May term at WHOtv Channel 13

Sorry for not posting in months.....

Well, the KCCI summer internship is a no go. On the plus side, for May term I decided to "job shadow" (more like intern) at WHOtv. I've really learned a lot and this is end of the second week. The news director Rod Peterson said that I can have an internship next Fall during school. Which makes me all the more excited for next semester.

I've come to know the Channel 13 News team. They all have great sense of humors and really enjoy their jobs. One of my most memorable experiences was going on an investigative interview with anchor/reporter Sonya Heitshusen. She interviewed the owner of Apollo Counseling in Des Moines who wasn't paying her employees. Sonya really drilled her and made me realize if I were to do anything illegal to make sure to decline an interview with her.

Reporter Dan Winters a.k.a. the king of "I'm sorry, what's that?" He gave me a really good tip. When you're interviewing someone and you notice your interviewee gives a good soundbite but said it quietly, or noticed your photojournalist was getting a new shot, simply say "I'm sorry, what's that?" and your soundbite is saved. Simple as that.

Some people would assume that the anchors and reporters on TV would have stuck up personalities. That's not the case at all. They're all extremely down to earth and crack really good jokes. With gas being the price it is, I don't even mind at all that I'm driving over a half an hour from Indianola to Des Moines. I thoroughly enjoy being around broadcast journalists and can't wait for this coming Fall.

KCCI Interview with Kevin Cooney



KCCI anchor Kevin Cooney



Today's interview went great! I showed up about a half an hour early just to be safe since I didn't know where KCCI was located. Kevin wasn't able to meet with me until 4 p.m. but hopefully the fact that I showed up early looked good.

Once Kevin was able to meet he found me in the waiting room hopefully not looking like a nervous/excited wreck. We exchanged names and walked to the news desk and told me to find a seat. He got hooked up to his microphone did test checks and sat in his chair behind the news desk to do some interludes before the 5 o'clock broadcast. Just watching him speak to the camera while reading the teleprompter was a great experience. Not to mention him cracking jokes in between taping with the cameramen.

After he finished with the interludes he showed me around a little on the way to the conference room where my interview was held. He told me to have a seat in the conference room for a little bit while he got himself organized. There I sat, soaking everything in at a huge round table. There's something about the constant buzzing of a newsroom that makes me sit on the edge of my seat and report news with them.

Once he was ready we got to know each other. His first question, "How do you pronounce your name?"  Not surprised, I told him, "yooht-skah", and that is what he wrote on his notepad.

Interns are expected to work 40 hours a week for 10 weeks of the summer. Late night/early morning calls may happen as well. He asked if it would be a problem for me. I said, "I come from a town with a population of less than fifty. I am completely devoted to being here." Can't get much more honest than that.

The main goal for all interns is for them to get time and stories on air. He said that only about 60% of interns actually get airtime with their stories. So that's my goal, to get airtime if I get this internship.



Overall, the interview went great. He gave me a packet of a week by week schedule of what is expected of the intern. The number one requirement: to know the names of everyone who works there. Which shouldn't be a problem for me!

He finished with a tour of the whole station. Where I saw the newsroom, news desk, the news set, and everyroom that does behind the scenes work. It was truly a great experience. If I don't get the internship then at least I can say I've been interviewed by KCCI. It was a great time and I learned a lot in an hour. I can't even imagine how much of a sponge I will become if I get the internship.

Applicants continue to be interviewed until the 11th but I am supposed to get word by St. Patrick's Day. So from now until then, wish me luck!

From WHO to KCCI

Today I have an interview with KCCI anchor Kevin Cooney.

I received an email from him earlier this week after sending KCCI my resume for a summer internship position. Apparently hundreds of students apply for the position because KCCI has a very good internship reputation. I was also told by a former KCCI intern that "only a handful get chosen for interviews." So there's another plus.

