Girl Meets World

Firsting it out: Trib internship day one

One day at the Greensburg Tribune-Review under my belt. "So--" you are all asking, "How did it go?"

Pretty well for all concerned parties, especially my stapler.

~~

I arrived at the Trib promptly at 10:00 a.m. in my brown suit and cream-colored shoes. Whoops, I went in the exit. Some back-ups and I was in a parking spot. After a few minutes in my car doing breathing exercises to Coldplay's mellow tunes, I stepped out and headed toward the main entrance.

After giving the receptionist my name, I surfed the Trib website in the lobby, but was quickly escorted in to fill out some financial stuff and have my photo taken for my press badge.

I think that is the first I.D. photo I've ever taken where I do not look like I have been sedated. I would show you it, but the I.D. isn't mine, but the Trib's. I don't want to be skating on thin ice my first day. Skating on normal ice is hard enough. :-D

After all of that, I went down into the newsroom to meet the reporters and the tech manager for training. The computer program they use is great. User-friendly.

During my tech training, the fire alarms went off, and I took a walk outside to the parking lot with the rest of the staff. I kept thinking, "Wow, I need to make some friends to stand with whenever this happens." I'm working on it, though.

After the conclusion of the fire drill and my computer training, I headed out with one of the reporters to get a look around the office. The printer is beautiful. I tried to "get" the idea of a four-color process printer during my Print Communication and Digital Imaging courses, but I just didn't understand it until I viewed the buckets of ink and the plates, and heard the whir of the machine first-hand. Oh, the wonder of CMYK!

And back to my desk. The placement of it is not exactly where I envisioned (in the newsroom), but I am honored by its location: in the middle of the in-depth news feature team office. I am working the best reporters on the staff. They do not take interns often, so I have a lot of work to do to prove that they made the right decision.

My desk is also adjacent to the photo department; it is partitioned off by a glass window and I can see everything that is happening inside their world...

I have received my first assignment and I am working hard on it, but only during work hours. I have been told NOT to take work home with me. What a change from the homework schedule I've been keeping for the past few months.

I also recieved a new Associated Press Style manual, a Trib Manual, a dictionary, phonebook, pens, notebooks, a black garbage can, and two bookends for my desk--exciting additions.

I was running on adrenaline for the past two days and it finally caught up on the drive home. Sapped.

After voting, I crumpled into a heap on my sister's bed. Maybe tomorrow I will do the lunch thing...

Posted by Amanda Cochran at May 17, 2005 8:18 PM | TrackBack