Learning and Laughing at NBC4

By Dean’s Intern Ambar Pardilla at NBC4

From a cake countdown clock (a whiteboard that hangs on the wall near our desks, complete with the number of days since we’ve had cake and illustrations of candles and confetti) to eating pizza after participating in a promotional shoot for the station to scheduling the day’s stories at morning meetings, I’ve been fortunate enough to be surrounded by people who love what they do and are eager to educate me throughout my internship at NBC4. Although the news can sometimes be distressing or disheartening, my co-workers always find ways to stay sane and make me laugh.

Sitting at different desks on the two days a week that I’m at my internship has allowed me to get to know my co-workers, with all of them giving me advice for reporting and researching that I’ll take with me beyond NBC4. Sometimes they’ll assign stories for me to write from a reporter’s segment on the 4, 5 or 6 p.m. shows or press releases. I’ve mastered how to cut and caption videos for NBC4’s website, which highlight some of special segments from the station’s shows. I write a story almost everyday that I’m at the internship and editing those stories with the other members of the digital team has been really practical and productive for my own reporting. I’ve written about how D.C. residents have struggled to reach relatives in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, Hillary Clinton’s national book tour starting in D.C. and added to another story about adult things to do in D.C. for Halloween—listing more events and editing the article to include 31 things to do, for the 31 days of October (to make it extra “spooky” I told one of my co-workers).

After talking to one of my supervisors, I’m hoping to expand on some of the stories I’ve worked on in my communication classes and publish them on NBC4’s website, connecting what I’ve learned in class to what I’m doing at my internship. Even though I’m only at NBC4 twice a week, I’ve learned (and laughed!) so much and can’t wait to discover and challenge myself more.