Evolvement of reporting, evolvement of a student

I took the internship at the Iowa Statehouse to better myself as a reporter. With the internet booming, and print ad sales declining, newspapers and magazines are taking an extreme hit. If you want to be a reporter these days, you're pretty much out of luck if all you can do is write and conduct interviews. This internship was probably the best step I've taken so far towards making myself a better candidate for present day reporting jobs.

The Iowa Statehouse during the Legislative session is constantly filled with people. Reporters, students, professors, legislators, lobbyists and more fill the rotunda every day, with conversation and ideas being exchanged everywhere. This made it very easy for me to meet plenty of Iowans from all over the state and connect with them on a professional level. I was able to improve my communication skills as well as interact with people that are necessary to work with when covering politics.

I also became a reporter that is able to use audio and video to tell a story, something I was unfamiliar with before. Upon starting work there I had dabbled here and there with audio and video recordings, but had next to no real experience in them. I will leave this internship however, decently well versed in both technologies.

My daily activities during session were always filled with both audio and video capturing. I filmed debate in the Senate Chamber, press conferences, bill signings and interviews with Capitol visitors as well as recorded audio of 17 different senators and various breaking news pieces with legislators and guests at the Capitol. All of the media I captured also needed to be edited and publicized, which improved my familiarity with professional public relations and information distribution. My newfound familiarity with these mediums will make me much more marketable in the journalism and communications fields. Publications cannot rely only on writing skills anymore and my ability to do more than one thing will make my career search much easier in the long run.

I've had to become a much more capable job candidate this spring. This to me was the most important part of my internship. It's not just getting the internship that counts. It's what you do with it while you're there. It's always easy to settle for what's easy, but it's important to make sure you aren't selling yourself short by doing so. If I've learned one thing this semester, it's that learning never stops. This internship has made me the most flexible reporter I can possibly be up to this point, and I plan on ensuring that my education in that field continues for a long time.

In the Prescence of History

On Thursday, March 25th, my internship offered me an amazing opportunity. I had tickets to go see the President of the United States speak on my college campus. I drove out with some other interns at the Statehouse the night before, spent the evening laughing and talking. The car was filled with excitement, we were about to witness a piece of history. President Obama had just signed the health care reform bill into law, and had chosen Iowa City as his first destination to celebrate. I would be able to tell people that I had been there after he passed this piece of legislation that would have a monumental effect on not only his presidency, but the country as well.

As we walked up to the Fieldhouse to wait in line, we passed a decent-sized group of protestors, standing outside the building waving signs with phrases like "Obamacare" and "Obama's Holocaust" next to pictures of death and other unpleasent things. I stared at them for quite awhile, unable to tear my eyes away from their anger, heavily displayed on their faces and in their movement. I tried not to put too much thought into what their posters said, after all, I know that is not at all what this piece of legislation will do. I found, however, that I had a hard time throwing their prescence out of my mind.

There I was, excited and enthusiastic, about being able to see my President, whom I respect and admire, speak on a bill that I knew certainly had to do some good. But in the meanwhile, there were people outside who believed in the opposite with exactly the same enthusiasm. It made me think about how all controversial government programs, like Medicaid, had to begin in the same way. With supporters and protestors taking sides and advocating for them by speaking outside buildings, creating signs, and expressing their beliefs in any way they can. And it was in this moment that I really began to hold great respect for our country and its founding principles. We've made it possible, not only for people to feel free to express themselves, but also for law to be an ever-evolving process. One that can be easily changed and altered to ensure success over time. No bill that ever passes is perfect, and there will always be some sort of problem with any legislation for one person or another. But the great thing is, that no matter what, it is easy for us, as a population to influence it as much as we can to ensure that it succeeds for many people in the long run.