And that's a warp!

No, this title isn't a typo, it really kind of describes the way I feel this weekend.

Let's start back where I left off earlier this week. Firstly, producing, as expected, kept me hopping for most of the week, but that's taken care of FINALLY. I can also be completely assured that I'll be finishing Capstone this year, which is a wonderful feeling! (thank you Weaver!)

So Wednesday came (day before the show) and I suddenly realized that I was far better off than I thought I was in terms of putting things together for the show. Thursday, after my morning class, I ended up living in the newsroom, like I knew I would, and put the rundown etc. all together. With Nicky's generous and most talented help, I ended up having everything put together and ready to go by the time we all gathered for the run-through. Despite a few personnel problems, and a few technical ones too, the show went off very well. Weaver gave me some compliments and some advice for the next time I produce which comes later in the semester. and Friday, I took a test in my Poli. Sci. class and about died afterwards, I had gotten myself SOOO keyed up about the last night. Hence why I feel like it's a warp right now. Awful pun, but if you were as tired as I was yesterday, you'd understand.

This week is much nicer; I only have a package to do, so it'll be MUCH less hectic. Here's to the continuing adventures on the County Line.

On a related note, thank GOD for weekends!

Aftermath of the anchor desk...

So only a quick update for now, cuz it's a busy day.

Firstly, my first stint as anchor on the County Line was aMAZing. And in a good way too! The butterflies didn't act up at ALL until the one-minute call, and even then they went away pretty darn fast. Weaver approved as well, so I take that seriously, and take it to heart.

Next on the list of things for me to do: produce this week! That's keeping me busy enough right now, so I'm gonna leave this post extremely short for now while I deal with that. I'll update soon, however, so all you avid readers, don't go far!

More from the news!

OK so it's been a while since my last post, so let's see... how can I bring everyone back up to speed?

Firstly, I have (mostly) passed my comp exam, which means I get to graduate after all! YAY! B.Weave still wants to see some more of my shooting, so that'll come in a bit.

Second, I found out since last I wrote, that I WILL get a chance to anchor for the County Line this semester after all! I'll be working with Shayna both times, which I think will be really awesome, if the glider packages are any indication. Oops, hang on a sec.... (goes and does a radio talk break)

So anyway, where was I...? Right, so our glider packages went really well, despite technical difficulties the day of the show. So it should be fun! Remember, you can catch me on the air this week at 7:30 anchoring on The County Line. At the very least, you'll get a laugh at my expense, although I hope that I do better than that.

Hmmmmm, what else? Ah, next week I'm producing the show, which will be interesting. I've done it once before, without Weaver there for half the week, so I think I can handle it this time around.

Other than that, life rolls on here, stress from classes etc. as usual, so that's nothing new. Just more of it already. I'll be very happy when the end of this month rolls around; my independent study and my Wellness class will be over with, and that'll be glorious.

Keep in touch; I'll fill you all in on my first anchoring experience at the end of the week!

Ends and Beginnings

So last week. End of my internship, and beginning of me last year (probably) at Westminster. Now that my kind of cryptic title is explained, let's look at this closer.

Firstly, the internship. I decided ahead of time not to make such a big deal about finishing it. I mean, I was the intern, no big deal, they'd not be missing me for too long. Well, I was floored when I left. EVERYone in that newsroom was really nice in wishing me well, and complimenting me about what I had done there. Now I don't intend to be self-congratulatory there, I know I could have done better in some places, but I got some nice send-offs from people there, even from those I hadn't done as much with. So (in no real order) Whitney, Dave, Joe, JP, Roxann, Maggie, Marty, Herb, and all the rest, thanks so much for making my internship better than I had ever hoped for.

And now I'm back for my last year at Westminster. I'll be diving back into my broadcasting work with a new energy for life, knowing I have a field to get into, and goals that I DEFINITELY want to work for. Also, my fraternity is diving into the year and we have a new energy there as well, which I definitely will try to be a bigger part of this time around. Capstone begins today, so it all begins again.

More from the crazy college broadcaster's world later!

This is it...

Wow, it's hard to believe but my time at my internship is rapidly coming to an end. Last weekend was my last Saturday there and boy was it a cool one. I went out on stories with a solo photog, Jamie, and had a blast, we got a quick VO at YSU's Summer Commencement ceremonies, which wasn't exactly exciting, but going out solo was fun.

After that we headed out to Wick Park (still in Youngstown) where a local church and its supporters were giving away backpacks to underprivileged kids from the area. This was the best part of the day: Since we only sent a photog (who was actually employed) I ended up doing all the interviewing for the VOSOT we made of it. Channel 33 actually sent a photog AND reporter, Jackie Preston to the event.

Now, let me explain something here: I'm well aware that I can't actually get on the air as an intern due to union rules, and that's fine by me. But it felt absolutely awesome to basically be in the same position as an honest-to-goodness reporter. As we were driving away from the park, I couldn't help but think to myself, "This is it... this is what I need to be doing."

I only have two more days left in my internship, tonight and tomorrow, but this past weekend gave me just the kind of boost that I need to push through the last day.

