Shockingly, this is my last day at CBS Interactive. I find it funny that yesterday I received an email from Delaware about my "senior checkout" — graduation. It got me thinking about the past 10 weeks of the summer, and about where I will be headed in the next year, which continues to be a pretty cloudy picture for me.
This week at CBS continued to be much of the same, producing stories for the website. I liked getting the opportunity to do this because it gave me the chance to work with strictly online materials, something I don't normally get to do at school. But at the same time, I feel like it's something I could probably do with my eyes closed. It gets a little dry at times because I essentially sit and fill in the blanks all day.
On a positive note, it is a little sad to say goodbye to CBS. I felt like the employees I worked with really liked me, and treated me as an equal employee instead of an intern. My supervisor has said repeatedly that I am the best intern he has ever had, and that he would happily hire me. It's nice to know that I've done well here, and that there could be a future for me with CBS. It seems I have a good shot at getting a job here.
Today, my boss is taking me out to lunch, along with three other people I have worked closely with over the course of the summer. I am interested to see what they have to say about my work and my potential future with CBS. I know they have all really appreciated the work I have put in during my time here the last two weeks.
Recently I've been thinking a lot about what I could do with an English degree, either inside or outside the journalism field. I think working has shown me that I'm still young enough to spend a couple years doing anything I want. Having a particular degree doesn't mean I necessarily have to be in a certain area. Also, there's no reason why I shouldn't stretch the boundaries of my degree as far as possible. I think journalism and writing give a great basis for just about anything in the corporate world.
As I wind down my time here at CBS Interactive, I'm taking the most important lesson I've learned this summer with me — which is to always keep an open mind.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Ninth Week (July 28- August 1)
I have to say this week was definitely pretty rough. It started off with a couple days of missed work after I came down with strep throat. On Monday, instead of coming in to sit in front of my computer, I instead had to take a trip to the emergency room for a few very long hours. I don't have a doctor in New York, and being far from home, this was the easiest way. On Tuesday morning I made an effort to go into work because I felt a little guilty staying home for two days when the end of the internship is so near. As soon as I got in, my boss told me not to worry about what was going on here. He said CBS doesn't pay me enough so I should go home. Not long after that, I started to come around. It was very reassuring to know how understanding they were that I was sick. Everyone was so nice about it, and really only wanted me to get better.
In addition to all this, my housing ended at Columbia University so I had to move out on Thursday night after work. Luckily, my brother lives in the city so I'm not stuck on a street corner or anything like that. But overall, these things definitely made work life a little more stressful.
Since I was sick and missed some days, it was a pretty slow week. I didn't do too much. I think people were more worried about me feeling better than having me do assignments. I feel like it did help me learn that first and foremost, I need to look out for myself and not worry so much about what others might be thinking about my performance. I had this idea, as do a lot of people, about how cut-throat the corporate world is. But really, when I got the chance to put it to the test, I was surprised to see I'm harder on myself than others are on me. It also made me want to work on a company that's as lax as CBS Interactive. They really have been very laid back throughout this entire experience, which generally suits my character. In an environment like this, you feel like people really do care about your wellbeing.
In addition to all this, my housing ended at Columbia University so I had to move out on Thursday night after work. Luckily, my brother lives in the city so I'm not stuck on a street corner or anything like that. But overall, these things definitely made work life a little more stressful.
Since I was sick and missed some days, it was a pretty slow week. I didn't do too much. I think people were more worried about me feeling better than having me do assignments. I feel like it did help me learn that first and foremost, I need to look out for myself and not worry so much about what others might be thinking about my performance. I had this idea, as do a lot of people, about how cut-throat the corporate world is. But really, when I got the chance to put it to the test, I was surprised to see I'm harder on myself than others are on me. It also made me want to work on a company that's as lax as CBS Interactive. They really have been very laid back throughout this entire experience, which generally suits my character. In an environment like this, you feel like people really do care about your wellbeing.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Eighth Week (July 21- July 25)
I think one of the problems I've found with having an internship is how much I dislike being at the bottom of the chain. Lately the news has been super slow, and I haven't been too busy because of it. It does make sense that out of everyone here I would be the one not receiving as much work because the others are actually being paid (!) but I do wish I had been able to help out a little more. I just don't like feeling that I'm being idle. But I guess I can just blame it on the fact that there's not much happening in the world that is too crazy these days other than the economy and elections.
