Oklahoman interns NewsOK.com Blogging Community

Here’s the funny thing about good-byes:

You can see them coming, but when you actually have to say those two dreaded words. . . it’s never easy.

That’s how I feel today, with less than four hours left in my Oklahoman internship.

I couldn’t agree more with Richard and Dontay: This experience has been invaluable to me beyond words, and looking back now, I can’t believe how much I’ve learned.

Like I’ve told my editors, the only reason I came to Oklahoma was because of the glowing reputation for The Oklahoman’s internship program. I had no ties to this state, so there was no other incentive for me to come here. Yet I couldn’t be more glad with the choice I made! This internship program surpassed its great reputation, and I’ve found Oklahoma has the same “Midwestern nice” qualities I’ve been familiar with all my life, which is a comfort and a joy.

Like Richard, I also find myself wondering, “What if?” [What if I didn’t find the courage within to take risks and travel to places I’ve never been?] Well, then I’d certainly have regrets.

But that’s not the case. I’ve treasured every moment here in Oklahoma - even the stressful ones.

I came here wanting to improve my writing and gain experience in multimedia - and I feel like I did just that. Plus, I’ve had the pleasure of working with some amazingly talented reporters, editors and photographers, who’ve each helped me become a better journalist.

I’ll walk away from here with improved skills and new friendships that I hope will last. [That means you, fellow interns!]

It’s sad to be saying good-bye. But as I’ve been saying to my colleagues here, it’s only good-bye for now. This certainly won’t be the last you hear from me.

Thank you, Oklahoman, for everything you’ve given me this summer. It’s been a wonderful ride.

~ Kristen M. Daum, City Desk intern at The Oklahoman.

Since this was our last weekend as Oklahoman interns, it was a chance for many of us to make some lasting memories with the friends we’ve made this summer.

Friday night was a night out at the Oklahoma Redhawks game - courtesy of OPUBCO/The Oklahoman, which provided us with free suite tickets and an all-you-can-eat promotion pass (Thank you, OPUBCO!).

Some interns brought family members or friends to share the night with, while the rest of us made use of each other’s company to share in America’s past-time. But either way, good times were had by all!

Ironically, rather than watching the ballgame, many of us spent the night chatting together with the other Oklahoman employees who joined us: Joe Hight (director of information and development), Patti Shubert (executive assistant) and Jim Beckel (photographer).

I’m sure we provided them with some added entertainment with our intern cameraderie and antics — and maybe a little terror too, in Jason’s case…

The evening passed much too quickly, and before we knew it, the ballgame ended. Even though the Redhawks lost at the bitter end, the night still closed with a bang…

 Then on Saturday, a few of us met up again for an ol’ fashioned board-game night.

Jason and I faced off in a game of Scrabble - since I wasn’t fully convinced of his mastery over the game. He soon put my doubts to shame as he won with more than twice the score of mine. That put me in my place.

When Amy, Jenn and Dontay joined us, we switched to Scattergories, which led to much laughter as we began to question the worth of each other’s answers during the numerous rounds we played.

Some of the best moments?

– Dontay fast becoming the underdog and likely winning more rounds than all of us.

– Amy calling me out on “flakes” actually being “snowflakes,” so I couldn’t use it as an answer for “F” under “Things that are cold.

– Jason and I having some kind of telekinetic link and coming up with the exact same obscure answers as one another.

– Jenn being constantly distracted by my playful kitten and coming up with random answers.

So, as you might tell, it was an exciting and fun-filled weekend with some great friends. It’s amazing how fast you can get used to being around the same friends all the time, and before you know it - that time is up.

One more week of memories, my friends… Let’s make ‘em worth it.

~ Kristen M. Daum, City Desk intern at The Oklahoman.

Yesterday at The Oklahoman city desk, we had the annual lunchtime BBQ on the OPUBCO grounds.

That meant an hour-and-a-half away from the stressful rush of the newsroom to relax, enjoy good food and good company in the pleasant July sunshine.

(And since the heat hasn’t been nearly as bad as what it usually might be, it was indeed a pleasant afternoon.)

Each city desk staff member signed up to bring a food item for our BBQ spread.  And it ended up we brought so much, there’s still food left over here in the newsroom — although it’s mostly cookies and chips.

At around noon, the city desk’ers trekked out to the covered pavillion (including BBQ grill) on the OPUBCO grounds to enjoy a quality summer day in Oklahoma.

City Editor Michael Baker became master of the grill — serving up burgers and brats for his staff. Meanwhile, the rest of us laid out the condiments, plastic flatware and desserts.

As the meat came off the grill, we all settled down to a hearty lunch and friendly conversation.

