Where Are We Going

This week was terrific! On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to shadow reporter Nicole Carr as she covered a story about the drought in Ball Ground, Georgia. We constantly laughed because we did not know what to expect from a place called "Ball Ground." Carr interviewed Ball Ground's city manager and a meat and produce store worker. After Carr went live for the 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscast, Carr, Dave Darling, an extraordinary photographer, and I celebrated National Selfie Day by taking a selfie. 

On Thursday, I had the opportunity to shadow reporter Richard Elliot with fellow intern Jolie as he covered a story about a former school police lieutenant who made his first court appearance after shooting and killing one K-9 and leaving another in a hot patrol car. Afterwards, I had the opportunity to help with "The Bachelor" and " The Bachelorette" casting call at the station. There were 187 men and women who auditioned for the show. I thought about filling out an application , but I am not 21 yet. It looks like I will not be finding my Michelle Obama on television this year, but I digress. 

I am noticing that I am becoming more comfortable as a young journalist. I am learning so much from every person I encounter and have the opportunity to shadow. I know that this is where I am supposed to be.

Me getting ready for my stand-up in Ball Ground, Georgia. 

Reporter Nicole Carr reporting LIVE. 

Reporter Nicole Carr, photographer Dave Darling, and me celebrating National Selfie Day. 

Reporter Richard Elliot preparing to go LIVE. 

Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work

This week was fun and interesting. On Tuesday and Thursday, I had the opportunity to work with Clark Howard's, nationally syndicated radio host, team in the investigative unit. On Tuesday, I logged a few of Howard's television specials that will air soon and one that will air sometime in November. In addition, I accompanied the investigative team on two shoots that will air in a month or so. I have begun to see how investigative specials come together. Investigative reporters and their team will get a story, do tons of research on the topic and make tons of phone calls, shoot the interview, do tons of more research and make tons of more phone calls until there is nothing else to gather and put all of the pieces together to be shown on television. It was not hard to notice that the investigative team works extremely hard to put well done and informative specials together.

On Wednesday and Friday, I had the opportunity to shadow reporter Tyisha Fernandes. On Wednesday, Fernandes covered a story about a well-known Black Lives Matter activist in the Greater Atlanta area who was arrested at the Donald Trump rally. The activist was one of five who were arrested that day, and witnesses said that he was treated unfairly compared to the other people who were arrested. Fernandes got an interview with the activist's attorney to get more information on his client and his arrest history. On Friday, Fernandes covered a story about a grandmother who lost her granddaughter and her granddaughter's mother in a tragic car accident.

One of the highlights of this week was having dinner with Fernandes and her Friday photographer, Arnold. They gave me a lot of advice about the business and about life. It has been amazing have REAL moments with the reporters and photographers. Every moment like this reassures me of what I want to do with my life and the impact that I will make in the broadcast journalism field.

Me logging an investigative interview. 

Reporter Tyisha Fernandes interviewing the Black Lives Matter activist's attorney. 

Reporter Tyisha Fernandes and me after I finished my stand-up. 

And the Emmy Goes to...

This week was amazing. On Monday, I worked in the newsroom and did my regular routine. Although, I got a better understanding of the assignment desk. I answered two phone calls. It was kind of fun. The assignment desk crew is really nice and helpful. 

On Tuesday, I shadowed reporter Nefertiti Jaquez as she covered a story about a man that allegedly killed his girlfriend in her car in Memphis and ditched the car in Grant Park. Jaquez interviewed three residents. In addition, the third interviewee had pictures of the car before authorities picked it up. After Jaquez finished the interviews, she went live with the story at noon, 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. 

On Thursday, I shadowed investigative reporter Aaron Diamant as he covered a story about the general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport who was fired. Diamant was the first reporter to cover the story when the former general manager was first fired and since then, he had been trying to find out the exact reason why Mayor Kasim Reed fired him. Every time Diamant tried to get in contact with the mayor for an interview, the mayor and his team continually said "No." Not letting that be an excuse, Diamant tracked the mayor down at a public event and interviewed him as he got out of his car. It was so cool to see a reporter be so passionate about a story and not allow "No" to stand in his way. 

