I was very pleased with how my Buddy Check 7 piece turned out! It was a great PKG to end with because it was especially challenging. My obstacles were making medical jargon understandable by the general audience, color correcting (always white balance!), and working with limited shots. 

The day of the shoot, there was confusion as to where I was meeting with the hospital's PR. Turns out I went to the completely wrong building haha. I needed to go to the cancer research center and I was at the hospital. So, I was in a hurry to set up my equipment and was using a new tripod..that I wasn't exactly sure how it worked haha and forgot to white balance (white balancing recognizes the true color of white and adjusts all other colors). We were under terrible fluorescents in a small room as well so that didn't help. When I went to edit, I crossed my fingers and hoped that it would be okay but all shots had a yellow hue? No, were completely yellow haha. I had to color correct each shot. Everyone said the color looked good in the end so I was happy haha.  

I spoke with a doctor who was incredibly intelligent about the clinical trials, only he had trouble putting it into terms that I could understand. It was all very interesting and in the end, I was able to translate the doctor's medical terms into something easily understood. 

After all the stuggles, I was very happy with the finished product! And I will NEVER forget to white balance again haha. POA: Even when it looks like a piece is going nowhere and you're frustrated, keep going and make the absolute best of what you have...or if you have time go re-shoot it!

http://www.kwwl.com/story/18168543/breast-cancer-drug-clinical-trial-happening-locally
 
Today was a great day at KWWL! I got away from my desk and went out with a reporter to work on a PKG on the Black Hawk County Health Department's efforts in the I-WALK program. They are partnering with the Cedar Falls Community School District, Iowa Department of Public Health, and the Iowa State University Extension to conduct the I-WALK program, a Safe Routes to School project at Lincoln Elementary. Its a cool program that promotes kids walking or biking to school. We talked with several people and got b-roll of her and her son walking. When we returned to the station I observed her putting the PKG together. POA: Always watch how different people do things, everyone has something unique to teach you.  

I like watching different reporters edit because everyone does it differently and I can learn something from every one of them. I learned so much today and am excited to produce my first PKG on Wednesday. I will be covering Hawkeye Community College's Career Fair and talking with an employee in the career services department regarding job outlooks. 

When I come to KWWL and go out on shoots, I know that this is what I am meant to do and love every minute of it. You guys may heard this quote by reminds me of what Confucius once said:

"Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life." 
 
I have mentioned that I am currently a junior at UNI. With all that has been happening at my university with programs being cut, faculty being upset, and student's impacted, it is hard to not pay attention and be involved. 

Over the past two weeks, I realized that I was not nearly involved enough in what was happening at my university in my first few years here. I am paying thousands of dollars to be here and spending countless hours in these buildings while still not knowing what is really happening around me. I am writing this post because I was in class yesterday and reading an article in the Northern Iowan about the faculty meeting and budget cuts when a girl sitting next to me asked me what this is all about. I was completely taken back when I started explaining it to her and three other students listened in and commented that they had no idea. 

I could have been one of these people if it weren't for working at KWWL. I'm sure I would have seen something and been interested but having these opportunities at KWWL have really opened my eyes. It is important to know the politics of what is happening around you whether that be a university or business. Ever since KWWL I am so much more interested in watching the news, reading, and just being a more informed person. 
 
The days at KWWL have been flying by! I am trying to learn as much as I can in the remainder of my time there. The story I am currently working on is a package on Wartburg's RecycleMania efforts. RecycleMania is a nationwide competition that encourages students to increase their recycling habits. Seven schools in Iowa are taking part in the competition this year. I met with Emily Rogers who is their student leader. Emily was great to talk to and showed me around Wartburg's campus highlighting where they recycled. This should be on air sometime this week. 

Last week there was a breaking story happening in Vinton, IA. A woman claimed being shot after coming home to two intruders in her home. I went to get more information and met a photographer there. When I arrived, not much was happening. Our primary information source was the woman's neighbor. Our photographer set up and I asked her a few questions. POA: I have learned that the more specific you are in the questions you ask, the better sound bites you will turn out. Even if it is rewording the same question or asking a question pinpointing a smaller aspect of her previous answer. 

I only have about four more weeks left at KWWL and I will make the most of them! 
 
I have officially gone out to my first accident. I was sitting at my desk when the scanner piped up and alerted us about an accident involving a tractor. Our news director was already out shooting an accident earlier that day so it was my turn. 

I grabbed my gear as fast as I could and was off to the intersection of Kimbal and Orange in Waterloo. When I arrived, I noticed that it was very low key. A tractor was turning left and the woman driving behind her failed to notice his signal and went to pass. She was hit on the passenger side. Everyone was okay and her car suffered minor damage. 

This was still a challenging shoot because the road was so narrow. I didn't want to get in the way but it was hard with the police car, tractor, and car on a narrow road. I managed to get some good shots for the show that night. 

I love the rush of jumping up, grabbing everything you need, and getting to where news is happening. Then getting back to the station to edit the video you shot before the closest show. I love the atmosphere of the news room and the news business in general. You never know what is going to happen.  POA: Be ready for the unexpected. You never know when news will break and they need you to go get video. Especially in Iowa you never know what the weather will be like so it is handy to have back up clothes/boots in your bag or car. 
 
So far, I have been doing so many different things during my internship. A few of those things include helping the 5 o'clock producer, Janelle Haible, write and edit stories for the 5 o'clock show and writing stories for web. The first few stories I wrote got completely torn apart by Janelle haha I think I was trying too hard! POA: When writing stories for broadcast, make them conversational, they are understood by all audiences and are much more fun to listen to. I wasn't making them conversational enough but I have gotten much better :). The corrections now are very minor and subject to personal preference. 

I was trained on the news room's camera and audio equipment and the following week was asked to go out on my own for the first time to Vinton, IA to get footage for a VO SOT on their new mammography unit. This was going to be a lot of firsts and I will admit I was a little overwhelmed. My initial reaction was "uhhh I have no idea how to get there" haha I am directionally challenged at times and am very bad with highway names. Eric, the News Director, was very helpful with helping me with directions and I made it there just fine. Driving one of the company's Ford Escapes was fun too! I have to drive really well though because it is basically a KWWL billboard. 
 

 
Many exciting things have happened so far so I am going to catch everyone up! First, I was emailed one day by my boss giving me the heads up that I needed to dress very nice the next day like in a suit or skirt etc. Well I didn't exactly have anything that nice and professional soo in my typical style I went to the mall to look around. I found a really cute/professional outfit at Express...which wasn't cheap haha but I figured I would be wearing it quite a bit. It was so worth it! I had no idea that I would be featured on their corporate website. http://www.careersatquincy.com/. 
Picture
Here is the photo with my spunky yet professional outfit :) 
Piece of Advice: When purchasing clothes for the job, especially if you are a college student, buy pieces that you can wear when you go out as well. I know more people are wearing blazers now when they are out and I love how they look so I wasn't afraid to spend the money.