Internship Report, Week 8

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: 8

Number of Hours This Week: 21

Week 8 Report:

I felt like I shared in BYU’s victory this week, because almost everything seemed to go right.

First, we have been up in the air about this whole car thing, and we knew we needed one before winter hit. Thus far we had been lucky, but we felt like we were living on borrowed time. We kept paying that we would get the right car at the right time. Things had gone on so long that we figured maybe we weren’t supposed to get a car yet, and that maybe I’d be fine with just the old one we had, since we had already made it this far.

Well, Wednesday at my internship, Greg Wrubell started talking to me about the upcoming BYU Basketball season, and how they needed to find someone to work for them through the end of March. He started adding up the hours, and it only ended up being about 90. He said he would love to get an intern to do the job, since they wouldn’t have to pay them, and asked if I had any friends. I told him that I didn’t think 90 hours was enough to count as a 4 credit-hour internship, and that I didn’t think anyone would be willing to come up to Salt Lake for a 1 credit-hour internship during the school year. He agreed, and that’s when I suggested they could hire me to do the job, since it is essentially what I have already been doing, and they wouldn’t have to train me further. He loved the idea, and got on the phone with the powers that be. He then offered me the job for $75 a game, or about $18 an hour.

So, starting next week-ish, I will be an “official” employee of KSL Newsradio.

It’s by no means full-time employment, but it’s exactly the kind of “in” I was looking for. In fact, I will be working with the guy who did what I will be doing LAST year. Suffice it to say, if I can do well here, I may very well be able to stay on with KSL after graduation in April.

So, after Greg offered me the position, I drove back to Provo, and called our Car Broker, who informed me that he was looking at a car that matched the description of what we wanted. He bid on it, and we got it! The car arrived in Provo, on Thursday, and we picked it up on Friday night. I was able to take it up to Salt Lake on Saturday for the UNLV game, and this car will make all the difference in my commute and my ability to be a viable future employee.

My new love, a 2001 VW Jetta. Black with beige interior.

Saturday, after the game and the post-game interviews, the board operator and I were the only ones left in the studio. He needed someone to help him start the next program, so I sat in the other room, and when he cued me, I clicked a button that started an audio track that introduced “The Best of the Doug Wright Show.” Then I had to click the actual archived show’s button so the program would start. That means that I had brief—yet important—control over the entire radio station, broadcasting 50,000 Watts of power to the entire intermountain west. I felt powerful. It was fun.

So, that basically sums up a great week!

Thanks,
Mark

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

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

Internship Report, Week 5

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: 5
Number of Hours This Week: 20

Week 5 Report:
This week we were back in action. BYU was back from their bye week, and it seemed everyone was ready to watch BYU’s team roll over their opponent once again. If you watched Friday’s game, however, you probably realized that by “everyone” I mean everyone BUT BYU’s team.

It was supposed to be an easy victory over a team that was ranked as low as you can be…USU. While the final score was 34-14, it somehow felt like a loss. BYU played stupidly, inconsistently, and certainly didn’t look like a team ranked in the top ten.

Monday we had our usual press conference. This week, however, I ventured to ask my first question. I asked—somewhat prophetically, it turns out—“How do you avoid a sense of complacency when you’re playing an unranked team?” Both the players and Bronco Mendenhall seemed to shrug off questions of that kind, and went so far as to declare over and over that they were treating this game just like any other.

Tuesday through Thursday we did a lot more of the same, as far as cutting audio for the game day broadcast. During this time, I also finalized a compilation calendar I had been working on. We finally heard back from UVU, so we had all the schedules for every team in Utah. If that sounds like something you would love, I can E-mail you one.

No word from our car broker since last week…the weather is getting colder and stormier, and I think we need a solution here before too long. Our loans came through, so we’re all ready on this end. Now it’s up to Mr. Mourik.

That’s all for this week!

Thanks,
Mark

Internship Report, Week 4

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: 4
Number of Hours This Week: 8


Week 4 Report:
You may have noticed that I only got 8 hours for my internship this week...and you may have also noticed that BYU Football had a bye week, meaning they didn't play...so that's why.


Initially, I thought that I wouldn't be coming in at all this week, because of the bye, but in the post-game show on Saturday, Bronco said there would in fact be a press conference on Monday.


So, I went to the press conference on Monday. Things there were fairly normal, as you would expect. The only problem was that Travis Bright only spoke to reporters for about 2 minutes, and since I had gone to interview David Nixon first, I didn't get any audio from Travis Bright. That was lame. And Greg asked me if I had asked any questions, which I haven't yet--it's easy to just let everyone else ask questions and record their responses--when I told him, he challenged me to try asking questions of my own. I'll try next week.


Tuesday was spent cutting that audio into soundbytes. Wednesday, we gathered audio from the Mountain West Conference's Coaches' Teleconference, and I started compiling a calendar of all of the Men's Basketball games for all of the major Universities and Colleges in Utah. (I already did this for football, back before my hours were even counting.) We're already starting preparation for the beginning of the Basketball Season (still more than a month off.)


I heard back from our car broker this week...he was going to bid on a car that was our second choice of model, but nowhere near what we wanted color-wise (and my wife is pretty particular about this) so we didn't get it. Hopefully something will come up this week.


That's about it!


Thanks,
Mark

BYU-UCLA

I just thought I'd mention here how fun it was to watch the BYU-UCLA game on Saturday, and listen to Greg Wrubell's call on KSL Newsrado 102.7 FM and 1160 AM.

There's almost nothing I love better than shutting up critics in a resounding way--and Saturday accomplished that.

It's not every day a team wins 59-0.

Junior quarterback Max Hall tied a BYU record with seven touchdown passes

in the Cougars' 59-0 victory over UCLA. (BYU Photo/Mark Philbrick)

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

"BYU sure showed me: OK, I admit it, I was wrong.  BYU came out with fury against UCLA and showed anyone who might have questioned whether the cougars belonged in the BCS buster conversation that there was no doubt.  Quarterback Max Hall needs to be considered a dark horse for the Heisman if he's not already.  Obviously, a lot of contenders had great games on Saturday, but only Hall threw seven touchdowns." -- Graham Watson, ESPN.com

I'd probably feel like Verner too if my team had just lost 59-0.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)