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

iAdmit it. i want an iPhone.

Yesterday, I was at work and I needed to call someone. I didn't have reception, so my boss handed me his iPhone.
Yes, I the iPhone. I have long railed against them, citing their high price and low necessity. Does anyone really NEED an iPhone? No. Should everyone want one? Probably.

I don't know what it was, but when I cradled that phone in my hands, it seemed to radiate energy and pure awesomeness in a way that few things in life can. I felt, for a brief second, that I DID in fact need an iPhone. After all, they're so sleek, user-friendly, powerful...

It almost seemed a sin to use it for something as mundane and common as a phone call. Why on earth would I use an iPhone to make a call? That's what normalPhones are for.

Like my rockin' BlackBerry Pearl, which I also love.

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