ALUM REPORTER IN JACKSONVILLE
Learn how to do a story fast. You need to know how to do it in one day. I"ve had to do 3
or 4 stories in one day.
Your package is 1:30-1:45. ALWAYS. Longer packages are not better and will get edited down by an angry producer to 1:30.
Wherever you go, the station will have its own writing style, so you really need to start listening about it. Sentences are SHORT. ALWAYS use present tense, even if it sounds stupid. (that was a hard one for me to accept). With packages, the SOTs and video should tell the story, not the script. My voiceovers are usually only a few sentences long.
ALUM REPORTER IN HUNTSVILLE
Write VERY conversationally.
A tough part of the job is getting the story. Getting people to talk to you that are busy and don’t want to do so. You can know how to write, shoot and edit, but if you don’t come back with the interview, you don’t have the story. Start figuring out how you are going to get it.
The speed at which you are expected to work is much higher. The daily deadlines will push you.
ALUM REPORTER IN BILOXI
Put a face on your story or find an odd angle to take. Don’t just say there was a meeting and people talked.
Writing. Learn to write both for broadcast and print because you may be putting together a package for the TV broadcast one minute and writing the same story in print style for the web the next minute. And you’ve got to both fast.
Multitasking. You’ll have more thrown at you than what you can do unless you stay organized and on top of things.
Learn to develop contacts.
Be eager to work. Ask what you ca do to improve.
Don’t be afraid to screw up.
Get involved in hands on opportunities, both internships and at the Student Media Center.
