Week One: Things got real.

Hello Internet!

Week one of my internship is done! Well it finished last week and then I took a little break with my cousins so... yeah... besides that...

Week one is done and it was crazy. If you didn't read my last post, you are missing out on a free chance to laugh at my utter confusion.


A lot of things happened last week. And I had to learn. Fast.

The biggest thing was that the Senate "dropped the budget." It's like dropping the bass except for old, white men.

Party in the Senate!

After releasing their proposed budget, everyone started freaking out. Apparently, it's one of the craziest budgets we have seen in years. It's safe to say that everyone was a bit stressed.

Explains the mood Thursday fairly well.

I was more confused than stressed. I mean, I'm still figuring out where the bathroom is. Which, by the way, took me 10 minutes to find last week. I bet GPS couldn't have helped me either.

I do this all the time. I fail.

I was then given the task to analyze the budget and write down quick summaries for each section that effects health care or is science related. This is when I realized that politicians like to make things super complicated for no reason what so ever. Trying to decipher dense political lingo is not fun or easy -- okay, me listening to rap music while doing this probably didn't make my job easier.

After a week of running around, I learned a lot of things:

1. Reporters swear like crazy. To say I was shocked when my boss yelled the F-word for forgetting a pen would be an understatement. The newsroom is actually a really funny place. I've gotten used to it and now, when I hear them, I start to giggle. My boss finds this funny.

2. Politicians are actually nice. Okay... sometimes. Some politicians actually are willing to talk to the press. Who would have thought! The woman who I basically stalked my first day (from my last post)? She always comes up to me now and asks me how I'm doing and just talks to me! Yay friends!

3. Call reporters by their first name. My boss is still trying to get me to do this one. I learned to always use Mr./Mrs. when I talk to someone older than me, but here in the newsroom, everyone is equal. It feels weird, especially since I'm the new 21-year-old intern working with seasoned reporters from all over the state.

4. Hide your food. We share a common fridge and microwave in the press room and from what I've heard, if there is food laying around, it will be gone. Now this hasn't happened to me yet (maybe they are scared off by my odd looking Indian food) but I have seen a reporter take some snacks from another's desk drawer. To quote the famous words of Antoine Dodson:

But really. Hide your food.

5. Work on multiple stories at once. You never know when a story will fall through or a source won't call you back. Now it might sound difficult, but even after a week, I've learned how to balance four or five stories at once. Now, that doesn't mean write all five at once. It means to make the phone calls. Do the background work. Meet the right people. So when you are ready to write the story, you already have everything set up!

There are probably more things that I learned but my mind is blanking right now. This is probably because I haven't had my coffee yet...

~Jasmin

I was thrown to the wolves

Hello Internet!

Wow, I sound like Dan Howell... if you don't know him, click here and be happy that you did.

So yesterday was my first day as a reporting intern for an online, non-profit news organization covering health news and policy at the state legislature. And let me tell you, it was crazy!

Crazy in a good way - I think.

Of course, my boss had me do little things, like entering business cards into the online database and finding the main recorder. But soon, she had me running. Like literally.

Now imagine a baby elephant learning to take its first steps and failing miserably. That was me.

This is my life right now.

Now, running around a square building seems simple, right? Wrong. Oh so wrong. The building is divided into "courtyards" from 1000 - 1400. It might sound easy, but it's a maze. A maze that includes cool features, like an indoor pond and fancy seating areas, all accompanied by "gold" fixtures. It's like the state hired King Midas to decorate.

This is basically what I'm working with. A golden maze.

Being that it was my first day, I didn't think I would have a story to write. Wrong! My boss thought of an idea and basically went: "Hey! See that person? Go talk to them! And then go find the legislators working on the bill. Okay bye!" She proceeded to push me into one of the courtyards and then ran off. 

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I quickly (or so I hoped) gathered myself and got the first interview done. But now it was time to find the legislators. As we waited for session to end, we strategized. We found the seating chart and figured that the people I needed would leave through the doors closest to them. 

We positioned ourselves but as I was waiting, I found one representative on the phone. My boss told me to hover, but not too close, and to make eye contact, but not in a creepy way. Right. I smiled and stood near her, but she quickly ran away. Darn it.

There is honestly no way to stare without making it awkward.

Eventually, the doors opened and my boss yelled "RUN!" Now being new, I didn't actually think we had to run, but two seconds later by boss was running into the chamber finding the politicians I needed. I ran in after her - it was like watching Black Friday shoppers all over again.

All the reporters when session ends: RUN!

Sadly, the people I was looking for were gone. I decided to wait in their offices. They couldn't avoid me if I was there right?

Fortunately, I got the story done. I'll post a link when it is published. Yesterday was Day 1 of the rest of my summer. And if yesterday is representative of a typical day here, I think I'm going to have a lot of fun!

Now, I need to go make some phone calls and not freeze to death in the newsroom. Until next time!

~Jasmin