Realizing this, I'm starting to rethink what I may want to do when I graduate. It's not too far off now, and as my internship ends, I'm starting to wonder exactly where I want to narrow my sites. This has been a lot harder to do than I had expected. While I do think journalism is a great field, it is so broad. It's hard to know with such little experience what exactly I want to do for the rest of my life. I know everyone struggles with this, but at the same time I just wish I was more certain about my future.
Spending time at CBS has been great, and I know it will help me add to my resume. But I don't know if I could sit and wait for assignments from other people all day every day. I consider myself to be a very passionate person, but when I'm not into something that doing then it's almost harder to get the job done. I think, if anything, my time here will motivate me to really look into what it is that I think is important to me. Part of being happy in a career is knowing exactly what it is that interests you, and makes you want to give 110% percent. It may not be what I'm doing right now, but at least I've learned that.
Realizing this, I'm starting to rethink what I may want to do when I graduate. It's not too far off now, and as my internship ends, I'm starting to wonder exactly where I want to narrow my sites. This has been a lot harder to do than I had expected. While I do think journalism is a great field, it is so broad. It's hard to know with such little experience what exactly I want to do for the rest of my life. I know everyone struggles with this, but at the same time I just wish I was more certain about my future.
Spending time at CBS has been great, and I know it will help me add to my resume. But I don't know if I could sit and wait for assignments from other people all day every day. I consider myself to be a very passionate person, but when I'm not into something that doing then it's almost harder to get the job done. I think, if anything, my time here will motivate me to really look into what it is that I think is important to me. Part of being happy in a career is knowing exactly what it is that interests you, and makes you want to give 110% percent. It may not be what I'm doing right now, but at least I've learned that.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Seventh Week (July 14- July 18)
It's been another week at CBS. I finally finished my second research project for my boss, and I actually had a bit of an epiphany myself. I started to see the direction in which news is moving. Working in a newsroom, you constantly hear about how newspapers are starting to die out, and how conventional news as we know is becoming a thing of the past. It makes complete sense with the advent of the Internet. But beyond the Internet, what is there? And is working for any company in journalism a complete waste if it's not online?
I was looking around at ABC's website for their evening news broadcast, also part of the "dying" trend. I noticed a little feature on it that I thought was pretty cool. They have a podcast download available so viewers can take their news with them at any time. I know this might seem a little crazy to relate it to my questions, but at the same time, I thought it was a valid example of the direction toward which the news is moving. I guess I've realized that the news will never die, even though some of the ways we receive it might. I came to the conclusion that as a journalist, one of the best things you can do is be open to new technology and be ready to embrace it with whatever creativity you have. I do think that's an important thing to keep in mind, as more and more new products hit the market.
I also might have too much time on my hands to think so in depth about these things…
My boss approached me at the end of the week about starting to look for a story to write about. He said he would help me look for something, and I'm very excited to start doing that. I can't wait to get some writing under my belt this summer, although I'm hoping I'm not too rusty since it's been a while since I have written a news story.
On a positive note, I do feel like I am doing a good job here at CBS and that I generally get the idea of how things work in a newsroom of this style. It wasn't a tough adaptation, and I feel like it's given me some confidence about how I will fare when I graduate and really join the workforce. And for trying new things, gaining confidence is half the battle.
I was looking around at ABC's website for their evening news broadcast, also part of the "dying" trend. I noticed a little feature on it that I thought was pretty cool. They have a podcast download available so viewers can take their news with them at any time. I know this might seem a little crazy to relate it to my questions, but at the same time, I thought it was a valid example of the direction toward which the news is moving. I guess I've realized that the news will never die, even though some of the ways we receive it might. I came to the conclusion that as a journalist, one of the best things you can do is be open to new technology and be ready to embrace it with whatever creativity you have. I do think that's an important thing to keep in mind, as more and more new products hit the market.
