Last Tuesday marked my first official day as a news intern at WGRZ, Channel 2 news on Delaware Ave. I remember entering freshman year thinking of where I wanted to be my senior year, and finally the opportunity I’ve been waiting for has come. All the hard work and unpaid internships throughout my college career have paid off and I am excited to see where my internship will take me this semester.
My first day was a bit confusing, trying to figure out how things work at the station, what kind of story ideas they expect, and still learning names in the newsroom. I arrived at 3pm, just in time for the daily meeting for the night side story ideas and met with my supervisor and the station’s Multimedia News Producer, Matt Pitts. I sat next to MaryAlice Demler and Scott Levin, the station’s anchors and opened up my notebook to a blank page ready to hear what was on the agenda for the day. After the meeting was over, I was called into the news directors office. He explained to me that it was super important that I speak up at meetings and let my voice be heard. I knew this was crucial before, as I previously interned at a TV station back home and was told the similar thing. He told me not be to afraid to contribute to anything I might think is relevant and to let them know if any story would be “boring” or “uninteresting” to my age group. As an intern, you might feel that your opinion does not matter. One must keep in mind that that is not true, especially in the news business. You can’t just listen on the sidelines and expect to get anything out of that. Just like any sports player, if your head’s not in the game and you aren’t giving your all to your team, you are no longer an important asset to that team.
Channel 2 is looking for me to be on their team this semester. They want me to come in ready with ideas, just like any other reporter or producer sitting around the table. They want me to grow as a writer, and get the most out of my semester in order to be ready for any position after college. I feel motivated to prove myself, challenge myself, and push myself outside of my comfort zone. I was able to write three stories for the 11pm newscast on the first day. I stayed until the 11pm show was finished, then proceeded to walk into the studio and say goodnight to the anchors.
To my surprise, 
they called me up to the anchor desk and told me to get in a picture with them in honor of my first day “survival” at the station. MaryAlice posted the picture on her twitter and I got to show my friends and family who I’d be working with during the remainder of my semester. After we walked out of the studio, I was able to talk one on one with MaryAlice. She offered me great words of advice and explained her story of how she got to where she is today.
Day 2 followed that Thursday evening. I came in with two different stories, one following the recent UB crackdowns on Winspear, and the other about Canisius and E-Cigarettes. Steve Brown, a Canisius alum and the investigative reporter for the station had been the one working on the UB ongoing investigations. I wanted to show that I am committed to helping with stories in anyway that I can so I did further research to see if I could get a contact for Steve. My sister was able to put me in contact with a UB student who lives on Winspear and the student was able to give me information on the record about the UB arrests and write-ups. I shared my notes with Steve and explained that the student would be willing to help, and he was able to get in contact with her. He told me I could come UB with him when they start shooting for the story. They were then able to put my Canisius E-Cigs story idea into the 11pm newscast. I was able to write four stories for the show that night and learned how to post a web story as well. Once it was time to go, my supervisor said “nice job tonight.” Although a simple statement, it only encourages me more to keep going and really show what I am capable of.
I am interested to see what is to come of this internship, but what I do know is that I will be learning a lot and that my voice actually matters.
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