But, of course, the noon-hour passed much too quickly, and we soon found ourselves trekking back up to the OPUBCO Tower and our 8th floor newsroom.

As an intern, I soak up moments like yesterday’s - because I know in just six more work days, I’m gone. It’s still hard to believe: I feel like I just got here!

While this experience has certainly been memorable and valuable to me, it’s not time for good-bye’s just yet. . .

~ Kristen M. Daum, City Desk intern at The Oklahoman.

Hello, Readers:

Check out NewsOK’s podcast page to hear the interns reflect on their past six weeks at The Oklahoman!

— Kristen, Adrielle and Nathan, on interning for the City and Business desks and the Data team.

— Monica and Hailey, on interning for Metro and State.

— Mike and Dontay, on interning for Sports.

And now, we’ve got less than two weeks left — Who would believe two months could go by so fast?

~ Kristen M. Daum, City Desk intern at The Oklahoman.

Each month in The Oklahoman’s News and Information Center, ”Best of the Month” honors are awarded to the top achievements in news-gathering, reporting or presentation. In June’s “Best of the Month,” members of the 2008 Intern Class were selected for several accomplishments!! 

Here’s what Joe Hight, The Oklahoman’s director of information and development, said about this month’s intern winners:

BEST INTERN ACHIEVEMENT: (an annual category for June/July)

— Jennifer Adams (Graphics) and Nathan Curby (Data), for their work to create an interactive map of all public golf courses in the metro area for the “know it: Golf.”

— Hailey Branson (State), for her 16 stories - including five for Page 1A.

Finalists: Amy Rymer (Photo), Kristen M. Daum (City),

Jason Singer (Sports/Metro) and Mike Jeffries (Sports).

SPECIAL RECOGNITION:

— Hailey Branson, Johnny Johnson, Sheila Stogsdill, Ron Jackson, Julie Bisbee, John Sutter and Henry Dolive, for their online and print coverage of the tragic deaths of two girls in Weleetka.

— The City desk (including Kristen M. Daum and Brian Kimball), Metro, Photo, State and Video departments, online editors, Paul Monies, Steve Maupin and the Data Team deserve special recognition for their work on the election filing period. This year, the work included providing candidate information for the new ElectOK.com.

— The Intern Class of 2008 deserves special recognition for its efforts to write the “Intern Blog” and then promote it. The blog rose to No. 1 or 2 during certain days in June and was No. 6 overall on NewsOK for the month.

Congratulations on your achievements, fellow interns!!

Let’s keep the quality journalism flowing!

~ Kristen M. Daum, City Desk Intern at The Oklahoman.

In my most recent discussion with fellow intern Dontay Allen, the topic of the SuperSonics’ recent transition from Seattle to Oklahoma City was at the center. More importantly, we shared opinions about what the team’s new nickname should be.

Oklahoma has a deep history - rich with a collaborative western and Indian heritage as displayed at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. There are also several top energy companies within the state and a history of tornadic disasters. And though famous outlaws such as George “Machine Gun” Kelley, Bonnie and Clyde, “Pretty Boy” Floyd, among others, may not necessarily be a positive thing, they did commit many heinous acts of crime throughout the state. I hope you’ll forgive me for being unable to name all the wonderful things this state has to offer (I’m not from here), but I hope it gets everyone’s creative juices flowing. Embrace this state and take pride in its culture by naming OKC’s new NBA team after the history of this state.

Here’s my top two picks:

Oklahoma City Cyclones (vs. the Twisters as listed on the NewsOK.com Poll: What should the team in OKC be called?)

Oklahoma City Outlaws

Just a thought for the day!

Adrielle Harvey, Business Intern

I write not about what I am working on this week, but about the approaching holiday that makes me as excited as a 5-year-old on Christmas morning and causes me to cry at the many who have put forth their lives so that we may celebrate our Independence Day.

The first inclination of this celebration is often the topic of fireworks. Stands begin to dot the city and the countryside as early as June. Seeing them brings back memories as a child of lighting fireworks with my family. Every year, we would make the 30-minute trek to Salina, Kan., with our picnic lunch, spread blankets at the park around 9 p.m. and wait for the first burst in the sky. Afterward, we would journey home, mesmerized by the summer evening and the explosive bursts lingering in our minds. Then we would set our own off as soon as we pulled in the driveway, which extracted our neighbors from their homes so they could also watch.

But on Sunday, I was reminded why I truly love this holiday. As my sister sang “Letters from War” by Christian music artist Mark Schultz during church, a slideshow that she had put together flashed before us. Flags of red, white and blue splashed before us, but so did the common camouflage of soldiers kneeling in prayer, wounded in battle or hugging their families. Other pictures were of children praying and showing their patriotic spirit. Needless to say, there were very few dry eyes in that church building on Sunday. It reminded all of us of the lives that have been sacrificed throughout the years so that we may have the freedoms we do - even in a declining, skyrocketing fuel economy. And though we may not agree on the premise of our current wars, we can agree that our soldiers are fighting for our freedoms.

