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Interning for WMDT 47: Learning How a Station Puts Out the News Day after Day

By:

Cole Howard

CMAT 495

Dr. Burns
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Being allowed to intern at Delmarva’s news station WMDT-47 ABC was a privilege.

Although my internship was completed in a mere seven weeks, I must say that I have never

learned so much in such a short period of time. I learned not only about the television industry,

but also a lot about myself. I learned how important it is for members of a news station to work

together to achieve the goal of presenting the news in a fair and consistent manner day after day.

Employees must recognize how important each person’s role is to the rest. Starting from the top,

each member must perform his or her job efficiently and effectively in order to create each

broadcast of the day. This internship allowed me to see the daily operations of the station

through the eyes of reporters and producers on the day and evening shifts, which has helped me

make some decisions about what I want to do in the communications field after I graduate. In

this paper, I will address what I learned about communication in the television industry, along

with the surprises, accomplishments, and disappointments I experienced along the way.

On my first day at WMDT, I was not sure what to expect. Although I had visited the

station prior to the beginning of my internship, in order to meet with News Director Sarah Truitt,

I was still nervous about what it would be like at the studio and out on the road with the assigned

reporters. I began the internship thinking that it would be best if I completed the exact same

schedule five days a week. After the first day, however, I decided that creating a schedule that

allowed me to work from morning until early afternoon three days a week and late afternoon to

early evening two days a week would work best for me. Ms. Truitt allowed me to work with

reporters three days and producers two days, which gave me the chance to establish a routine and

really get to know those professionals and see what they do on a daily basis.

One of the things that I was surprised to learn about a news station is how stories are

generated. Reporters “pitch” story ideas with the angles they want to address to both the news
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director and the news hour producer. If/when an idea is approved, the reporter then begins the

process of contacting individuals they want to meet and interview and then travels to a site where

the interviews are conducted. There is a lot of pressure to gather the information and footage and

travel back to the studio. I was impressed by the efficiency of the reporters and how they were

able to put together their stories by the specified deadline. The first reporter I worked with,

Brandon Bossert, has been working at WMDT for about a year and a half, so he was experienced

with this daily process and able to handle the pressure like a professional. He knew that he had

to have a few ideas each day in case one was already taken by someone else or the subject

matter/issue was not approved. I learned that he and the other reporters check online resources

such as Facebook and other news affiliates to help them find their story ideas. I also learned that

once reporters choose their stories, they must take responsibility and ownership of their work. I

discovered that reporters build a base of contacts as well that helps make their job easier when

they need to secure interviews and find out information. It is definitely an advantage when a

reporter has become very familiar with the Delmarva area and assembled a list of contacts.

Knowing this about news story generation and preparation has given me a greater appreciation of

the work reporters do. I hope I will be able to perform as well when I go out and work as a

reporter myself.

Another thing about the life of a reporter that surprised me was the schedule the reporters

have during the day. On my days out on the road with a reporter, I found that we did not eat on

any kind of regular schedule due to where we were traveling, the amount of traffic, and how

much time we needed to allow back at the studio to prepare the story for the air. I was used to

eating lunch around noon, but on these days, we would quickly stop and grab fast food on our

way back to the studio or sometimes not have time to grab anything if we had gotten stuck in
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traffic or otherwise delayed. I now understand how fast-paced the life of a reporter is, and how

important it will be to eat a good meal before coming to work and starting my daily duties.

I had several internship experiences that I am proud of completing. After approximately

two weeks into my internship, I traveled with Brandon to cover a story on the decrease of opioid-

related deaths in the State of Maryland for the first time in a decade. We went to the Wicomico

County Sheriff’s Office because this county had seen the biggest decrease in opioid deaths over

the past year. Since my father is Sheriff of Somerset County, it was interesting to me to see

another county’s sheriff’s office. Brandon gave me a summary of the story he was going to

cover and allowed me to come up with four questions to ask Lt. Tim Robinson. We hoped to

interview Sheriff Lewis or Chief Deputy Baker, but these men were not available. Lt. Robinson

was very gracious and willing to speak with Brandon and me, but I have to admit that I was

nervous. Brandon reassured me that I could do it, so I conducted my first television interview.

Brandon stood there beside me and I did it. It was exciting to think that something I did would

be a part of an actual broadcast. I was grateful for the opportunity to conduct an interview and

experience what it was like firsthand to be a reporter. When we returned to the station, I also

helped Brandon write his Vosot, which gave me experience with this aspect of the job as well. I

know I will never forget my first television interview!

