First Day as an Intern

Hi everybody,

So today was my first day interning at the Townsville Bulletin. I was based in the Entertainment section of the paper, which is responsible for pull out sections “The Guide” and “Savvy.”

I was firstly shown around the building (which strangely resembled the Maze featured in ‘The Shinning’) and met all the relevant people (of which there were many). I was then given my first assignment for the day; a phone interview with Sydney based DJ Beni. I read through the media release and relevant bio material in order to form my questions. However, apparently the world didn’t want the story to go ahead.

Beni’s manager (who is getting married tomorrow and under a great deal of stress) could not get hold of the DJ. So by 4 o’clock it was pretty well assumed that the story would forever be nothing more then 15 un-answered question on a lose sheet of refill paper.

My next task was to write an article on the Townsville Oratorio Choir and book a photo time with the group. With an extensive media release given, I only had to spend five minutes on the phone with my interviewee in order to gather some good quotes. As it was over the phone, I had to use a special recording device that literally just sticks onto the phone like a suction cup. The interview went well but when I played back the recording, there was nothing but feedback! Luckily I had been taking notes during the interview, so I was able to use my scribble and complete the story.

My next assignment was to contacted local vocalist Ebony Buckle who is going away to study at the Academy of Performing Arts in London. “The Guide” wanting to do a feature on the performer, as they had previously done articles on her. I was able to knuckle down an appointment time for a photo session and organised the interview next Friday. Which by the way I have already research and formulated my questions (she said with a humble air).

The rest of the afternoon was spent reviewing CDs. This felt very comfortable to me as my ultimate goal in life is to work at one of the major Music/Rock magazines in either the UK (Kerrang or Hammer Magazine) or in America (Alternative Press or the holy grail Rolling Stone Magazine.)

While there were a few hiccups between getting people on the phone and technological difficulties, I still thoroughly enjoyed my first day. I certainly did have to ask a few questions of my mentor Isis, but for the most part I felt quite comfortable book photo sessions into the computer, submitting articles and taking the initiative to ring up my interviewees without having to be prompted.

Oh, and by the way I got to keep all the CDs that I reviewed….Nice…J