FOX 7-KTBC (Austin, TX)
Summer 2008 Site Review
For those of you who are reading this and considering applying for a news reporting internship at FOX 7- I have to say- this is probably the BEST broadcast internship out there. Working in the FOX 7 newsroom and with the team of reporters, photographers, and producers is a wonderful experience and one that you get exactly as much out of it as you put in. This is NOT an internship where you are micromanaged. No one will be looking over your shoulder, no one will be telling you what to do everyday. As the News Director told me on the very first day- the goal of this internship is to producer your tape, get it done, and get out of her and get a job. He’s exactly right and over 8 weeks there, I have compiled a master tape, had it edited professionally and now I’ve sent out 16 job applications- we’ll see what happens.
The thing that makes the internship so wonderful is that you follow the reporters out on the stories, do your own version and learn from theirs, and when it comes time at 5 and 9 to go live (of if you work dayside- earlier), you can get on camera before or after them and get your “live intros” and “tags” in, taken them back after and put it on your tape. When your out on the story- ask the photographer and they will shoot a standup for you. If you want to take it one step further, get on Avid Instinct and write that package and you pretty much have everything you need. Again- this internship is well suited for anyone who truly wants to bust their ass getting their tape done- it’s all about initiative. You have to ask the reporters (who are so accommodating) if you can go out with them. You have to find time in the editing bay, you have to find time in the audio booth- you have to get help when you need it- no one’s going to be helping you automatically or telling you what to do. The other wonderful thing is that when they are short a reporter or if they have many stories going on and all the paid reporters are out on stories, they will send you- sometimes with a photographer and you will write a VO/SOT or a pack for 5 or 9- which the anchors will voice. But that means you wrote it- and you can put it on your tape. Am I gushing? I just felt like this was an extraordinary experience.
