2008 Woodie Awards
Options open outside the city
Zachary Groves
Issue date: 8/23/07 Section: Opinion
In a world where internships are best known as getting coffee for the higher-ups, you would think I'd experience the same kind of deal.
If that's true, then my time at WEIU-TV was merely a dream.
The Mass Communications Department requires all students to complete an internship in order to graduate, as the faculty and staff believe we would benefit more in the real world by having that experience on our resumes.
I couldn't agree more.
After taking a risk with applying to WEIU, I surprisingly got the internship.
I was surprised because I only had a semester of experience in television production and I was competing against dozens of other students nationwide who most likely had more to offer.
While most interns spend several weeks following reporters and cameramen around before actually getting to touch the equipment, I was trained to use a television news writing software the professionals use, the camera, studio and video editing equipment in a week before going out on my own to help produce a daily newscast.
Let's just say all the hours and days I spent in the video editing lab in Dunham Hall last year paid off.
For those who don't know what WEIU-TV is, it's a PBS station located in Charleston on the Eastern Illinois University campus. We covered 11 counties in Illinois and one in Indiana with an incredible news set and a fleet of news cars.
We, the interns, got to use all that equipment and cover an amazing number of stories, including a hostage situation in Arcola (not too far from Champaign), where five people were taken hostage in a bank by a gunman.
A fellow intern and I were the first on the scene, beating out news outlets from Decatur to Chicago. It was a day I will never forget.
Sure, you may have to move away from St. Louis to get that dream internship, but I did and to this day I'm thankful that this summer wasn't just a dream.
If that's true, then my time at WEIU-TV was merely a dream.
The Mass Communications Department requires all students to complete an internship in order to graduate, as the faculty and staff believe we would benefit more in the real world by having that experience on our resumes.
I couldn't agree more.
After taking a risk with applying to WEIU, I surprisingly got the internship.
I was surprised because I only had a semester of experience in television production and I was competing against dozens of other students nationwide who most likely had more to offer.
While most interns spend several weeks following reporters and cameramen around before actually getting to touch the equipment, I was trained to use a television news writing software the professionals use, the camera, studio and video editing equipment in a week before going out on my own to help produce a daily newscast.
Let's just say all the hours and days I spent in the video editing lab in Dunham Hall last year paid off.
For those who don't know what WEIU-TV is, it's a PBS station located in Charleston on the Eastern Illinois University campus. We covered 11 counties in Illinois and one in Indiana with an incredible news set and a fleet of news cars.
We, the interns, got to use all that equipment and cover an amazing number of stories, including a hostage situation in Arcola (not too far from Champaign), where five people were taken hostage in a bank by a gunman.
A fellow intern and I were the first on the scene, beating out news outlets from Decatur to Chicago. It was a day I will never forget.
Sure, you may have to move away from St. Louis to get that dream internship, but I did and to this day I'm thankful that this summer wasn't just a dream.
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