Nervous – and prepared

To say that I am not nervous about traveling to my internship would be a blatant lie. But after this wonderful weekend's events, I am more comfortable with the idea of not knowing everything when I get to the newsroom, and that is what I am looking forward to the most. Asking questions and learning about the newsroom and ways to make my stories better is an opportunity I am now excited about. Orientation has given me a new perspective on my internship, and I feel like I am more prepared to do the things that will be asked of me.

Lessons for journalism – and life

The session today by Keith Woods, dean of faculty at The Poynter Institute, was informative. The lessons he bestowed can have an immediate impact on my interviewing and writing. I will pay more attention to my paraphrasing and general sentence writing in order to avoid confusion. I also can take these lessons with me into my personal life. Thinking more about how my statements will be received will allow me to be perceived as a better individual.

Evolving with new media

I became more informed today about the evolution of multimedia and its integration into the Web sites of traditional publications. I learned about ways to apply other media to the section I write for. For instance, Val Hoeppner, manager of multimedia education at the Freedom Forum’s Diversity Institute, described how her former newspaper included video in athlete profiles and sports features. I could apply similar ideas to my university’s sports section. I also learned how to use extra photos and leftover audio to create additional Web content. I learned how to make my blogging more professional and to maintain a balance between online content and the print versions of stories. These lessons will be valuable during my internship as I more than likely will be asked to suggest ways to create Web content to accompany my stories.