On June 19, 2019, I conducted my second set of interviews. That day I traveled with

WMDT photographer Kolby to cover a mini-package for reporter Taylor Lumpkin about a

veteran suffering from PTSD who had completed several tours in Afghanistan. An organization

called “Home for a Hero” was breaking ground on a new home for this deserving veteran and his

family. I interviewed the organization’s head, a man named C.H. Brittingham, who told me that

his organization wanted to give back to a deserving hero and help him and his family get
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“acclimated” back into society. Brittingham explained that his organization’s efforts will ensure

that the veteran’s family will not have to worry about monthly mortgage payments; all they have

to worry about is maintenance expenses. This interview took place on the lot where the house

will be built. I was more confident this time than before, and again, I was very proud to say that

I had another interview experience under my belt.

These experiences showed me how important it is just to be yourself when you interact

with and interview the public. People appreciate someone who puts them at ease and

communicates easily with them. Reporters must recognize when a prospective interviewee is

nervous or reluctant to speak on camera. It is the reporter’s job to think and react quickly in

order to get at least a few seconds on camera and for that to be clearly audible and accurate in the

representation of the story. Lt. Robinson was very experienced with speaking with the media, so

he was not hard to interview, but I later saw with Brandon and other reporters that some people

are more difficult.

On another occasion, I accompanied reporter Taylor Lumpkin as she covered the first day

of a three-day murder trial in Wicomico County. Although both of my parents work in a law

enforcement/court capacity, I had never personally watched a jury trial. Watching the defense

attorney, State’s attorney, and Circuit Court judge interact with members of the jury kept me

intrigued as I watched the trial unfold. I was proud of myself for closely following the

presentation of the evidence by the State and the cross-examination of the witnesses by the

defense attorney. I realized that I would like to cover court-related stories if given the

opportunity in the future.

One of my favorite assignments during my internship, and another one that made me

proud, occurred after I asked Ms. Truitt if I could work with the sports department on July 1,
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2019. She allowed me to do this and I was very appreciative of this opportunity. There was a

summer league high school basketball tournament at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills,

Maryland, that day. I was particularly excited about covering basketball since I am very familiar

with the sport from playing on my school’s team from middle school through high school. I

traveled to Chesapeake with Jonah Restuccio of the sports department. I thought that I might

just be shadowing Jonah while he filmed the game himself, but he let me have a camera to film

game footage. I took the camera and anticipated the action. Fortunately for me, I was able to

capture footage of a three-point shot that Jonah was not able to get. Jonah looked at my footage

during the game and when we got back to the studio, he complimented my camera work, and

decided to use my shot in his coverage of the event. I told my parents that night and we watched

it together. It may seem like something small to some people, but to me it was a big deal. Jonah

also let me edit the footage we did not put into the highlight reel for the evening broadcast. I

compiled this footage into the station’s sports archives in case the sports department can use it

for future stories.

I am also proud of the producing I assisted with during my internship. I worked with

evening producer Sean Frost on Tuesday and Thursday each week between 3:00 and 6:30 p.m.

This allowed me to see what goes into compiling a broadcast. My most memorable contribution

occurred on June 6, otherwise known as D-Day. I am a history buff, so I enjoyed researching the

CNN news source website to find information and video footage. I was able to find a lot of

information, so I put together a script and copied the link to a video about the invasion. The

editors used my script and video for the evening broadcast. I watched it at home that evening

and felt proud when I heard anchors Julian Sadur and Ryan Eldredge present the story.

I continued to help Sean by choosing the regional and consumer news report stories on
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Tuesdays and Thursdays for the evening broadcasts. However, I also assisted news hour

producer Kara Hart on July 3, 2019. For this broadcast, I was given the responsibility of

choosing a national story. I was tasked with picking out a national story package and two

national VO’s. The package I chose was about how the 2020 census will not ask people about

their U.S. citizenship status. One of the VO’s I chose was about Wal-Mart no longer selling

guns in the State of New Mexico. This was interesting because I learned that this decision might

affect other states. I realized how important it is for citizens of the Delmarva Peninsula to hear

about national news as well as local news. The other VO I picked out was about President

Trump using funds from state parks to pay for his national Fourth of July celebration in the

nation’s capital. Again, this was important news for viewers to hear since some citizens might

disagree with his decision. Another assignment I completed this day was selecting the “Pet of

the Day” story. I love cats, so I decided to feature a cat from the Queen Anne’s County Animal

Shelter. He reminded me of one of my cats I had growing up. This was something different

from my previous assignments, and it taught me that even a story like this one can serve an

important purpose. I hope from my efforts that someone adopted this cat.