It's good to finally KNOW what you want your future to look like. now comes the hard part. To steal a line from Star Trek's Patrick Stewart, now it's up to me to "make it so."

Stay tuned!

One crazy week...

It's blog time again!

So this week has been a bit wild, to say the least. Saturday I was out all day on stories at WKBN with Herb Tinsley, and we hit every county that's in the viewing area, except for one. We made up for that however, by going to BUTLER County instead for the memorial service of the woman and her two daughters who were killed in Connecticut. The mother has her roots back here in that area so we went out to localize that story a bit.

Then Monday hit, and it marks the beginning of a week in which I will likely not stop for much time at all. After working my usual shift at Titan Radio during the day, I went to the Lawrence County Fair with Pam to open up our fair coverage for the first day. This is Health and Wellness Week on Titan Radio, which means we'll be having a few bits about health-related topics, and since the people at the Jameson Health System booth are sharing their space with us, we have a lot about their programs as well.

I ended up staying late at WKBN last night as well, since I was working on editing my own version of a package that I went out on earlier that day. I don't know how it turned out necessarily, but I'm sure I'll get some feedback waiting for me by the time I get back there on Saturday, which will ALSO be a crazy day, since I have to book it back to the Lawrence County fair again afterwards for the last day of our fair remote with Titan Radio.

That's about all I have for now, there's a rant going on down the hall, and I have news writing to get back to!

This is what I live for...

So it's been a while since I last posted but today was a post-worthy day. I went out on a story today with John Paul, which turned into two stories on the night, all on the South Side of Y-town. First one was a house fire. I'm beginning to see a pattern here: half the time I've gone out with JP, we've ended up at a house fire.

After that we got word of a shooting a few blocks away, so we hoof it down to that street to take a look and see what's going on. Turns out that we spent what had to be a good half-hour, not counting the time we left and then came back for, to get not too much from the story. It was still interesting seeing how the police conduct the investigations. Eva Mastromatteo from 33 was actually at BOTH of these stories, so I got to talk to her a little bit as well The shooting has turned into a homicide now, though, so we'll have to see where this comes out.

Meanwhile back at the home base, Titan Radio is gearing up for a week out at the Lawrence County Fair, and I'm getting excited for it already. I'll be out at the remote for the first and last days we're there, and it should be fun. We're also sharing a booth with the Jameson Health System as part of what we're calling our Health and Wellness Week. Should be fun!

And now the sad news. My car, faithful (and loud) though it may have been has its days numbered. It failed inspection miserably, and so now I'm scrambling for a new car. I have a lead or two, so hopefully one of them will pan out. Anyway, about time for me to head out... more later!

Breaking News... No, Really

So, Thursday was an interesting day, to say the least. I pick up my house phone to answer a call from my dad, and RIGHT at that point, I get a call from one of my friends saying that the old K-Mart building in Field Club Commons is on fire. So what do I do?

Naturally, I drive like a maniac to get back to the station, pick up an MD kit, and head out to the site. After driving around the building for a good 15-20 minutes, I finally make it in to the parking lot. Now of course all the damage was in the back of the building so I couldn't see anything from there. Fortunately, an employee (the owner?) of another store in the plaza lets me through the back of the store to get pictures and interviews etc.

From there it was easy to go out back and see the damage that had been done, especially since the fire was basically dealt with already. I got to talk to both the Fire and Police Chiefs, as well as the lady from the store, and got actual usable sound from all three of them. It was a great chance for me to get out there too, especially since I got to test out a little thing I learned from my time at WKBN.

Before when I went out on stories, I got a person's name and info (for spelling reasons etc.) and then put it on a piece of paper and saved it until I got back and started editing. One of the things I've picked up from reporters there though is this: As the first question you ask anyone on camera, ask them to say AND spell their name. This way, you have it direct from the source, and you know then you will have it correct on the air. Unless of course someone misspells their own name, but then that's their problem I'd think.

Anyway, it may seem like common sense to do that, and maybe I'm just a little slow there, but I can already see that that'll help me a lot when I get back to video production for WCN. And either way, it's good practice for me. I also left behind a stand-up to be used in the morning, since I of course was going on vacation the next day, although I really kind of knew it wouldn't be used, since it would have been way old by then, but that was good practice as well.

So I'm back now and I'll be kicking this week off with work back at Titan Radio and WKBN. Let's see where this week goes!

It begins...

Well, it's that time, my (second) senior year has now begun, and with it, my capstone here at Westminster. It's already a little intimidating, but I'm kind of looking forward to it, too.

Anyway, so far it's been an interesting summer in my broadcasting world. I landed myself an internship at WKBN in Youngstown, and it really couldn't be going better. Everyone from the producers to the reporters to the camera crew have been great when it comes to letting me attempt a few things around the station, and giving me great advice when it's needed. Which, believe me, is quite often. Hopefully, I'll be able to put some of what I've seen here to good use when I get back in the fall and start with WCN again.

Anyway, I'll leave it here for now. National news writing is calling to me, and I must answer. Back to the grind!