The First Week at KSDK

Today marks my third day working at KSDK-TV, St. Louis’s NBC-affiliate news station. There are nine interns, including myself, for the summer session, and they come from schools across the country. About half of us are originally from St. Louis, but there are also students from colleges ranging from Ball State University to Kansas University, and of course I’m representing the South with UNC.

Each day, we are given a different assignment; so far, I’ve worked on Show Me St. Louis (an afternoon show featuring destinations around the city), the special projects desk, and now the assignment desk.

Wednesday was our orientation, and we toured the building, met reporters, producers and managers, and learned how to work the various positions to which we had been assigned. It was a long day, but so much fun.

Yesterday, I started off working for Show Me St. Louis, and organized information pertaining to the week’s upcoming shows. I took phone calls from people who wanted their businesses featured on the show, mailed out recipes to people that had requested to know what foods had been featured on previous shows, and organized groups that were to be featured on yesterday’s show. I’ve watched Show Me St. Louis with my mom since I was in 3rd grade, and being on the “inside” of production was nothing short of awesome.

I then took my seat at the special projects desk, where my duties included researching the top 50 US markets and reporting back to my boss with pertinent story ideas, maintaining contact information and researching upcoming stories for the reporters. This last part was especially interesting, as the information and contacts that I uncovered could potentially be featured on the local news. So exciting.

Today, I’m working at the assignment desk, answering the phone when both reporters and viewers call in. The reporters often need updates on their stories, which I’m able to help with using our iNews system. However, the really interesting part is talking to viewers. I’ve spoken to people with legitimate news tips, as well as people who could be classified as certifiably crazy…and I’m not saying that to be cynical or mean.

For example, one woman called in and said that she loved her 14 cats but was allergic to them, and wondered if we had any advice. I did, but I chose not to share it with her, for fear of losing my job. Another woman called in and said she needed to speak with a meteorologist about an “urgent” question she had. Her question turned out to be about how fast water evaporates, so, needless to say, I did not transfer her. Finally, my favorite caller so far was a man who claimed that the apocalypse was near and that we needed to get the word out immediately. I’m guessing that’s not going to appear in tonight’s news.

I have the weekend off, but can’t wait until Monday—yes, Memorial Day, but as I’ve heard multiple times, “the news doesn’t stop for holidays.” Check back for updates, and I hope everyone has a great weekend :)