The fast-paced, hectic business of a newsroom isn't exactly condusive to spoon-feeding and baby-sitting the intern. And, whether it was an intentional element of the intern program or not, that was certainly my first and possibly most important lesson in being a reporter -- you have to be independent, assertive, and willing to take on whatever the day throws at you.
I was given complete control of my learning-plan for the internship. I was asked to write down, in list form, my expectations and goals for this experience. I handed it to my supervisor and she said "awesome....now I want to see you go do it." Much like news reporting -- you come up with an idea for a story, pitch it to your news director, and he or she says, "sounds good...get it covered". You have the freedom and responsibility to take the story where it leads you. And that's what I'm doing with this internship. I'm taking it where it leads me.
This week, I chose to concentrate on my writing. When I heard of an interesting story, I'd tag along, ask my own questions, and write the story for myself. My version was always a little different from the reporter's, in quality of course, but also in interpretation. And I think that's an important lesson for every journalist. We are story-tellers, and every story we tell will be interpreted a thousand different ways, and will have different meanings for different people. I believe that, to be an effective journalist, you must understand your audience -- that you are communicating to an audience filled with every type of person each of which has their own story, and they will all relate differently to the stories they hear. EVERY story we tell impacts SOMEONE, and every story we tell impacts each person in a different way. Pretty awesome, if you ask me.