More than any credit or course
Posted: Friday, September 07, 2007 2:30 PM by Daily Nightly Editor
Filed Under:
Internal affairs
Editor's note: Today and everyday through the rest of the week, we'll be posting guest blogs from the news interns who joined us this past summer. We wish them luck on their first week back at school.
by Jenna Hanchard, NBC Nightly News Intern Summer 2007, Syracuse University
Every time I heard the words, “We’ll look for you right back here tomorrow night,” I wished that one night I could respond by saying, “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Brian.” Luckily this summer, that wish became reality. As I began to settle into the rhythm of the newsroom, my job quickly went from simply greeting the staff and blossomed into valuable hands-on experience.
Each day was as if someone held down the fast forward button on my life. It was exciting to work on different projects almost every day. The challenge of finding what worked best for each story and seeing it get on the air was thrilling. The pace of the day forced me learn how to make the best decisions in the shortest time.
One of the highlights was the daily 2:30 p.m. editorial meeting. I couldn’t wait for the comical yet journalistically sound editorial contributions from Brian. But even more, I yearned to understand how each broadcast was put together. Each editorial decision, from Paris Hilton to the London car bombings, provided me with a new insight into what is newsworthy and important to the American people.
Yet the intern interaction with the news staff wasn’t limited to an observation of how they think. I loved that we had personal and interactive time with many amazing journalists. Brian Williams and Ann Curry both halted their busy days and put down their BlackBerries to talk with us about the extraordinary journeys that ultimately lead them to NBC.
It was great to be going through a similar experience with my peers, from whom I also learned along the way. Sometimes a couple of the interns would go out to dinner after work to discuss the “biz,” the future of it and where we could hopefully fit in. Inevitably, none of those questions had concrete answers.
One of the most interesting parts of this business is the people in it. They have knowledge that cannot be found or taught at institutions of higher learning, and that is what made this experience, on many levels, priceless. What I have learned and taken from the experience will amount to more than any credit or course, and I am truly thankful to Nightly News for that.
Click here to read more intern posts via Internal Affairs.
