Internship Report, Week 6

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: 6
Number of Hours This Week: 20

Week 6 Report:
BYU played New Mexico this week in what everyone expected would be one of their most difficult matchups thus far. That proved to be accurate, as New Mexico’s prolific defense held BYU’s prolific offense to just 21 points—an offense that had previously averaged more than 40 per game.

The preparation for this week’s game was interesting, because BYU’s Coach Mendenhall has some New Mexico history. Bronco used to be the Defensive Coordinator for New Mexico, and he brought to BYU many of the lessons learned under Coach Long’s administration. And that, I think, is one of the major reasons that this matchup seemed to go nowhere in a hurry. It was one of the most unproductive games I have seen, offensively. But a win is a win, I guess.

Something happened this week that helped me better understand the intricacies of the broadcast industry…

I received a phone call from *someone I work with on game days, and he asked me to get specific audio from certain games for him as soon as I got there, because he was going to be late. When I got to work, I started working on that immediately. Then when **someone else I worked with asked me where he was, I told him he was going to be late. Apparently, I was the only one he had called. That inspired some frustration on their part. It made me think about the highly competitive nature of this industry, and how easy it is to get on someone’s blacklist. It also made me think about the nature of hiring and firing in the industry, and how tenuous the situation can become. In a stable newsroom like KSL’s, either someone has to quit, move on, or be fired to open up a spot for someone like me that wants to be hired. And I was sad to realize that I was almost hoping that that spot would open up in time for me to take it. Just as a disclaimer, the people I work with are great, and are a large part of the reason I would love to work there. I wish them no ill-will.

We heard from our car broker this week, and almost ended up with a Jetta Wagon – something I’m not sure I’m comfortable with…I’ve never wanted to drive a station wagon. Turned out that it didn’t end up being a good deal, so Mr. Mourik didn’t get it for us. And it snowed this week after the game, making it hard for me to get home from Salt Lake. Good thing I had borrowed my parents’ car, anticipating that very thing. We need a solution soon.

That’s all for this week!

Thanks,
Mark

*name withheld
**name ALSO withheld