I also might have too much time on my hands to think so in depth about these things…
My boss approached me at the end of the week about starting to look for a story to write about. He said he would help me look for something, and I'm very excited to start doing that. I can't wait to get some writing under my belt this summer, although I'm hoping I'm not too rusty since it's been a while since I have written a news story.
On a positive note, I do feel like I am doing a good job here at CBS and that I generally get the idea of how things work in a newsroom of this style. It wasn't a tough adaptation, and I feel like it's given me some confidence about how I will fare when I graduate and really join the workforce. And for trying new things, gaining confidence is half the battle.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Sixth Week (July 7- July 11)
Is it really already the sixth week of my internship? I'm having a hard time thinking that it's starting to come to an end very soon.
Again, I continued to work on putting stories on the AP wire, and I also continued to work on my research project.
A little sample of what I've done is to read and analyze particular stories on the site. For example, CBS published a story about how the HPV vaccine, Gardasil, may be causing health problems for young girls. It discussed the dangers of complications due to the vaccine, the safest ways to go about vaccination, and the concern about the age of the vaccine. It hasn't been readily available to the public for long, so many are worried it will cause problems for girls and no one will know for many years. I was able to look into the interactive parts of the website, including photos of the drug, and a quiz on how well I understood different medications. Then, I took notes on what I thought was done well with the story, and what I thought could be improved. Some of my notes included how the interactives should have focused more on HPV since it was the center of the story and that extra information was difficult to find. These are just some of the observations I will flesh out in the report for my boss.
One disappointment I have had is that I am not doing many of my own clips. Seeing as that I'm going to be graduating in less than a year, I would like to know if writing is something I want to make a career out of. Unfortunately, writing doesn't seem to be a central focus on CBSnews.com. While some employees occasionally do write their own clips, more often it is stories taken from the AP and infused with information from local affiliates. However, my boss did say he would work with me to start writing soon, and I am very much looking forward to jumping in to some reporting soon!
Again, I continued to work on putting stories on the AP wire, and I also continued to work on my research project.
A little sample of what I've done is to read and analyze particular stories on the site. For example, CBS published a story about how the HPV vaccine, Gardasil, may be causing health problems for young girls. It discussed the dangers of complications due to the vaccine, the safest ways to go about vaccination, and the concern about the age of the vaccine. It hasn't been readily available to the public for long, so many are worried it will cause problems for girls and no one will know for many years. I was able to look into the interactive parts of the website, including photos of the drug, and a quiz on how well I understood different medications. Then, I took notes on what I thought was done well with the story, and what I thought could be improved. Some of my notes included how the interactives should have focused more on HPV since it was the center of the story and that extra information was difficult to find. These are just some of the observations I will flesh out in the report for my boss.
One disappointment I have had is that I am not doing many of my own clips. Seeing as that I'm going to be graduating in less than a year, I would like to know if writing is something I want to make a career out of. Unfortunately, writing doesn't seem to be a central focus on CBSnews.com. While some employees occasionally do write their own clips, more often it is stories taken from the AP and infused with information from local affiliates. However, my boss did say he would work with me to start writing soon, and I am very much looking forward to jumping in to some reporting soon!
Fifth Week (June 30- July 4)
I have to say that after going straight from classes and finals to working, it was nice to look forward to a 3-day weekend. But it has made it a little tough to keep up with blogging since I have been traveling much these past few weekends.
This week, I continued to take stories off the AP wire and publish them online. While it is interesting to know what is going on at all times, I do wish sometimes that I had a little more room to experience other parts of the job. However, the employees that work on an entry level here are doing the same work that I am. I've come to the conclusion that there isn't much leeway here for experiencing different parts of the job. Everyone has a pretty specific role and they have to stick to it.
My boss requested that I begin the second part of my research project. I am doing much of the same thing, but it does give me the opportunity to look around the website a bit and really see what kinds of stories are valued at CBS. There is a pretty wide variety of story types. I've started to look forward to reading two distinct types: the ones in the "Strange" section, and those published on "48 Hours Mystery."
I also like being given the chance to report my findings to my boss. I've always considered research and analysis two of my strong points, so it really lets me exercise those.
