Last week ended on a high note. I finished two feature stories which I handed over to Gary. I assume they'll be in the paper or online sometime this week. And, things started to pick up here in relation to the Phillies. While it's doubtful that they'll send me into a game with a press pass (they have about 20 sports reporters in line to do that before they get to the interns), they may need some help covering Philly fandom. It's not dumb to assume that there will be some celebrations in order soon. The Phillies are in line to win the ALCS and move on to the World Series. If so, I'll make sure the editors know that I'm more than willing to cover some Broad Street riots (or celebrations, but riots would be much more exciting).
Things are still entertaining in the newsroom and I'm always busy. I hope the rest of the semester keeps up at this pace.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Wheels keep on turning
Things haven't slowed down here at the Inquirer. The feature stories I was working on are done, yet awaiting publication and I've continued to be assigned briefs and quick hits on the regular. Tuesday night, my editor Gary Miles assigned me a short story on Heather Mitts, a professional soccer player who was just signed by the Philadelphia Independence, a new women's professional soccer team here in Philadelphia. The story ran the next day.
Gary also assigned me a story on a cross country athlete who ran in two meets on two consecutive days. Unlike the other feature stories I had some trouble with, both the runner and his coach answered the phone on their first try. I got all of the interviews I needed and the story should be written and good to go by the end of the day today.
In addition to the many assignments and never ending projects, there has been some excitement. Last Thursday was probably the most exciting night I've spent in my short tenure as a journalist. The Phillies were in the midst of Game two of the National League Division Series against the Colorado Rockies. Cole Hamels was the starting pitcher, but left the game in the fifth inning in order to join his wife, Heidi, who was in labor at Leickenau Hospital. Seeing as I was the only reporter in the news room at the time, one of the editors asked me to drive to the hospital and get an update on Heidi Hamels.
Needless to say, it was an adventure. First, I went the wrong way, which added about 20 minutes to the trip. Once I got to the hospital, I spent about 10 minutes looking for the maternity ward. Once I found it, I took the elevator and found myself in a small room with about three people sitting in it, including a nurse at a desk. Seeing as I wasn't a family member, she told me to leave. I then proceeded to the front desk to ask if they were going to make some kind of announcement. They weren't. I was out of luck. I called the newsroom and the editor thanked me for my efforts and said I could go home.
Never before had I been sent on a mission like that, and it was definitely a rush. I was happy that the editors had confidence in me to give me such a task. I just hope next time is more successful.
Gary also assigned me a story on a cross country athlete who ran in two meets on two consecutive days. Unlike the other feature stories I had some trouble with, both the runner and his coach answered the phone on their first try. I got all of the interviews I needed and the story should be written and good to go by the end of the day today.
In addition to the many assignments and never ending projects, there has been some excitement. Last Thursday was probably the most exciting night I've spent in my short tenure as a journalist. The Phillies were in the midst of Game two of the National League Division Series against the Colorado Rockies. Cole Hamels was the starting pitcher, but left the game in the fifth inning in order to join his wife, Heidi, who was in labor at Leickenau Hospital. Seeing as I was the only reporter in the news room at the time, one of the editors asked me to drive to the hospital and get an update on Heidi Hamels.
Needless to say, it was an adventure. First, I went the wrong way, which added about 20 minutes to the trip. Once I got to the hospital, I spent about 10 minutes looking for the maternity ward. Once I found it, I took the elevator and found myself in a small room with about three people sitting in it, including a nurse at a desk. Seeing as I wasn't a family member, she told me to leave. I then proceeded to the front desk to ask if they were going to make some kind of announcement. They weren't. I was out of luck. I called the newsroom and the editor thanked me for my efforts and said I could go home.
Never before had I been sent on a mission like that, and it was definitely a rush. I was happy that the editors had confidence in me to give me such a task. I just hope next time is more successful.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Two Weeks
It's been two weeks since I started work here at the Inquirer. I'm working Tuesdays and Thursdays in the afternoon/evening, and they are certainly keeping me busy. I spend my time in the office condensing press releases, writing briefs and making calls. Meanwhile, I'm also busy writing two feature stories when I'm not helping the editors with smaller tasks.
I've been placed in the sports department, where I'm working with a few other interns to help develop the Inquirer's new high school sports website "Rally." Generally, we'll have one or two features a week that will be posted on the website or in the print edition. For the first stories, I pitched each of them to my editor Gary Miles, and every intern's story is an idea that I developed. The two specific stories I'm working on include: Long-time high school coaches in the area and fathers who coach sons/mothers who coach daughters in the area. I've narrowed down plenty of sources for each story. The difficult part is getting them to call me back. I've spent the past week making calls, leaving voicemails and sending emails to all of my sources. I've had very little luck. I'm hoping they come around soon so I can get to work on my next two features.
Overall, the experience has been exciting so far. I've had the opportunity to meet the entire sports editorial staff and a number of the reporters. I've had three by-lines in the paper already, and that number is only going to grow. I spent much of last week creating player profile capsuls for the entire Philadelphia Flyers team, which should run in Sunday's sports section.
While the commute is long, it is worth it. I look forward to getting into the office every Tuesday and Thursday. I hope the connections and experience I get in here will help me in the future.
I've been placed in the sports department, where I'm working with a few other interns to help develop the Inquirer's new high school sports website "Rally." Generally, we'll have one or two features a week that will be posted on the website or in the print edition. For the first stories, I pitched each of them to my editor Gary Miles, and every intern's story is an idea that I developed. The two specific stories I'm working on include: Long-time high school coaches in the area and fathers who coach sons/mothers who coach daughters in the area. I've narrowed down plenty of sources for each story. The difficult part is getting them to call me back. I've spent the past week making calls, leaving voicemails and sending emails to all of my sources. I've had very little luck. I'm hoping they come around soon so I can get to work on my next two features.
Overall, the experience has been exciting so far. I've had the opportunity to meet the entire sports editorial staff and a number of the reporters. I've had three by-lines in the paper already, and that number is only going to grow. I spent much of last week creating player profile capsuls for the entire Philadelphia Flyers team, which should run in Sunday's sports section.
While the commute is long, it is worth it. I look forward to getting into the office every Tuesday and Thursday. I hope the connections and experience I get in here will help me in the future.
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