My time at Channel 2-WGRZ has been great for giving me a genuinely realistic look at the inner workings of broadcast journalism. I won’t pretend that everything in the experience has been perfect, but I’m just not the type of person to look at anything through rose-colored glasses. The one thing that is for sure is that I developed great connections, improved my technical skills, and learned a lot about the business itself. 

The best parts of the internship were when I was able to go out with the reporters and photographers on stories. Strangely enough it typically wasn’t the stories that had the greatest impact on me, rather the car rides were my favorite because that’s how I really got to know everyone well. While experience in the field is huge, I think being able to pick people’s brains on how they started their career, and other advice of that sort, is the most important part of the experience.

These days were also my favorite, because it guaranteed that I’d be able to keep busy the entire night. It started early on when one of the photographers made me edit a whole package on deadline. That evolved over time to the point where I could make the packages my own, where I would record my own stand-ups and voice overs. 

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the internship was the fact that I was present for a lot of turnover. Because many people left, new people were hired, and the beginning of their new show “Most Buffalo,” I was getting completely honest opinions from the people I worked with. I feel like many places are inclined to make the intern think that their workplace is pristine, and I greatly appreciate that no one I developed relationships with tried to pull the wool over my eyes. Now don’t get me wrong, this is not an indictment on the Channel 2 workplace, rather I see it as a testament to the authenticity there, and that the people I worked with are not afraid to be open and honest about the changes affecting them.

Overall, this experience has given me a lot of new knowledge, and most importantly it has allowed me to consider a career path that was not previously on my radar. Most importantly, I met really great people that I think highly of, and I believe that they think highly of me as well.