Listen, listen, listen

Just like any other job, there were times when there was not a great deal of work to actually complete. There are many times that I'm sure people in these situations would just sit around and check out their Facebook or Twitter away. I decided to take this time to sit in with some of the journalists and talk to them about journalism. There is nothing more beneficial, in my opinion, than to learn from these professionals. These people have made it in the field and I find it very important to learn the skills needed to be successful.

It really does not make any sense not to learn from these people. I worked with two guys that were ONPA Photographers of the Year that now work primarily with video. It is amazing the type of things I was able to learn from these men. They would talk to me about everything from lighting to shot selection to even dictating the direction of the story. These were some things I didn't think about as thoroughly before this internship. I would make sure my shots filled the screen and that the audio was working well but there is so much more to consider when putting together a quality video. They told me that these little things separated quality journalism from the videos found on Youtube. After five months of work I find myself taking into account all the elements to put together a quality video. I even find myself taking more control of how my videos are shot and what is covered in my pieces.

I also took the time to learn about some of the business that goes into a site such as Cincinnati.com. I made the effort to meet with the president of The Cincinnati Enquirer, Margaret Buchanan, as well as the vice president of New Media, James Jackson. I wanted to know how the company was affected by the output of material. I learned a great deal about advertising revenues and business-to-business partnerships. During my time with The Enquirer I had the opportunity to work with partner sites such as CincinnatiUSA.com, CincyPaws.com and Time Warner on Demand. Being able to do that work allowed me to see how different publications work with each other to improve their business. We would place our videos and some of our other work on these sites and, in return, they would put some of their advertisements or other materials on our site.

Although the experience with The Cincinnati Enquirer was fantastic, having the opportunity to learn from professionals will be the thing I appreciate the most. As long as you listen to the people you work with and remember the things you learn, an internship can be the most beneficial part of your college experience.