WTMJ Radio internship:
Ethan Elliott
All my life I have only wanted one thing and that is to live the dream. My dream? Cover sports. Growing up, my whole life consisted of sports and if I ever got to the point where I was no longer competing in them, I was going to need another way to stay involved. This summer I got a taste of what that was like while I served as an intern for 620 WTMJ Sports radio.
This internship provided me with an experience of a lifetime. I was able to cover Milwaukee Brewers games, Green Packers practices and preseason, work in the studio, and much more. For the majority of my work I was cutting sound bites so that the radio station had items play over the broadcast. Other work consisted of writing scripts or putting together pieces, screening calls, producing highlights, conducting interviews and anything else that was asked of me.
Covering the professional teams was easily my favorite part of the summer. Each team, the Brewers and the Packers, provided a whole different experience. Brewer games were my longest nights. I was at Miller Park covering the game from about 4pm-midnight. Covering the Packers were some of my longest days; I would leave Milwaukee around 9am and return about 6 pm. The life of a sports reporter doesn’t sleep; but you’re never thinking about that given how exhilarating the experience is.
Along this journey I got to meet a lot of people that are tremendous resources for continuing my pursuit to be a sports journalist. The WTMJ radio department opened up new doors of ideas and great networks. Thank you to WTMJ for allowing me to live the dream! This is only the beginning of it.
This internship provided me with an experience of a lifetime. I was able to cover Milwaukee Brewers games, Green Packers practices and preseason, work in the studio, and much more. For the majority of my work I was cutting sound bites so that the radio station had items play over the broadcast. Other work consisted of writing scripts or putting together pieces, screening calls, producing highlights, conducting interviews and anything else that was asked of me.
Covering the professional teams was easily my favorite part of the summer. Each team, the Brewers and the Packers, provided a whole different experience. Brewer games were my longest nights. I was at Miller Park covering the game from about 4pm-midnight. Covering the Packers were some of my longest days; I would leave Milwaukee around 9am and return about 6 pm. The life of a sports reporter doesn’t sleep; but you’re never thinking about that given how exhilarating the experience is.
Along this journey I got to meet a lot of people that are tremendous resources for continuing my pursuit to be a sports journalist. The WTMJ radio department opened up new doors of ideas and great networks. Thank you to WTMJ for allowing me to live the dream! This is only the beginning of it.
Barber lands dream internship with hunting show:
Erik barber, class of 2014
Growing up, all children have certain dreams or goals that they hope to attain someday. For me, I always dreamed of a career where I could bond my love of hunting and the outdoors with some sort of way to make a living. I decided this after about the 142nd time that my dad told me, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”
Entering my freshman year at Carroll University, I was still unsure of how to make this happen. I chose to major in Communication in hopes of someday working for my favorite hunting magazine. I realized this was a long shot, but it wasn’t until my junior year of college that it seemed so much more attainable.
While searching for internships in the spring of 2013, I came across an opportunity to intern for Midwest Whitetail – an online and television-based hunting show that I watched religiously for the past three years. After frantically putting together a resume and a few phone interviews, I headed to Albia, IA to interview with one of the show producers. I left Iowa later that day with an opportunity that changed my life.
My internship began in August 2013 and would last the entire fall semester. My primary responsibilities would be to write weekly articles for Cabela’s Deer Nation website and film deer hunts for television and web – something that I had only dreamed of in the past. I can’t explain how rewarding it was to get first-hand experience from some of the most knowledgeable people in the outdoor industry. Not to mention, watching Midwest Whitetail over the years inspired me to start filming hunts on my own, and I never thought that my first “real” job would entail professionally filming hunts for them.
During the archery season, my typical day consisted of waking up around 4:00 a.m. to give me time to take a quick shower and eat a granola bar on my way to the office. Once arriving to the office around 4:30, it is imperative to pack all the camera equipment and double check to make sure batteries are fully charged and bases are attached to cameras. You then load all of the camera and hunting equipment into the truck and head to the woods where you then lug all of the equipment into a small tree stand. After making sure camera arms are level and securely attached to the tree, you are finally ready to start filming.
After filming a morning hunt until around 10:30 a.m., you might return to the office to swap out batteries and check your emails. After a quick bite to eat, you’re loading the truck again with camera and hunting gear to head to another stand. When you return to the office after an afternoon hunt, it is time to check emails again and upload content to the website and possibly produce an entire show, only to wake up the next morning to do it all over again. This sometimes means running on little to no sleep, which is why you need to absolutely love what you’re doing.
On mornings when I wasn’t filming a hunt or hunting myself, I still had to be up early and in the office at the crack of dawn. My role as content manager meant that I uploaded the weekly shows, blogs, articles, and photos. The weekly shows need to be uploaded to the website no later than 8:00 a.m., so I would usually arrive to the office around 7:30 to get it done in time. This was an everyday occurrence, even when leaving at 4:00 a.m. to head to the woods. On those days, I would arrive around 3:30 a.m. to upload shows for that day.
Aside from the experience I gained with camera equipment and video editing software, the best part of my internship was the professional networking. After working and living with the full-time employees of Midwest Whitetail throughout the fall, I can say that they are some of my best friends. We were much more than co-workers, as we were usually with each other just as much outside of work than we were together in the office. These relationships will help me when it comes time to find a full-time job after I graduate.
Moving forward, I returned to Carroll to finish my degree and graduate in the fall of 2014. After graduation I hope to return to Midwest Whitetail as a full-time employee, but I’m confident that I can be an asset to any outdoor media company in the industry. I have many people to thank for pushing me to chase my dreams, but none more than my parents. They’ve always been supportive of me and my goals, and it has all paid off more than I ever could have imagined.
Entering my freshman year at Carroll University, I was still unsure of how to make this happen. I chose to major in Communication in hopes of someday working for my favorite hunting magazine. I realized this was a long shot, but it wasn’t until my junior year of college that it seemed so much more attainable.
While searching for internships in the spring of 2013, I came across an opportunity to intern for Midwest Whitetail – an online and television-based hunting show that I watched religiously for the past three years. After frantically putting together a resume and a few phone interviews, I headed to Albia, IA to interview with one of the show producers. I left Iowa later that day with an opportunity that changed my life.
My internship began in August 2013 and would last the entire fall semester. My primary responsibilities would be to write weekly articles for Cabela’s Deer Nation website and film deer hunts for television and web – something that I had only dreamed of in the past. I can’t explain how rewarding it was to get first-hand experience from some of the most knowledgeable people in the outdoor industry. Not to mention, watching Midwest Whitetail over the years inspired me to start filming hunts on my own, and I never thought that my first “real” job would entail professionally filming hunts for them.
During the archery season, my typical day consisted of waking up around 4:00 a.m. to give me time to take a quick shower and eat a granola bar on my way to the office. Once arriving to the office around 4:30, it is imperative to pack all the camera equipment and double check to make sure batteries are fully charged and bases are attached to cameras. You then load all of the camera and hunting equipment into the truck and head to the woods where you then lug all of the equipment into a small tree stand. After making sure camera arms are level and securely attached to the tree, you are finally ready to start filming.
After filming a morning hunt until around 10:30 a.m., you might return to the office to swap out batteries and check your emails. After a quick bite to eat, you’re loading the truck again with camera and hunting gear to head to another stand. When you return to the office after an afternoon hunt, it is time to check emails again and upload content to the website and possibly produce an entire show, only to wake up the next morning to do it all over again. This sometimes means running on little to no sleep, which is why you need to absolutely love what you’re doing.
On mornings when I wasn’t filming a hunt or hunting myself, I still had to be up early and in the office at the crack of dawn. My role as content manager meant that I uploaded the weekly shows, blogs, articles, and photos. The weekly shows need to be uploaded to the website no later than 8:00 a.m., so I would usually arrive to the office around 7:30 to get it done in time. This was an everyday occurrence, even when leaving at 4:00 a.m. to head to the woods. On those days, I would arrive around 3:30 a.m. to upload shows for that day.