This week, I continued to take stories off the AP wire and publish them online. While it is interesting to know what is going on at all times, I do wish sometimes that I had a little more room to experience other parts of the job. However, the employees that work on an entry level here are doing the same work that I am. I've come to the conclusion that there isn't much leeway here for experiencing different parts of the job. Everyone has a pretty specific role and they have to stick to it.
My boss requested that I begin the second part of my research project. I am doing much of the same thing, but it does give me the opportunity to look around the website a bit and really see what kinds of stories are valued at CBS. There is a pretty wide variety of story types. I've started to look forward to reading two distinct types: the ones in the "Strange" section, and those published on "48 Hours Mystery."
I also like being given the chance to report my findings to my boss. I've always considered research and analysis two of my strong points, so it really lets me exercise those.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Fourth Week (June 23- June 27)
I really can't believe it's already the fourth week of my internship and I'm about halfway through! This week was pretty interesting, and I was asked to do some different work.
Earlier in the week I had probably one of the coolest experiences I've had since I started working for CBS. I was asked to help another woman go through the scripts for the nightly news. Essentially, the scripts are posted in the production tool, and I had to go in and edit them so it looks like a real story that can be posted online. In the afternoon, we walked over to where the news is filmed. About 10 seconds before we got into the newsroom, she warned me that, "Katie was in there." I didn't really wrap my mind around the idea that Katie Couric was actually in the newsroom working on scripts herself. Christine, the woman I was helping, introduced me to Katie, and while we didn't have a serious conversation or become lifelong friends, it was still pretty neat to meet the foremost female journalist of our time. For the rest of the week I help Christine with the scripts, although I haven't seen Katie since.
I also completed the first part of my top-secret research project for my boss. We haven't discussed it much yet since he has been busy, but he asked me to work on another project, so I can't think it was too bad.
I'm starting to adjust to a pretty solid stream of celebrities wandering into my office. An 80's super model (who I didn't recognize) did an interview this week for the entertainment section. It was a bit of a distraction, but hey, who doesn't like a nice distraction at work?
Yesterday, I was given two of the top stories in the afternoon, which made me feel like my work must have been sufficient enough in the past to be trusted with these responsibilities. I worked on a story about the Missouri floods, and one about the California wildfires. The wildfires one was particularly cool to work on because I had to "CBS-ify" it. Basically it means I take information from another source (local channel, newspaper, radio) and plug it into the story so it's not solely the AP's information. This way, I got to read over some other stories and basically write up the parts I thought were important and add them into the story. I was glad to do a little bit of writing.
Earlier in the week I had probably one of the coolest experiences I've had since I started working for CBS. I was asked to help another woman go through the scripts for the nightly news. Essentially, the scripts are posted in the production tool, and I had to go in and edit them so it looks like a real story that can be posted online. In the afternoon, we walked over to where the news is filmed. About 10 seconds before we got into the newsroom, she warned me that, "Katie was in there." I didn't really wrap my mind around the idea that Katie Couric was actually in the newsroom working on scripts herself. Christine, the woman I was helping, introduced me to Katie, and while we didn't have a serious conversation or become lifelong friends, it was still pretty neat to meet the foremost female journalist of our time. For the rest of the week I help Christine with the scripts, although I haven't seen Katie since.
I also completed the first part of my top-secret research project for my boss. We haven't discussed it much yet since he has been busy, but he asked me to work on another project, so I can't think it was too bad.
I'm starting to adjust to a pretty solid stream of celebrities wandering into my office. An 80's super model (who I didn't recognize) did an interview this week for the entertainment section. It was a bit of a distraction, but hey, who doesn't like a nice distraction at work?
Yesterday, I was given two of the top stories in the afternoon, which made me feel like my work must have been sufficient enough in the past to be trusted with these responsibilities. I worked on a story about the Missouri floods, and one about the California wildfires. The wildfires one was particularly cool to work on because I had to "CBS-ify" it. Basically it means I take information from another source (local channel, newspaper, radio) and plug it into the story so it's not solely the AP's information. This way, I got to read over some other stories and basically write up the parts I thought were important and add them into the story. I was glad to do a little bit of writing.
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