My impression of the second day of my internship at the Bully...
* It was not as fun as the first.... The second day was much more what I imagined the first day to be like, with me being overwhelmed and rushed and feeling completely useless...
I felt that Linda expected me to know so much more, but at the same time I don't think that is at all what was bothering me...
*I actually struggled with writing the stories I was set to write a lot more this time... At first I was set a story on a triathlon that is going on in Townsville next month, I rang the people and did the interviews over the phone. I knew the article was the go in the careers section of the paper, but I still imagined I was doing a news style article... I wrote around 400 words but couldn't write a good lead so I left it open for Linda to throw some ideas at me to see how she wanted the lead... when she came over to look at what I had done, she didn't read the article I had written and instead changed the entire idea of the lead, which changed the whole angle of the story and meant everything had to be re-written, which I struggled with because it made me feel that I didn't even know which quotes she thought were important as opposed to which quotes I had thought important to guide the flow of the story... and this meant that I came off looking like someone who couldn't do what they are supposed to be doing for a living...
*As well as writing that story, I was to arrange a time for the photographer to go and grab a photo of the people in the story for a day early the next week...it proved very difficult as the people who were to be in the photo were hard to organise, the photo was to be of office people at the beach and they required transport, the photographer was not there for me to speak to about possible good photo ideas, after I made the first book and arranged everything Linda said she'd rather the photo be taken somewhere else which meant the people in the photo had to be contacted again and re-organised and then transporting the people possibly clashed with the insurance policies of the newspaper....and I felt like screaming! Because again I came off as looking like the person who didn't know what was going on....when I was doing the best I could in a situation where I was the middle-middle-middle man (answering to the people in the story, the photographer and my boss)...and a situation I had never been in before...
*In the afternoon I had to go to Stocklands with the photographer and do the Vox Pop and "5 Minutes With" and "A Guys View" for the youth liftout section as they had someone sick and needed a fill in.... I'm not the worlds biggest fan of the youth liftout section... so I wasn't entirely proud of my work...but it was a hell of a lot easier than the triathlon article and more than anything it was good to get out of the office and get into more off the cuff interviewing.... I was working with Suz again, the same photographer I worked with last week, and we had an absolute ball together. We seem to get our jobs done really quickly when we work together and have fun doing it at the same time as we both know exactly what it is we need and exactly what it is the other needs...and things just seem to flow well when I'm doing a story with Suz... I hope I get to work with her again next Friday!
*Writing the articles for the youth liftout was a lot easier (and I think they turned out a lot better than my other work) for a few reasons... 1) My brain loved having a break from the Triathlon article 2) I wasn't putting as much pressure on myself because I don't have a very high opinion of the writing style of the youth liftout, even though that sounds awful (I'm sorry!) 3) Because I didn't have to answer to Linda, who I feel is a very talent journalist and I hate seeming like I'm letting her down....
*I also wanted to reflect on why I was anticipating that Linda would be difficult to deal with.... it was because over the phone she seemed like someone who had very little expectations of me...for example telling me things like needing to have a medical certificate if I have a day off and not just skipping the internship for an extra shift at work etc... When I felt like I didn't need to be told those things because I am an adult who has worked in the "real" corporate world before...another reason was that I found out she is the person who fired their intern after 3 weeks... an infamous story among JCU Journalism students.... however when dealing with her at work I think she is a very professional person. She is excellent at saying what she wants and expects out of a story, she's great at constructive criticism and hasn't ever purposely made me feel like I wasn't able to do something... she's an excellent writer and it a very scrupulous editor... and I admire her very much... I don't want to let her down! And that stresses me out!
*I’m finding the internship very challenging because working at a newspaper was never really what I wanted to do and has never really been of high interest to me, so I am trying to view the experience a great learning curve... but it is a struggle... sometime I feel like it’s really not the place for me, so much so that I am resentful that I was placed at the Bulletin when I specifically asked Lindsay Simpson (when I thought she was taking this subject) if I could be at City Life or Duo.... but if I go down that line of thinking then I will ruin the rest of my experience there by being negative...and it’s only week two...so I will return this Friday, and every Friday for the next 11 weeks, with a smile and an open mind.... and try to learn as much as possible while I’m there!
3 comments:
Bessie
I am not sure what to make of this blog. It seemed more like a rant of complaint rather than an intelligent thoughout out reflection of the experience. The assignment, may I remind you is called a 'reflexive journal'.
Now to the substantive issues you raised here. Internships are work experiences where you are expected to learn the craft of journalism-by-doing it- by actually being in the environment, experiencing the highs and the lows, the reality of the space and to grow as a professional and as an individual.
This requires adapting quickly to the environment and taking the most open-minded view and attitude. You are a student. So whether you have worked in the corporate world before or not, with any new job, people will explain or reinforce the regulations such as those governing sick days and work expectations. Adults go through this process as well.
I am very confident in your abilities to learn a great deal at this job. You seem to expect to be Nobel Prize perfect at this job within 2 weeks and if you are not, then you presume that this job may not be for you. That is not as you so rightly point out towards the end of your blog, is not the attitude to have.
Have a hat with linda rather than running away by preferring to escape from the office and the 'triatholon story'. Say you dont wnat to let her down and that you want a some more clarity on the stories or a bit more discussion so that you are both on the same page. That is what 'adults' in this context would do. I do not mean to harp on about this but I was a bit dissapointed by those remarks in your blog. Get stuck in this experience and try to learn as much as you can. Later on, you choose to do this or something else. 21st century jouralism requires multi-skilled people and this opportunity will offer you this if you allow it. They did say you were allowed to work in other sections of the paper as well.
PS: Careful how you slog your workplace on your blog. remember the online sites are not private. And this would not come off well were they to see that comment on Savvy.
PS1. DUO Magazine does not take interns. City Life were not keen to take on any interns either.
Hi Hume,
Thank you for your comments and advice.
I didn't mean for it to sound like a rant, however my experiences that day did not bode themselves to a positive blog entry and I thought it just as important to include the negative experiences as the positive ones as I am well aware it is all an excellent opportunity to learn.
I am happy with my placement there and I am very grateful for the opportunity and the experience. You will be happy to know I had a fantastic third day last week and I am really looking forward to this week... I really do love and appreciate everything I am learning there, the good and the bad.
One more thing I wanted to clear up, on which I probably should have gone into more depth within this entry, was that me thinking this was not the job for me was not just based on two days work there. It is based on 4 years of study and work and a constant thought over that time that this may not be the job for me... however I don't believe that means I should give up now or not complete my degree... instead I think it just supports the idea that I need to get myself out there and learn as much as possible... and hopefully discover what is the job for me along the way.
Thank you for your confidence in my abilities... it is something I lack in myself quite often and that is where I get into trouble in these situations, when confidence is a must.
Thanks again,
Bessie :)
Hi again Hume,
I just wanted to add also that one of Linda's common suggestions is to give your brain a break from a story you are struggling with by concentrating on another story for a while or grabbing a coffee and going for a walk... I didn't mean for it to sound like I was trying to escape, rather trying to regain inspiration in order to help the story come together. And I did find this helpful.. as after writing the other articles it was much easier to finish the triathlon story.
Thanks for pointing this out, I will try to tie things together more effectively in the next entry.
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