Jessica Haney | Oct. 24, 2010
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| Photo by Jessica Haney |
| Senior Arielle McAlpin is one of 25 interns working at WFIU and WTIU this fall. Students earn credit and see and hear their work on the air. |
“It’s really important that we did this, “ said Wittmeyer. “It puts a new energy in the newsroom. Every moment is a teaching moment.”
WFIU/WTIU has about 25 student interns, most of whom are freshman and journalism majors. They earn one credit for completing one shift a week —beginning at 9 a.m. or 1:30 p.m., one day a week, and totaling 120 hours for the semester — but what really determines their schedules are deadlines. As Wittmeyer likes to say, “If you don’t get it done, we go to black.”
Freshman London Swan, a journalism and sociology double major who started her internship with the station in September, can vouch for that.
“I’ve spent a lot of time outside my shift researching stories,” she said. “But it’s definitely worth it if I have a really great finished product.”
The students are trained to apply the concepts they learn in the classroom, like deadline reporting, newsworthiness, interviewing and editing. Before this program began, the station usually had about two or three interns who ran the teleprompter, said Wittmeyer.
“We just hope to keep growing it,” she said.
Senior Megan Erbacher started interning this semester, and she said this experience is making her a more well-rounded journalist. Her background is mostly in print, but the converged newsroom offers opportunities beyond reporting and writing for the page.
“I think it’s good to get experience in other forms of journalism,” she said. “It gets you to know your surrounding areas and people.”
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| Photo by Jessica Haney |
| WTIU/WFIU producer Ben Skirvin showed freshman Brittany Brewer microphone techniques before she headed out to cover a gas leak in downtown Bloomington. |
Students interview over the phone for radio or go out with photographers to capture stories for TV packages. Then they come back to the station to edit. They write two versions of the story, and a lot of times the stories are purposed to air on both radio and television.
Since the start of the semester, students have done stand-ups for TV and voiced their own stories on the radio.
“We really thought there would be a bigger learning curve,” said Wittmeyer.
Swan came to IU knowing that she wanted to be a broadcast journalist, and she is excited to be practicing her skills early.
“Getting this experience as a freshman is just great,” she said. “Right now the industry really requires you to be a one-man-band, and I feel like my work has really paid off. My family can see my published stories.”
Swan has completed three or four packages and she’s working on another for next week, after her interview with John Mellencamp.
“The staff are really welcoming and helpful,” said Swan. “I hope to stay all four years.”
Wittmeyer previously worked as assistant news director for the KBIA station at the University of Missouri, where students won national Edward R. Murrow Awards. The newsroom was built into the curriculum, and she said students ran it.
“Students left Missouri really having worked their first job,” said Wittmeyer. “There’s no reason why we can’t get that here.”
According to Erbacher, it already feels like a real job.
“It’s real life when you hear your name on the radio or TV,” she said. “It’s really silly, but it’s exciting.”
Anyone interested in learning more about the internship opportunities at WTIU/WFIU for next semester may e-mail Sara Wittmeyer (sarawitt@indiana.edu) for more information.
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