PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Who would’ve thought that interning at WAVY TV-10 would fly by so fast? Normally I access great opportunities as bittersweet, but nothing about my time here has been bitter at all. Every day I’ve come in, WAVY has never failed to prepare me for my future career in news.
The past two weeks have been so much fun and filled with tons of knowledge. I’m not going to lie, before I started here, I thought being on the news was just about reading words off of a teleprompter. Now that I’m finishing my last few weeks here, I know that there’s so much more to news and news stations. I’ve shadowed almost every department and ever since I was taken under WAVY’s wing, and I couldn’t be more grateful to be here.
I’ll try my best to not overshare, but here’s the gist of what I’ve been up to while digital interning.
Shadowing production:
Last week, I got to shadow two of the best women in production. It makes me happy that they are both women, and know what they are doing and do it well. Seeing women working in these positions made me appreciate the equal opportunity and no gender gap at the station.
I sat with Danyaisha in production and helped out with the 10 p.m. news. I learned how to charge and place the batteries for the anchors mics during studio setup. I learned what each lighting means in the newsroom and helped shout out the countdown between breaks. Reminding the anchors of time is important so that they aren’t thrown off.
She also let me push all the cool buttons that run the cameras. Each camera in the newsroom is no longer manual. It was cool to see that technology gets updated in the newsroom just how it does in everyday life.
The day after I sat with Reba. Reba is the production director. While shadowing I learned how she codes and how it plays a huge role during live newscasts.
My experience shadowing production was super eye-opening for me. Everyone who works at the station plays a useful role and contributes to making things flow and look great.
Shadowing news:
I spent one Sunday shadowing Kara Dixon, who is a reporter. I rode around with her and photographer Wyatt Young while they covered two local back-to-back shootings. I gained experience on how to speak to locals during interviews and what it’s like to be steps away from a real crime scene.
One thing that opened my eyes was how it’s important to be mentally strong as a reporter. Also, remaining calm and collected while on the scene is just as important.
News is not all about the glam, but about the amount of time that goes into it. You have to write your own packages, stories, and prepare to ask the right questions.
Most of the stories they cover are sad and about local crimes. It’s hard to believe there is so much crime that goes on in Virginia, especially involving youth. Maybe one day, people will use the news as an outlet to reduce crimes as they continue to shine light on how many people are hurt and affected.
I can’t wait to learn more during my last weeks and take what I’ve gained as an intern here and use it once I graduate. I’m excited to use these next weeks to become a better writer and a better intern.