Internship Report, Week 7

Intern Name: Mark Hamilton
Internship Site: KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM
Emphasis: Broadcast Journalism
Semester and Section: Fall 2008, Section 001
Week Number: 7
Number of Hours This Week: 18

Week 7 Report:
BYU played TCU this week, and got trampled. By “horned frogs”. The headlines in the papers looked ridiculous, especially if you looked at it some a standpoint of just comparing the mascot animals involved. Could a horned frog really beat up a cougar that badly? That’s just what happened.

When the microphones were still hot, just before breaking for commercials, you could hear the restrained frustration in the voices of the announcers. And when we were in the commercial break, you could not misunderstand Greg Wrubell’s feelings about the performance of BYU’s team. He really just captured what we all were feeling, when right from the get-go, the cougars seemed to choke.

The air of excitement that had existed in the newsroom in previous weeks was squelched, as the cougars gave their worst performance in recent memory. Not to overlook TCU, since they deserve a lot of credit. They came out swinging, and looked like a top-ranked team that they now are. The game changed the mood in the newsroom in a way that nothing else has. Normally it’s all fun and excitement to be working there, but Thursday seemed painful for more than just the players—it hurt us.

It was also interesting this week—as I eluded to last week, that the industry is tenuous—because on Thursday night, there was someone being trained to do what one of our Producers does. After that person left, our Producer was visibly uneasy, and when asked who the trainee was, he responded “Meet my replacement.” Now, I know little about actual newsroom politics, and what is really going on, but it seemed to me to be somewhat unfair. This particular producer seems like the kind of person everyone would want in a newsroom, and at least from my observation, it seemed like management had gone behind his back, and the first he found out about being replaced was when this new person came in to be trained.

I guess I am finally witnessing firsthand the ugly side of journalism.

We need a car. Last week we heard nothing from our car broker, and I need to call him today or tomorrow to help him understand that we need one NOW. I think he may still be of the understanding that we have all the time in the world, because it seems he puts other people ahead of us in importance. Hopefully by this time next week, I will be driving a “new used car.”

That’s all for this week!

Thanks,
Mark