. I barely remember anything Judy said to me. We made it through the paperwork and went upstairs to meet the staff reporters. I needed the strength from the roots of the dogwood to hold me up once again as I listened to news editor Allison Johnston tell me that I would do just fine. Hearing her words and believing them were two completely different things. She had more confidence in me than I had in myself. This was all new territory for me. I had never before attempted anything such as this. I was really stepping out on faith and listening to my writing professor. He really believed in me. But more important than anything else, I was listening to God. This experience taught me that covering hard news is not for me. I understand that after going with another reporter to cover a tractor accident. I did, however, enjoy features. One of my favorite stories to write was about a 90-year old woman who is still going strong and works at a church camp during the summer. Another was about a local young man who won a brand-new television music show on CMT. I got an exclusive interview with him after his win. Taking this internship has given me the opportunity to meet people that I wouldn’t have otherwise met, and for that I am grateful. The people whom I’ve had the pleasure to work with at the Sentinel Echo have taught me a lot, and I will not forget the ones here who helped me realize this type of writing is not my forte. I believe anyone who writes for a college newspaper should take advantage of an internship if given the opportunity. It will help them to make an informed decision about their writing career and which direction they want to go with it. •••••
I have had a very positive experience working at The Citizen Voice and Times in Irvine. My experience working at a newspaper was somewhat limited before I began my internship. I had helped edit a newspaper at a summer camp for a few years as well as writing stories for my college paper, The Eastern Progress, for three semesters. So it was very exciting to work for a non-collegiate KPA paper. I began work on a Tuesday, production day. My first day’s work mainly consisted of getting to know my surroundings and duties as an intern. I also got to meet my pleasant co-workers as well as the paper’s nice owner/manager Teresa Hatfield. Things were pretty low-key for the most part and I’m very grateful for how everyone slowly helped guide me into my job that first week. Since then, I have covered a greater variety of stories than I ever experienced at school. My first stories, for example, included a personal column, a specially called fiscal court meeting and an open casting call for Irvine residents to be in a movie. I came into my internship slightly curious about whether I fully wanted to continue writing in some way for a career as I am double majoring in journalism and psychology. With just about half of my internship complete, I can safely say I don’t know for sure if I want to rule out going straight into finding journalism work after graduating next May instead of hopefully going to a graduate school for a masters in some area of psychology. I’ve really enjoyed writing weekly columns and covering events occurring in and issues affecting Estill County. I’ve also got to write my first profile series on local farmers. Meeting these men and women through interviews has been a very good experience. I’m also thankful to my supervisor, news editor Rhonda Smyth who has allowed me to take my own photos to go with my stories. I didn’t get to do that at Eastern. She has also given me more confidence in my skills in page designing by letting me lay out a page or two and helping me fix slight errors when one of my pages wasn’t up to par. My KPA internship in Irvine has been really good and I am glad I was awarded it. I hope I have made a good impression on my co-workers and bosses in Estill County. Who knows? Maybe once I graduate and truly decide which major to make a career of, I may send my resume back to Estill County to start a full-time gig. •••••
When I first came to Owensboro, I didn’t know what to expect. I was a little under three hours from home with nothing but my clothes, air mattress, camera gear and the little experience working at my school’s newspaper and attending a couple of photography workshops. So when I walked in the front door of the Messenger-Inquirer on my first day of work, I was nervous but excited. Within days I was operating just like a staff photographer. I was out on my own looking for feature photos, I was taking multiple assignments each day and I had learned the basics of toning and editing my photos. On the first Saturday, I was even thrown headfirst into shooting Owensboro’s Bar-B-Q Festival, where I balanced four or five assignments and did feature hunting at the same time. After a month on the job and plenty of help from my photo editor, Jenny Sevcik, I was toning at a proficient level, and I could tell my pictures were improving. Jenny had helped me realize that a photo has to show what’s going on and not just have interesting composition and color. And by the second month, my reflexes were more in check. I had missed enough moments enough times to recognize when they were coming, and my pictures greatly improved once more. I was taking away more and more good photos from every shoot I did, and I was learning how to relate to the people I was taking pictures of while remaining just a shadow on the wall. While my internship at the paper was a short one, I learned more in the two and a half months I worked at the paper than I did in the past year at school. My ability to capture moments and good pictures doubled, if not tripled, and I have the talented staffers at the Messenger-Inquirer to thank for that. This internship has given my abilities as a photographer a major boost. |
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