The road and the radio
The car’s packed. The iPod is charged. The cooler is full of drinks and snacks. And the road is clear.
I’m Detroit bound.
This experience has been incredibly unique. Completely on a whim, I applied for The Oklahoman’s newsroom internship, hearing it was a tremendous opportunity, but never really knowing what Oklahoma City entailed or what news it brought. Sure, it had the devastating Oklahoma City bombing and loads of tornados rip through it that made national news, but other than that, I was clueless. With a few dailies and a weekly under my belt, it was time to tackle a paper that was sent out to more than 250,000 people everyday.
Ten weeks later, I feel like a pro.
I’ve covered city council, cops and courts, national health care reform protests, debates, U.S. citizenship ceremonies and in-depth feature stories that helped me truly dive into peoples’ lives, digging deeper and deeper with every experience. I have city officials on speed dial and felt the relationships I created were genuine. The Oklahoman, at least in my two months, doesn’t baby or treat you like a newbie. You’re a reporter. The trust is there and they faith you can produce. This isn’t a college newspaper or small little daily that says, “Eh, give it your best shot and we’ll see what comes of it.” You’re brought here for a reason. They’re not just hopeful for you, they expect you to produce.
You’re a part of this team. It’s the fourth quarter and The Oklahoman’s down by 1. With four seconds left on the clock, the ball is inbounded to you.
The game is in your hands — what are you going to do?
That’s how it should be. Every idea I pitched came through and was turned into a story. I’m proud of our intern class because I felt that as if a day never went by without hearing a least one praise about one of us working hard.
It’s been a pleasure, guys and gals. Time to exit stage right, but keep in touch and keep showing your talents.
Time to hit the road.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment