As School of Journalism students' internships get under way, several have agreed to send along reports of their activities and tasks while on the job for a blog-style, ongoing feature.

Carrie Ritchie is working at the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times as part of the Poynter Scholarship and has sent along the first report. A senior in the fall, she has several semesters' experience as a reporter and editor at the IDS.

Whitney Babbitt is working at WTHR in Indianapolis and a few others may join these three as the summer moves along to reflect on what they are learning in the professional workplace.

These are earlier reports. To view the latest entries, check out this link.


Carrie Ritchie, June 27
Though a lot of my job so far has involved reporting crime and bad news, my favorite stories have been the ones that help people. I love getting out in the community and learning about the positive things. Not only are the stories fun to write, they inspire the readers, and I like having that connection with the audience.

I've been surprised at how much of this reporting the Times has allowed me to do. The editors have a strong commitment to showcasing the good along with the bad and this makes my job a lot more fulfilling.

For example, a couple weeks ago I was interviewing people for a story on wish granters for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Pasco County is desperate for more wish granters, and after my story ran, several people e-mailed me because they wanted to help.

That story also led me to a 12-year-old boy named Ben. He is a Wish kid with a lot of talent and determination. He's part of a power wheel chair soccer team that just placed third at nationals. Now, I get to spend an evening with him and his team, learning about their kind of soccer, so I can write another story.

Last Saturday, I covered a baby shower for a local woman who's about to give birth to sextuplets. I was overwhelmed by the support she got from her family and friends. The couple already has one child and they're going to need help caring for the additional children. I've received several calls and e-mails from people who want to donate supplies or share advice.

I like being a part of the community in this way and I like it when people say a story made a difference.

And I've learned this will be a crucial element when I start my job search. I want to find a paper that understands the media isn't just for hunting criminals and winning Pulitzers; it's a forum for helping the community.




Whitney Babbitt, June 25
My week starts on Tuesday and goes through Friday to complement the schedules of interns who work Monday through Thursday, an increasingly popular choice with college students. When I come in, I never know what I'm going to go out on until the reporters are assigned at the 9 a.m. meeting.

Last Tuesday, I entered the building, signed in and grabbed a paper to scan before the staff collected to talk about that day's stories. I had just started reading a story about humans emulating robots when, knowing that I was the only IU intern, a colleague told me to grab as much Hoeppner file footage as I could and jump in a live truck headed for Bloomington.

As I was gathering videos, I was confused as to what the story was about. I knew that the previous week, IU had announced that football coach Terry Hoeppner, who had been fighting a brain tumor for 18 months, would miss the 2007 season. I was hoping we were going to catch some kind of official update announcement.

There was a buzz in the newsroom that centered around the words "not confirmed" and people all around the newsroom were on the phones. It wasn't until the studio lights bleached the room, and an anchor positioned himself in front the flash cam, that my suspicions were verified: "We interrupt The Today Show to bring you breaking news. This morning just before 7 a.m., Indiana University football coach Terry Hoeppner died at Bloomington Hospital."

Though I knew that going live at 6 a.m. would make for almost an eleven-hour day for this unpaid "employee," it felt right for me to be in Bloomington among my peers. The day was one of those that just felt appropriate. It was pouring rain, and IU officials were gathering to break ground on a project that Coach Hep championed throughout his sickness. It was an epilogue kind of day.

I learned a lot about making news. The reporter I was with cranked out three different packages for three shows, going live every time. A satellite truck operates as a mini newsroom. It was enlightening, but only secondary to seeing Hoeppner's wife and kids at the groundbreaking, their emotions raw.

The loss of a figure like Coach Hoeppner reinforces a sense of community, and though I had never met Hep or his wife, I had the overwhelming urge to console his family. It is apparent to me, through their insistence on continuing with the ground breaking and offering a celebration of life service in Assembly Hall, that the Hoeppner family realizes that their loss is one for all of us.


Carrie Ritchie, June 20
One of the best things about my internship is that I get to learn so much from every person I meet, and it's always something different. Jon, one of my editors, is teaching me to be less formal and let my own voice come through in my writing. Molly, my mentor, has helped teach me the ins and outs of court reporting. And all of our fabulous cops reporters have helped me learn to write about crime and get the necessary information for breaking stories.

But last week, I had a special opportunity to learn something different. All of the interns were required to attend a special two-hour training session in our Tampa office with Jeff Testerman, the paper's top investigative reporter. Jeff is known for his expertise in record searching (Florida's notorious for its very accommodating record laws) and excellence in getting sources to turn tips into stories.

Jeff showed us how to use certain records sites — even one that can track planes! He also gave us some valuable pointers on how to choose sources that'll give you the most information on a potential story. My favorite: Search corporation and civil records to find ex-business partners and ex-spouses who might have good information and feel like venting about the person of interest.

But the best part of the visit by far was his stories about his own research and articles. It was like kindergarten story time, minus the juice and cookies. Because of Jeff's articles, dozens of people have been investigated and indicted. He spends months — and sometimes years — following stories and paper trails.

One of his most interesting chases was about a white-collar con artist named Matthew B. Cox. Cox was involved in crooked real estate deals all across the southern part of the country. The FBI chased Cox for years, but Testerman was the first to find him. Cox is now doing time in federal prison in Atlanta, and more people continue to face indictment for their part in his complex schemes.

But Cox is famous for something else: a book he wrote before his crimes that served as a blueprint for them. When he was writing, he billed it as a fiction novel so experts would tell him if the plans sounded realistic. He then used their advice for his own profit. The novel, which he dubbed The Associates, has grabbed national interest and book companies have approached Jeff, who has one of the only copies of the manuscript, to publish it. Now, Jeff is helping with a made-for-TV movie about the case.

All of Jeff's stories left my roommate and me wide-eyed. He's the perfect example of why we need journalists.

Whitney Babbitt, June 18
I'm not sure how many people realize this, but television as we know it is on the brink of making changes that will alter the industry forever. The Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 requires that all network and cable channels convert from analog signals to digital by 2009.

Everything is going to high definition. It sounds relatively simple but it involves a lot of restructuring that will take time to prepare. The spectrum that radio and TV waves broadcast in is limited, meaning that there can only be so many stations that can air. That's not going to change anytime soon.

My dad enjoys our high definition signals because he says he can count the blades of grass on the golf course when he watches the Masters. I like HD because its wave is smaller than that of regular fuzzy television signals, leaving room for. . . more television! This won't just leave space for more TV channels but also wireless Internet, text messaging, and xBox live conferences, all the things our new gadgets do that need a portion of the spectrum to do it.

Maybe all this is boring to some. But what would definitely impress you are the $30,000 cameras that shoot in HD. Most television stations across the country film on Beta tapes, which look much like VHS. These new cameras eliminate the use of film in the business. They use what resemble little hard drives that slip into the camera and then into a reader for editing. Some of the photographers already have their P2, or HD, cameras and look like kids at Christmas. Others are still literally beating their 15-year-old boxes to keep the tape inside rolling.

While theses cameras have the capability to shoot packages that will allow my dad to count the blades of dying grass in the drought stories, the station does not. The in-studio portions of our broadcast are in HD, but those aren't really taped because they're live. The field work, however, is stored and edited in servers.

More definition means more digital information, which needs more servers, which cost more money and take up more room. So I guess the digital revolution really comes down to space in the air, which surprisingly isn't endless. When you're mad about Insight updating the cable menu to give you 800 empty channels to scroll through, take solace in knowing they won't be that way for long.


Carrie Ritchie, June 13
I knew I was going to love this internship from the second I got it. I loved the idea of working for a Top 10 newspaper. I loved the idea of working with an editor whose writers had won Pulitzers. I loved the idea of being in Florida.

But I had no idea what kind of stories I would get to cover, since I knew I’d be “the intern.” After the first three weeks, I can say the content and number of my stories has surprised me in a very good way. I’ve already written basically every type of story. Cops, features, breaking news, government – you name it, I’ve done it.

At the beginning of last week, for example, I found myself standing ankle deep in a sand road (yes, a sand road) in a poor part of the county trying to cover a murder. The story turned out great, though I wish I could say the same for my new shoes.

Later in the week my first in-depth feature ran, along with a video I narrated and helped produce. It garnered 3,000 hits in its first three days, a number my editor said was impressive, especially for the weekend, when people spend more time surfing on the ocean than on the Web.

Now I’m preparing to take over for the education beat reporter, who’s going on vacation during the time when statistics on Florida schools are scheduled to arrive. About nine schools in my county will face dramatic restructuring under No Child Left Behind if they don’t make their average yearly progress figures, and I’ll get to cover it all, along with a few other stories about the district. I’m also working on my next big feature, which will be about Make-A-Wish Foundation’s "wish granters." And of course I’ll stick to the cops beat, too.

Though all this makes for an odd combination, it also makes for great clips and an interesting few months. I can’t wait to go to work each day and see what lies down the road ahead, even if it is a little sandy.


Whitney Babbitt, June 10, 2007
Channel 13 has just two hard and fast rules for its interns. The first is that students receive credit for their time and the second requires interns to put together three packages for their resume tape.

On my second week at the station, I was on my reporter rotation and that gave me the perfect opportunity to get some standups and footage I could turn into stories. Also, I could get out of the news room.

Now. don't get me wrong. I learn a lot sitting in the pit listening to headlines whiz by, learning what makes the broadcast and what lands on the newsroom floor. If you think you're constantly connected with the Internet, you're wrong. The Web is a middle man to getting information. It's faster than print, but slower than first hand sources. A police dispatcher comes through the radio all day everyday and is almost a member of the staff. When the cops are sent to a scene, the news vans are, too. When a bill is passed at the statehouse, a call makes it to the desk. A wire program updates every minute sending in stories from the tiniest nooks of Indiana and the four corners of the world. It's thrilling and exhausting to be so in touch.

So this is why it felt good to go out, be a journalist and ask questions. I went to press conferences, hospitals and Conseco Fieldhouse, to name a few. I also got to tag along on some live shots, which was nice to see the logistics of how that's pulled off.

Sometimes we were in a rush and I just stood back and got a feel for the process. Other times I was alone with a photographer and got to shape the interviews and plan my own standups. Either way I always came back with at least a new insight of how to attack different situations when reporters are thrown into a story.


Carrie Ritchie, June 6, 2007
When I was first asked to blog about this internship, I agreed to share my experiences working at the St. Petersburg Times. But none of these would’ve been possible without the help of Dave Adams. So I would like to thank him for all he’s done for me and the rest of student media.

Dave was one of the people I met on my first visit to the journalism school. His enthusiasm is part of what made me want to come to IU and work for the IDS. When I started editing, I saw why his nickname, a play on his e-mail address "dadams," fit so well. He was, in every way, the newsroom dad. He made the rounds everyday, checking on everyone in the room. He advised us when we had problems, and we certainly had an interesting variety just in my three years. He encouraged us and stood behind us in our every move. And whenever someone needed a letter of recommendation, he was ready to pen a great one. He even hosted a barbecue at his home last summer, and a group of us stayed well into the night, talking, laughing and feeding chicken pieces to his two pugs. That night is one of my favorite IDS memories.

He encouraged me to apply for internships, and he was beaming when I accepted the Poynter. At this year’s awards ceremony, he came bounding across the reception area to give me a hug and chat about the internship. I expected to see him bounding across the newsroom with the same enthusiasm when I came back, ready to have the same type of animated conversation about the summer. Instead I woke up to a sobering call Sunday morning that forced me to realize I'd lost a friend and mentor.

I don’t want to think about going back into the newsroom this fall and seeing Dave’s office without him in it. But I do hope I can make him proud this summer and that the IDS can continue its excellence in his honor. He can never be replaced, but it’s up to us to keep all he stood for alive.

Whitney Babbitt, WTHR-TV, June 5, 2007
I’m now starting my fourth week interning at Channel 13 Eyewitness News, the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis, and will soon end my month of assigned rotations. The program here is well established and set up so that the 14 interns get as much experience as they can without stepping on each others’ feet.

Each of us spend one week shadowing each of the following: reporters, producers, photographers and those working the assignment desk. Because this market is so big (No. 25) and Eyewitness News is the leader in ratings, everyone has very specialized jobs to keep things running efficiently. Being required to check it all out provides great variety in my experience and allows us to see how the whole team works together to make a great product.

I began with the producers and learned how shows are stacked, or rather what order the stories are put in, and how they visually compose the show. I produced last year at IUSTV and what was most interesting to me was to learn how the shows are timed. It’s difficult to estimate exactly how long components of a show will take and adjustments must be made while airing to keep the broadcasts on schedule. Stories are killed, anchors are asked to chat, or intro graphics are dropped in order to accommodate.

