Another summer full of stories produced by our cohort of interns is in the books at WCMU. It flies by so fast every year.
Shortly after spring classes wrapped up back in May, we welcomed four reporting interns into the newsroom: Masha Smahliuk, Blace Carpenter, Mia Kerner and Alexandrea Ladiski, all students at Central Michigan University. They spent 13 weeks with us.
The first two weeks of the summer are always intense. Students learn so much in a short amount of time, from how to record phone calls, tricks for finding stories and the fundamentals of crafting sound-rich stories for the radio.
I also make them go interview people in the streets of Mount Pleasant. In previous years, not all the interns were in love with this assignment. But not this group. No matter what I threw at them they were all in.
One thing I’ve noticed about journalism students today is their love of learning the craft of reporting and how much they care about local journalism. Given the news about the news industry isn’t always the most positive, the students who chose to go to CMU and major in journalism really, really care. They want a career in journalism and understand why this work matters in our democracy. And they certainly made an impact this summer.
In total, this year’s cohort produced 117 stories. That included 101 stories for our newscasts and 16 features. They also created 16 photo galleries and produced seven multimedia videos for our social media accounts.
This proud news director could go on and on about all the amazing stories they produced. But instead, let’s hear what they had to say about this summer.
Below, each individual intern highlighted their top two favorite stories and the most valuable lessons they learned along the way.
Masha Smahliuk
I learned the lesson of covering stories that other people might not want me to cover. I didn't have much experience with reporting on issues like that before, and this summer I had an opportunity to write several of those stories, which is so important because those are the stories that truly matter. I learned that those stories usually require more time, more research, following up with sources, digging into past coverage and even requesting public records.Masha Smahliuk, WCMU newsroom intern
Blace Carpenter
The main lesson I'm taking away after spending 12 weeks in northeast Michigan is that stories are all around us, but it's not always obvious at first. I spent a great deal of time reviewing meeting minutes and going down a rabbit hole of contacts before I came out with a story. One of my favorite stories from this summer came from a single sentence said during a Michigan House committee meeting. This was my biggest challenge this summer, and I appreciate the lesson it taught me.Blace Carpenter, WCMU newsroom intern
Mia Kerner
I learned how to work independently and be self-sufficient, which gave me the freedom to test out my instincts as a journalist. I learned that every story has a "human" aspect that people can identify with. I learned not to take the responsibility of telling someone's story lightly. It takes a great deal of trust for someone to share their thoughts and experiences. I have learned that my work can have real impacts.Mia Kerner, WCMU newsroom intern
Alexandrea Ladiski
I learned to always be prepared, and to learn from your mistakes. I definitely feel like I have grown as a journalist this summer, and I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with interviewing people. This program was all about teaching me to always strive for the best. Feedback was a big part of what helped me to improve and to strive for the best I could be.Alexandrea Ladiski, WCMU newsroom intern
