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Tweet ThisThe Intersection of Business and Politics at FBN
This past semester, I had the opportunity to work again with the Fox Business Network at their Washington D.C. Bureau on the Assignment Desk. I was honored to be selected again to return to the Fox Business Network as a College Associate after completing a summer internship with both the New York and D.C. Bureaus.
Over the course of the internship, I had the opportunity to once again delve into the business broadcast industry and gain practical experience while interning for one of the largest media and entertainment companies in the world. I was mainly involved in covering the intersection of business and politics. This included important and impactful happenings both on the Hill and at the White House. In particular, I was able to provide support and research for reporting on the newly passed Infrastructure Bill, the COP26 conference in Glasgow and the G20 conference in Rome.
Between pitching news stories and providing research, I had the opportunity to work more on the production side this Fall. I was able to log video elements to watch video footage and label content accordingly. I would then plug-in video elements in the iNews rundown using Dalet. I also had the opportunity to assist reporters, producers and editors on news and editorial decisions. The most interesting part of the program was shadowing different editors, producers and reporters on assignment. This gave me the best vision of what it is really like to work at a major news agency.
The FOX internship program as a whole continued to focus on a variety of professional development opportunities. I attended several enriching panels from the sports broadcast industry to the news industry – geared to advancing my knowledge of the industry.
As a key member contributing to the FBN Assignment Desk at the D.C. Bureau, I gained invaluable experience as a working journalist. I am so grateful to the FOX family for giving me the opportunity to work two internships with the expectation of returning, yet again, in January 2022. As a graduating senior in May, I will continue to apply the knowledge I gained at FBN to my impending graduate studies and to my future work in the broadcast news industry.
This summer, I’ve had the privilege of interning with the NBC4 Washington digital team. I’ve wanted to be a reporter for as long as I can remember, but this internship has shown me just how many other important, fast-paced, and fun jobs there are all across the newsroom — and on the digital team, I got to do a bit of everything.
My internship with Voice of America’s documentary department began during a transitional period: the Senior Executive Producer with whom I am working released her most recent film earlier this year, and much of our time in the beginning of the Summer was spent brainstorming documentary ideas and holding informational interviews with possible subjects. Some of those interviews went more smoothly than others; this is a story about the latter.
How do you break news about the Teamsters, one of the largest and most famous American labor unions? I didn’t know, at least not until an editor at Bloomberg Law asked me to help preview an upcoming Teamsters convention. When I dove into the assignment with another reporter, working quickly to develop sources in the storied union, I discovered rumblings that the five-year convention could spark the biggest organizing drive in Teamsters history by targeting Amazon for unionization.
It’s hard for me to summarize my internship at Voice of America this past summer in just a short paragraph. Throughout the last few months, I have worked for the award-winning documentary team at VOA with the extremely talented Beth Mendelson. One thing that I have learned in the documentary-making process is that it takes not one, not two, not three….well to be honest I’m not sure how many times it takes to redo a proposal because we still haven’t been approved for our upcoming VOA 80th Anniversary film. It takes a lot of work, but I am so extremely grateful to be a part of what I know will be an excellent documentary when it finally comes out this February. Writing a proposal takes a lot of thinking, writing, and reworking. There are times when Beth, Katy, and I will just start laughing because we’re all so exhausted. I am also getting to see how a government agency works, which is very interesting. I have been able to partake in phone calls and meetings with fellow VOA employees, potential interview subjects, and many more during my time here. Just last week, we spoke with a Russian journalist who was tortured and nearly killed simply for reporting the truth in her country. I get to hear amazing stories like this almost everyday. Finally, Beth has an amazing sense of humor which makes the day extremely enjoyable. A few days ago, I mistakenly confused former Taliban leader Mullah Omar with a friend of Beth’s that we were considering interviewing. “No Joe, Mullah Omar and I have not broken bread” she jokingly said. Not one of my smartest moments, to say the least.
This summer, I joined the Voice of America as a reporting intern for the organization’s News Center Hub, where I produce web-based articles about domestic and international issues each day. Voice of America is a government-funded news organization primarily focused on providing news to the world in over 40 languages.
The main lesson I have learned while interning at The Durango Herald this summer is that each day is more unpredictable than the last when working as a journalist. A lawmaker can post a scandalous tweet or scuffles can happen on the Senate floor — nothing is off the table.