The way that I got my internship with the MemphisTiger Network is different from what you might expect. While I am the only intern in my department, I never went through a lengthy, competitive application process.
On the day of the final exam for my TV producing/editing class, my teacher came up to me and told me that she needed to talk to me after class. First of all, a student never wants to hear a teacher say, “I need to talk to you after class.” Second of all, you don’t want to hear that right before a test because you’re just wondering what you could have possibly done wrong. And third of all, a student especially doesn’t want to hear it on the day of the final exam.
After class, I talked to the teacher and she offered me the internship with the MemphisTiger Network. I was in complete shock and didn’t know what to say; but for some reason, I blurted out, “Yes.” I never thought about reporting sports, but I wanted to challenge myself and learn something new.
I went into my first game not knowing anything about reporting or filming sports. I had one filming class under my belt - that’s it. At my first volleyball game, my boss gave me a camera and told me to film. He gave me a few pointers, but for the most part I was on my own.
My boss looked at some of my footage after the first match and told me everything I did wrong. He wasn’t trying to be mean, but I really didn’t film anything correctly. Filming sports isn’t exactly something that you learn how to do in a class. It’s something that you have to learn by trial and error.
That’s the great thing about getting an internship. You learn things that you can only learn by actually doing them. As an intern, you’re just beginning your career, so you won’t know everything. This is the time to get out a lot of the kinks and really develop your professional skills.
For me, I’m seeing a completely different side of broadcast news. It’s incredibly fast paced. Almost everything you learn comes from experience and knowledge of the sports you’re covering.
On the day of the final exam for my TV producing/editing class, my teacher came up to me and told me that she needed to talk to me after class. First of all, a student never wants to hear a teacher say, “I need to talk to you after class.” Second of all, you don’t want to hear that right before a test because you’re just wondering what you could have possibly done wrong. And third of all, a student especially doesn’t want to hear it on the day of the final exam.
After class, I talked to the teacher and she offered me the internship with the MemphisTiger Network. I was in complete shock and didn’t know what to say; but for some reason, I blurted out, “Yes.” I never thought about reporting sports, but I wanted to challenge myself and learn something new.
I went into my first game not knowing anything about reporting or filming sports. I had one filming class under my belt - that’s it. At my first volleyball game, my boss gave me a camera and told me to film. He gave me a few pointers, but for the most part I was on my own.
My boss looked at some of my footage after the first match and told me everything I did wrong. He wasn’t trying to be mean, but I really didn’t film anything correctly. Filming sports isn’t exactly something that you learn how to do in a class. It’s something that you have to learn by trial and error.
That’s the great thing about getting an internship. You learn things that you can only learn by actually doing them. As an intern, you’re just beginning your career, so you won’t know everything. This is the time to get out a lot of the kinks and really develop your professional skills.
For me, I’m seeing a completely different side of broadcast news. It’s incredibly fast paced. Almost everything you learn comes from experience and knowledge of the sports you’re covering.