Right now I'm extremely nervous but more excited to get to KCCI's news station. I've received many tips and have been studying the news like none other. If this internship comes my way it will definitely be another step closer to becoming a great journalist.

Interview's at 4 p.m. today. Wish me luck. I'm off to prepare some more. Don't worry, I'll let you know how it goes.

Training Day with Alisa

Here's a WHO picture Alisa sent me.

Last night I went to WHO to learn how to post stories on their Community page for Indianola. It's extremely simple, especially having the knowledge of knowing how to use Blogger.

I introduced myself to news anchor Erin Kiernan again, and director Ron Peterson. I also formally introduced myself to reporter Jannay Towne calling myself "Indianola Tyler from the standoff". Good thing she remembered. That could have been slightly awkward. Ron also told me that he is really excited to have me there, so that's a plus.

Alisa showed me the ropes and emailed me some generic pictures to use if I run into difficulties getting a picture for my story. As far as how often I need to post, it's really up to me. It's nice that it's nothing stressful.

I'm excited to get things rolling. Now, to search for story ideas. 

One night at WHOtv leads to more

I helped WHOtv with the 2010 elections by updating their ticker with the latest information on each race. It was a great experience. There, I met weekday night news anchors Erin Kiernan, and John Bachman. While stationed at my computer I sat next to Alisa Link, who is a multimedia producer. She populates their website and also oversees their social media sites.

I'm not too shy when meeting people, luckily neither was she so breaking the ice was not a concern. It had already melt at 'hello'. She told me that I had made a good decision to volunteer to help because in the media business it's good to get your name out there as soon as possible.

She interned for WHO in 2007 writing scripts for the sports anchors, researching possible story lines for them, along with administrative work and data collecting. She received the job she has now by staying in contact with Sports Director Keith Murphy at WHO. When the position opened up he asked if she would be interested right away.

Before I left to go back to Simpson she gave me her email address and told me to keep in touch. That we did. The night of the Indianola standoff during last semester I emailed her telling her that I was following her updates online. She messaged back that she actually had the day off, but will give the assignment director my information in case anything happened. It all depended on where he would like to go with the story so I wasn't really expecting a call back. Less than half an hour later I received a phone call from WHO reporter Jannay Towne. I didn't give her much information. What I knew, she did too.  That was the last time I talked to Alisa, until last Saturday.

Now for my story. Last Saturday I received an email from Alisa asking if I would be interested in writing stories for WHO's Community Pages. These new Community Pages is basically an extension of WHO's website but has more specific news about the city in which you live. What I will be doing is posting stories about what is happening specifically in Indianola and Simpson College community.

I'll be starting sometime this week hopefully. As soon as their web guy gets me registered into the system and I go in to get trained. My job for now: think of some good story ideas and start looking at leads.

I'd like to extend a huge thank you to Alisa.

That my friends, is how connections work.

Working out with Loretta

Last night while working out I met a woman named Loretta who works for Simpson College with the Evening, Weekend and Graduate program as the Assistant to the Director.  I also met her friend Shirley.

Nearing my cool down on the treadmill Loretta asked if she could have "some of my miles." After catching my breath I said, "I've been here way too long to to give them away."  Starting off our conversation on good terms with laughter.

We kept this conversation rolling by discussing Tuesday night's two hour Biggest Loser episode. Later I found out that she has had a bit of a weight problem herself. Telling me that she used to have a trainer that used to have to lift her legs for her to stretch and perform other exercises. Her trainer also made her run stairs but fell backwards a few times. Falling backwards on a flight of stairs would discourage anyone to exercise on them again, but her trainer told her to trust herself and that he'd be behind her to catch her.

Her trainer was an athletic training major who graduated two or more years ago. She's interested in finding another but says, "Who would want to workout an old woman like me?" I ensured her that someone would more than likely be interested on campus.

Once the timer on my treadmill reached zero and the belt stopped I shook her hand, exchanged names once again and told her it was nice to meet her. She is a very interesting person and I look forward to meeting her again.