Aside from the experience I gained with camera equipment and video editing software, the best part of my internship was the professional networking. After working and living with the full-time employees of Midwest Whitetail throughout the fall, I can say that they are some of my best friends. We were much more than co-workers, as we were usually with each other just as much outside of work than we were together in the office. These relationships will help me when it comes time to find a full-time job after I graduate.
Moving forward, I returned to Carroll to finish my degree and graduate in the fall of 2014. After graduation I hope to return to Midwest Whitetail as a full-time employee, but I’m confident that I can be an asset to any outdoor media company in the industry. I have many people to thank for pushing me to chase my dreams, but none more than my parents. They’ve always been supportive of me and my goals, and it has all paid off more than I ever could have imagined.
internship profile:
Erin Schober
Over the summer of 2013, I interned at Today's TMJ4, one of the news stations in Milwaukee. I enjoyed this opportunity because of the real world experience and connections I gained in my field of interest. At TMJ4, I spent time in all areas of the newsgathering process. I worked in the studio, ran the assignment desk and tip line, wrote for producers, went out with reporters and photographers, and edited/logged video. It’s amazing how much work really goes into an hour-long broadcast; I learned to appreciate how much time and effort the people in this field have to put into their work.
I spent three days a week at the station, but my favorite day of the week was definitely Saturdays. It was my longest day, and I had to be at the studio before 7AM, but I was able to help with more on the weekends. In the morning, I helped with the “Live at Daybreak” show by escorting in guests, showing them around, and hooking them up to a microphone. During the show, I would set up and take down the guest area and take “behind the scenes” photos.
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Afterwards, I would go to the assignment desk and discuss what stories we could cover with whoever was running the desk. On the weekends, the station is run by a skeleton crew – there are very few people there. During the week, each show has it’s own producer, editor and two or three reporters. On the weekends, there is one producer, editor, and reporter for multiple shows. This meant that we had to really prioritize what stories we send our reporter to – we want them to cover important ones, but still be close by for breaking news.After deciding which stories to cover for the day, I usually went out with the reporter doing the lead story for the 5PM and 6PM shows. It was really eye opening to learn how much time and effort goes into what was usually a minute and 15 second long story. We would start by researching the topic, following up on tips, finding potential interviewees, and scheduling a meeting with them. At this point, we would head out to get footage, conduct interviews, and record a “stand-up” (the “on-scene” statement made by a reporter). Afterwards, we had to write two versions of the story – one for 5PM and one for 6PM. The 6PM was “mine” that I would write, edit, record, and send to the web.
I felt like I was well prepared for this internship. My News Writing and Broadcast News courses at Carroll were invaluable when I arrived at the station. I was told several times that I wrote better than expected. Usually, I was the “go-to” intern when a producer or reporter needed something written or edited in a hurry because they trusted me to do it without supervision.
In the “news world” there are 210 levels of news stations. Number one is the “biggest and best” with New York. Milwaukee is number 34. For most reporters, this is their 4th or 5th station. It’s a really competitive network and a really competitive internship program. I am really proud I was able to experience it and I think it will make a huge difference when I apply for jobs. During the summer, Stillwaters moved locations and I was able to help market the change and design an open house post card. I also did research throughout the summer on compassion fatigue for a local seminar, on national foundations for grant proposals and on potential sponsors and participants for the organization’s other main fundraiser, the Hospital Food Fight. In these instances I put my research skills learned in Communication to good use.
The experience and connections I have developed at Stillwaters are extremely valuable. The staff members I worked with were always kind, helpful, and filled with great advice for me as I move into the next chapter of my life after graduation. I also feel that the Communication classes at Carroll well prepared me for my internship experience. I’m grateful for the opportunity I had to work with Stillwaters. |