For several weeks of my internship, I also shadowed reporter Dani Bozzini. She is a very

experienced reporter who is actually leaving WMDT to go to a higher market station in

Jacksonville, Florida. She gave me several opportunities to conduct interviews and do my own

“stand ups” or “look lives.” On the last week of my internship, Monday, July 15, Dani had a

story to cover about the effects of extreme heat on state road workers. She interviewed a flagger

named Michael Montgomery who was working outside of the parking garage in front of the

studio. Mr. Montgomery talked about how hard it was to stay hydrated and watch for drivers

who do not pay attention to his signs. Before we left to do Dani’s second story, she and I took a
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few minutes to do a “look live” for me outside the studio. In this “look live,” I talked about the

extreme heat and how some people get to spend a hot day outside at the beach or pool, but road

workers have no choice but to suffer in the heat. This “look live” took four attempts, but Dani

and I were both pleased with the final result.

After this “look live,” Dani and I proceeded to another location in Salisbury, this time on

College Avenue. We visited Hawaiian Bryan’s Aloha Shop, owned by “Hawaiian Bryan”

Horikami. This business serves Hawaiian shaved ice treats, which were perfect for the kind of

day this was. Dani was interviewing Mr. Horikami because he has been selected as a vendor for

the upcoming National Folk Festival to be held again in Salisbury this September. Of course,

since it was so hot, the thought of one of these delicious shaved ice treats was very appealing. I

got a shaved ice and stood next to the counter. Dani got a shot of me standing there which was

used for the VOSOT on the evening news hour. This was the only time I appeared on camera

during my internship, and it was pretty cool!

On the last day of my internship, I attended the J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake in

Crisfield, Maryland. I live close to Crisfield, so I was looking forward to going down for the

event. On this day I worked as a food runner with other people from the sales staff for guests in

the WMDT tent. I saw anchor Brooke Butler and Brandon Bossert conduct live interviews and

saw how challenging it is to cover a live event where so many political celebrities like Maryland

Governor Hogan are in attendance. Even though it was hottest the day of the year so far,

everyone had a great time and kept a positive attitude all while enjoying delicious seafood!

Although I was pleased with my overall performance as an intern, I did encounter some

disappointments along the way. In particular, I remember on the day of Lt. Tim Robinson’s

interview that Brandon told me to log the interview on our way back to the station. When we
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returned to the station, he asked me what the time code was for the interview. This is when he

realized that he forgot to tell me how to find the time code. This may not seem like a big deal to

some people, but when it comes to putting together a television broadcast, it is crucial. I had to

go to photographer Mike Lawrence downstairs and find the fifteen second interview that I had

picked out. This was more difficult than it sounds due to the fact that we had to review about

three minutes of footage.

Another disappointment for me was the fact that the 180 hours of the internship passed

way too fast. Although I learned so much about how a news station delivers several high-quality

broadcasts each day, there is still so much I did not get to experience. I would have liked to do

more hours so I could learn even more. I have to say that interning at WMDT this summer has

been one of the best experiences of my life. I would compare myself to a sponge that tried to

absorb as much as possible from this internship.

In conclusion, this experience at WMDT made me realize that I really do want a career in

television broadcasting. I never realized how challenging it is to be a reporter or producer. I

learned that being a reporter brings with it a lot of responsibility as you develop a relationship

with the citizens of the communities you serve. People depend on reporters to be honest with

them as they trust these familiar faces on their television screens. I think that I am up for the

challenge of reporting and if possible, in the future, I would like to work as a sports reporter and

director. Speaking in front of the camera does not make me as nervous now; in fact, I feel much

more comfortable now. Interviewing people became easier each time as well. I plan to work

with SUTV this fall and the experience I gained at WMDT will help me. I am extremely grateful

to all the people at WMDT who helped me along the way and took the time to explain their jobs

to me and allow me to work with them. I especially appreciate Ms. Truitt giving me the
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opportunity to intern with the station and meet so many great people.