One day during my producer rotation there was a school shooting two minutes before the 5 o’clock was to air. It had to be added to break the story and the control room was an exciting place to be as the plan was totally changed on the fly. Producers literally run the show and at times have to make split second decisions.

I wrote some script, looked at the wires for story ideas, and generally just watched the producers and asked lots of questions. On my second day, while my producer was at lunch, I was asked (told) to conduct an interview with the president of the Indiana Black Expo because there was a shortage of reporters that day. It was exciting and scary, as I’m a journalist who likes to be prepared and wasn’t. I was given a newspaper story for background and scribbled some notes in the car. That day certainly set the tone for my internship in an ever-changing, “fly by the seat of your pants” industry.


Carrie Ritchie, May 30, 2007
Now orientation is over and the real work has begun. I’ve already written several stories on a variety of subjects from cops and courts to a profile of a U.S.S. Indianapolis survivor.

And Tuesday, my story about a young man who died tragically in a motorcycle accident over the weekend was in the top five most e-mailed and most commented on stories in all editions of the paper. It was a sad story, but I’m glad so many people read it. I’ve learned so much from all the editors and reporters (and interns!) already and can’t wait to see where the rest of the summer takes me.

I’ve been surprised that even if you work for a big paper, sources don’t necessarily want to talk to you. I thought that was mostly a college journalism problem, but it turns out I was wrong. Still, it has been so exciting to see my byline on a top ten newspaper.

Pasco County, the area I cover, has allowed me to soak up all sorts of Florida culture because it encompasses so much land. The west side, which traces the Gulf Coast and sandwiches U.S. 19, is more St. Pete sprawl. Central Pasco is rapidly developing as Tampa spills over the county border. But East Pasco is still rural and undeveloped, with several ranches and orchards skirting the only two-lane highways I’ve seen since coming here.

As one can imagine, each region has its problems. West and Central Pasco are expanding so quickly that planners cannot keep up, and in places, the sprawl is quite unorganized.

Eastern Pasco, however, has a mix of “old money” and extreme poverty. Several illegal immigrants have flocked to the eastern part of the county to help out at the orchards and ranches and they live in shacks on the outskirts of town. Many residents have been left without jobs because a mill and citrus juice plant both closed in the latter half of the century and nothing has revived the economy. In Dade City, where I’ve been replacing a reporter who transferred to Miami, residents are awaiting the town’s first hotel, a Hampton Inn scheduled to open later this year.

Obviously, this diversity makes for some interesting news and feature stories, which is great for an intern.


Carrie Ritchie, May 23, 2007
Greetings from Florida. My name is Carrie Ritchie and I'm spending the summer interning for the St. Petersburg Times. I got this unique opportunity because I was selected as the 2007-2008 Poynter intern and scholar, an honor the School of Journalism bestows upon one junior each year in memory of Nelson Poynter.

For the next three months, I'll be reporting in Pasco County, which is just north of Pinellas County, the home of St. Pete, Clearwater and me—for the summer, at least.

Last week, I arrived at my condo in Palm Harbor—the formal name for a stretch that's been sucked into St. Pete's urban sprawl—and explored Pasco County, which seems to be one of the state's largest counties. Consequently, it's also one of the most diverse, which will make for some good stories. I met my supervisor, Bill Stevens, and many of the Pasco staffers. Everyone seems knowledgeable and willing to help, and their kindness has been reassuring.

I've spent the last few days in the downtown office going through orientation, learning about the Times and meeting some of the company's executives. On our first day, Times CEO, editor and fellow Hoosier Paul Tash welcomed us along with Times publisher Marty Petty and Times executive editor Neil Brown. I was impressed they took such an interest in the interns.

Tuesday we visited the Poynter Institute and learned more about Nelson Poynter. The Institute has an incredible array of resources for journalists and I was genuinely inspired by Poynter's dedication to the integrity and preservation of our craft.

The Times also taught us about the business side of the paper. The biggest surprise to me so far: They have "brand managers" for all of their publications, their Web site and events. Though I took marketing classes, I never thought newspapers would have their own brand managers.

The business discussion brought up interesting dialogue among the interns, as well. Several students said their papers are struggling with a lack of independence, money, or both. This made me even more thankful for the Indiana Daily Student and it gave me the opportunity to share our paper's strategy with the others.

Though I'll miss the interaction with the interns, I can't wait to start reporting Thursday. I already have story ideas and I'm ready to do what I love.


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