Week Three

I cannot believe how quickly time is going by! I am just starting my final week at the Herald-Times. My previous week spent there was with the Features department. I think I have finally found my niche! Although I know I am only taking on a sliver of the full responsibilities of a reporter in the features department, what I am doing seems to fit well. I have continued to layout pages (with less supervision than before) and edit copy. I have also started working on the paper’s Hotline section. Hotline provides readers an opportunity to write the Herald-Times and ask questions like ‘Who are some of the famous people born in Indiana?” and “What do I need to worry about if I find a tick on my body?”

While working on Hotline it dawned on me that having students work on something similar to Hotline in our school newspaper might be a good first assignment. It will get them out talking to people, but it is not quite as intense as an interview. Plus, Hotline questions are not time sensitive, so we can stock pile them for times when we are short on material.

Well, I am off to my last few days at the HT!

Features and Photography

After a brief hiatus due to curriculum mapping, I am back at the Herald-Times. During the past five days, I was able to spend time in features and photography. While in features, I had the opportunity to try page design. Fortunately, I was closely guided! I also was published for my second time. This time it was for a spur of the moment haiku. “There is a town close to my heart…”

My two days with photography were a wonderful experience. The first day I went with the photographer as he took pictures of Menahem Pressler, a famous pianist. I was able to hear a word class pianist rehearse while observing the techniques of a professional photojournalist! The second day I went with a different photographer to a local mulching and compost company. It was neat to see how the photographer was able to take pictures of something as seemingly uninteresting to look at as mulch and create interesting photographs.

The First Few Days

The first few days of my internship were overwhelming, to say the least. While everyone at the Herald-Times is very nice and helpful, it is clear to me that I have much to learn. Everything from how the newspaper is run, to how the computer system works, to actually writing articles is all new to me. That being said, on my third day at the internship I had my first newspaper story printed. It was a great feeling seeing my byline in a newspaper for the first time!

I hope as my time continues at the Herald-Times I will continue to write articles and gain a better understanding of how a professional newspaper is run.