WTHR 13 Internship Essay

When I first toured the NewsLink Indiana studio on the second floor of the Arts and Journalism building, I realized that this was the career path for me. I always enjoyed filming, editing and staying informed on current events via television news. My family always had the television tuned to Fox News or CNN. It just seemed like a great idea to me to go to New York City or Atlanta to internship at two of the biggest names in cable news. However, after researching information online and attending the 2016 Fall News Roundup, I realized that my best chance of gaining experience and possibly securing a job out of an internship would come from a smaller market (Hostetter, 2016). That is why, if I could intern at one company or organization, I would

One of the people who I met was Kathy Hostetter, who is the WTHR News Director. She suggested interning for a smaller market for those very reasons. WTHR offers internships in news, sports, weather, photography, producing and social media (WTHR.com). The categories I would be most interested in would be news and producing. I am currently a reporter and associate producer for NewsLink Indiana and enjoy different aspects of both areas.
WTHR 13 is an NBC affiliate. Its mission statement and objective is “to bring the best local news coverage,” to the people of Central Indiana. Its target audience is adults who live in Central Indiana. Its competition in Indianapolis is FOX 59, CBS 4, RTV 6, which is an ABC affiliate, and WISH-TV 8, which is a CW affiliate. Eyewitness News is among the most-honored stations in the country. It has received numerous awards in broadcast journalism, including a national Emmy and hundreds of regional Emmys, more than any of its competition

However, after looking up information on the other local news stations in Indianapolis, none of them appear to be paid either. Since interns are not being paid, it is expected and required that the “applicants must receive academic credit in return for the internship.” This will be the case through either the JOUR 369 or JOUR 479. Even though the internship is not paid, I still believe that this internship would be most beneficial to me. “To complete the internship, each intern is expected to produce self-edited news packages for resume material.” If I am able to produce self-edited news packages to add to my resume, that will be a great way to show what I am capable of doing to potential employers in the future. After observing reporters in the field and producers in the studio, I will be better prepared for a job after graduation. It is also required that applicants have achieved junior status at an accredited college or university. After this semester, I will be eligible to apply for an internship for the spring of 2017 or the summer of 2016. However, due to my 47 remaining credits required to complete my major in telecommunications/journalism and minors in Spanish and leadership studies, summer seems like the only logical place where I will have time to devote to an internship. The summer internship programs are much more competitive than the fall and spring internship programs and fill up much more quickly, as more students apply when