 On Friday, enjoy your day off work, the summer Fourth of July evening, the family and friends, the BBQs and fireworks, but also remember what this Independence holiday truly means and keep those loved ones close to your heart and in your prayers.

 Adrielle Harvey, Business intern

— How do you feel about the constant news of job-cuts, lay-offs and buy-outs in newsrooms across the country?? Does this deter you from entering the journalism field upon graduation, or re-inspire you to rise above it??

Well, I’m not happy about it! haha. It doesn’t deter me, mainly because I’m willing (and thankfully, interested) to learn about various forms of getting the news out. Multimedia affords great opportunities, and if I have to be a writer/photographer/videographer, etc. to get my news heard, then that is what I’ll do! Plus, it’s fun to play with!

— How do you think these business issues are and will affect the content of newspapers?? Can they maintain the same quality of news-gathering and reporting with less staff??

Cutting staff is never good, especially when it’s experienced people who have been there a long time and know their stuff. The key will be hiring journalists who are smart, talented, and willing to do more duties for probably the same pay. Journalists will take photos, photographers will write, and cafeteria ladies might be mowing the lawn. Okay, maybe not, but you get it.

— How do you think news organizations can move past these tough times??

Convince more people to advertise online, and teach journalists how to be involved in a multi-media journalism world! Oh, and maybe invest in oil companies.

Monica Albert, Metro Desk intern

I was glad to see so many replies to my last discussion entry!! It seems Imus has and will forever be a firecracker on the radio airwaves, no matter whether he’s right or wrong or you agree with him or disagree with him.

But I do think it’s interesting to talk about the issues he raises - because, like Dontay said, to hide from controversial issues won’t make them disappear. But if we talk about them respectfully, we might be able to move past them.

Now for today’s topic: Job cuts in the journalism industry.

It seems not a day goes by without the words “buy-outs” or “lay-offs” filtering through one newsroom or another in America. It’s a hushed topic that no journalist wants to hear or talk about - yet somehow it happens, and it doesn’t seem like there’s a person in this industry unaffected by it.

Within my Michigan State peers who’ve since moved on to the professional world - several are being hit by the most recent shockwave of downsizing at their news organizations. Several are dealing with the latest round of buyouts at The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News. A couple others are at risk of getting fired because of cuts at The Palm Beach Post, where nearly half of the newsroom staff is on the chopping block!

Luckily The Oklahoma Publishing Company seems to be spared of this cloud of doom. Most likely because it’s family-owned, and there’s no concern of pleasing stockholders and investors with gleaming profits - so they can focus their time on producing a quality, successful news product. Plus, OPUBCO has been light-years ahead of the curve in terms of coming on-board to the multimedia future of journalism - when other news companies have been reluctant to make the leap.

But as the Poynter Institute points out, the majority of news organizations are not that lucky, and many are scrambling to stay afloat.

So Readers and Fellow Interns – for this not-so-optimistic topic, here’s some questions for you (that will hopefully leave you a little less depressed):

— How do you feel about the constant news of job-cuts, lay-offs and buy-outs in newsrooms across the country?? Does this deter you from entering the journalism field upon graduation, or re-inspire you to rise above it??

— How do you think these business issues are and will affect the content of newspapers?? Can they maintain the same quality of news-gathering and reporting with less staff??

— How do you think news organizations can move past these tough times??

I look forward to your chatter…
~ Kristen M. Daum, City Desk intern at The Oklahoman.

I promise I have not fallen into a dark hole and disappeared from the blog. OK, maybe I have, just kidding.

Last week, was crazy. Lots of projects to complete. Check out the interactive map that I spent more than three full days on. http://newsok.com/golf/coursesmap/. And yes the main illustration is something that I created! It’s a great piece. It was a part of the golf know its.

Wall-e, comes out June 27. For most of today, I have been working on the Weekend Look page, which looks pretty awesome so far and the main theme is about Wall-e. So check out the Weekend Look on Friday.

This week’s project is “Gas Getaways” which is run in the newspaper on July 2, along with a web piece. It’s seems to be a pretty interesting project!

So it’s almost hard to believe that my internship is halfway over. It has been such a great experience. The even scarier thing is less than 6 months from now I will graduate from Ball State University. For now it’s just another Monday here in Oklahoma.

Quote for today
“True interactivity is not about clicking on icons or downloading files, it’s about encouraging communication.”
—Ed Scholssberg, 2002

Jennifer Adams, graphic designer