What I've been doing all winter...

... at the amazing CBS 5 news station. 

KPHO was my first internship so it’s easy to say it was the best, but in all honesty I couldn’t imagine it going any better. 

BYU prepared me so well --  employees at KPHO were surprised that I knew how to do what I considered to be basic broadcasting tasks. Thanks ElevenNews!

I set to work right away with their morning show crew from 3 am to 8 am on Mondays and Fridays, writing business, entertainment, international, and health segments. During the show I fielded Facebook comments and emails for air. 

AND after the  show I got to live punch some of the 3 minute network cut-ins, and later in the semester I got to record some of them as the anchor.

We had a parade of interesting guests, including SNL’s Chris Kattan, Willie Nelson, Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter), Cardinals wide-receiver Larry Fitzgerald, comedian Frank Calliendo, controversial Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio, three bear cubs, three wedding dress models, two different barbeque caterers, and a couple who run a giant plastic hamster ball recreation company in the valley. 

We also recorded satellite interviews with Jillian Michaels, LL Cool J, and Martha Stewart. I even got to field produce from live shots at events like the Phoenix International Raceway’s Fresh Fit 500 race, the Phoenix Golf Open, the Barrett Jackson Antique Car Show, and the Arizona Statehood Centennial Celebration.

 

The dayside shift was far less star-studded, but celebrities aren’t why I’m in this business. I spent my Wednesdays at the station from 9 am to 7 pm working with reporters, photographers, producers, LNS, web writers, the assignment desk, and even weather on the weekends. 

I emphasize on the weekends. 

We got a little silly. 

(That's not live, by the way.)

Getting to write entire blocks of the 5 & 6:30pm shows, and then see them air was SO rewarding. 

Reporting on softer stories like new inventions and the doomsday clock was pretty normal for me... but the hard hitting stories were really a whole new experience. I helped cover a helicopter rescue for hikers in the mountains, a kidnapping reporting scandal, alleged racial profiling by motorcycle cops, big banks blacklisting home appraisers, and localizing the death of Dick Clark. I insisted in doing my own version of the stories I shadowed and now I have them as part of my resume. 

 

The biggest thing I learned is that if you really love what you do, you’ll make it.

 I was supported and encouraged so much by the employees when we talked about my goals. They all agreed the hours are tough, the pay isn’t great, you deal with people who don’t want to talk to you, and it’s probably the most fast paced field out there-- but if you love it you can live with all that, and focus on the great things: working outside of the office, meeting real people, covering important issues, creating something valuable from nothing, and getting your voice out there. Some reporters here have a negative attitude and suffer through it just to “pay the bills.” Others live for it and can’t believe they get paid anything for doing what they do. 

That’s my plan – live for it and love every minute of it.