“Who are you! And why are you here?” | The first day of my internship
This summer I am an intern at The Charlotte Post newspaper. I was awarded a Jim Batten Community Internship stipend to work at a community newspaper of my choice and I figured that there wouldn’t be any better place than The Charlotte Post.
For those unfamiliar with my history with The Charlotte Post, I interned there after my junior year of high school and afterward I volunteered writing articles during the summers. Back then, I wrote stories from home because there was no in-office space. However, this summer, I am working in-office from my own desk, which was set up specifically for me. (And, yes, I feel honored.)
My little work corner at The Charlotte Post.
(Please excuse the walls. The building is old.)
Yesterday was my first day on the job and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I already knew I was responsible for creating video for the website, so I made notes for the editor and I to go over and got ready to answer and ask a few questions.
During this brief meeting, I learned that I would also be responsible for maintaining the Twitter account and Facebook page, working on a long-term assignment and writing articles. Yesterday, my assignment was to create a video on Amendment One. I learned what was expected of me, gathered my equipment and went out to the polls.
While at the polls, I was able to interview a handful of people until, all of a sudden, a man charged at me during one of my interviews and yelled, “Who are you! And why are you here?”
That’s when all eyes shifted in the direction of an overly upset man who came out to be Gale (sp) Pendergraph, probably a family member of Jim Pendergragh, a candidate running for North Carolina’s 9th congressional district. Next, he repeatedly asked me what organization I was with and told me that I was not supposed to be within 150 feet of the building and that I was not supposed to be there because The Charlotte Observer (yes, a totally different newspaper) had not asked to come there. Though this encounter was disturbing and probably uncalled for, I acted like a civilized person and went on about my way.
Back at the office, I was ready to edit my video and call it a day, but little did I know that the computers I would use did not have Final Cut Pro. And let’s just say, I was worried. Instead, it had iMovie, a program I had never used before, but I was able to learn how to use it. So I imported my video. Edited it. And sent it in. After all, it came out fine. But, of course, there is still a lot of progress to make.
You can check out my first video assignment here.
Tomorrow will be day two of working in-office and I’m excited to see what I will do. I hope I can keep up with blogging. So feel free to stop by my blog from time to time to see what other journalistic adventures I’ve gotten into.
Until then, later!
-ejsham