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to be a volunteer for the Southeast Emmy Awards. It was amazing seeing journalists who have inspired me since I was a young boy. My jobs included setting out programs, unloading the Emmys, cutting tickets and being a star chaser. What is a star chaser, you ask? A star chaser is someone who gets the presenters from their seats and walks them backstage to get prepped before they go on stage. This was AWESOME! It was amazing to be in the presence of excellence. It was evident that everyone in the ballroom worked hard to be there, whether they won an Emmy or not. Being there served as motivation for me to "work hard and persevere" as anchor Karyn Greer told me.  

I continue to stand amazed at the opportunities that God allows me to experience. This internship has stretched every part of me, but God has remained faithful and has guided me every step of the way.

Me working at the assignment desk. 

I have begun to look at the footage from my stand-ups. 

Investigative reporter Aaron Diamant interviewing Mayor Kasim Reed.

Investigative reporter Aaron Diamant interviewing Councilwomen Felicia Reed about the former general manager of the airport.

The production crew adding the finishing touches to the ballroom. 

Anchor Karyn Greer and me. I have looked up to her since I was a young boy. 

Me on the red carpet. 

Anchor Joanne Feldman from Fox 5 and me. She is very nice. 

Emmy Award-winning make-up artist Nyssa Green and me. She is hilarious. 

Anchor Brenda Wood and me. She has inspired me since I was a young boy. It was an honor meeting her. 

Mrs. Wood and me sharing a funny moment. 

Me practicing for when I win my first Emmy. 

Going Forward

This week was very interesting. On Monday, I got to the station at record time. Because of it being Memorial Day, it seemed like no one was on the road. A little over an hour trip only took me 40-50 minutes. Look at God! When I got into the newsroom, I immediately noticed that it was like a ghost town. The morning meeting was not as full, and Fred Blankenship was the only anchor on the noon newscast, so organizing scripts was a breeze. Also, I started to put together my package for my first stand-up with Nefertiti Jaquez. 

On Tuesday, I attended a reporters workshop held by reporter Darryn Moore and my supervisor. One thing that will stick with me forever, along with everything they said, is that reporters report but journalists change lives. That was a drop the mic/ praise break moment. It is always awesome learning from journalists who were once where I am. Before the workshop was over Moore gave us an assignment that consisted of us putting together the script for a mock package. Although it was challenging, I enjoyed it. 

This is where the "interesting week" comes in. I report to the station on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 9 a.m., and Tuesday and Thursday are the days that I have the opportunity to shadow a reporter. The conflict was that the reporters come in at 9 a.m. which was the same time as the reporters workshop. When the workshop was over, I went back to the newsroom and noticed that all of the reporters were gone. I could either find something to do until 2 p.m. and count it a loss for the day or stay until the 2:30 meeting and pray that a reporter would let me go with him/her. I did not mention that a majority of the reporters come in at 9 a.m., so if one says that I cannot go with them, there are a plethora of other reporters to ask. On the other hand, only three to four reporters come in at 2:30 p.m., so I was praying hard that one would  say "Yes." In that moment, I emailed reporter Matt Johnson to see if I could shadow him, and he said "Yes." I shadowed him as he covered a story about a lady who found out that her sister who had been missing since March was found dead. To make it worse, investigators only found her skull. When Johnson interviewed her, my heart broke. All I could do was pray for her and her family. Afterwards, I had the opportunity to have Subway with Johnson and his photographer before he had to leave for another assignment.

On Thursday, I had the opportunity to shadow investigative reporter Erica Byfield as she conducted interviews for a special about how much tax payers pay everyday for people to be in jail. It was very interesting. In addition, she did an interview with the manager and friend of Vernon Forrest, a well-known boxer who was murdered in 2009 and whose alleged murderer has not been convicted. The special will be aired in July, so I cannot reveal much about it.

Overall, I am continuing to enjoy my experience and learning a lot. More than that, I am learning from the other interns. They have taught me a lot about branding myself and making sure that I display my work. Furthermore, one of my favorite parts of the internship are the people who I get the opportunity of meeting week-to-week. As a journalist and human being, it is vital to know that EVERYONE has a story. Although some relate, every story is different. The world is made up of so many beautiful and diverse people who come from different walks of life, and I pray to tell their stories in a way that helps others and myself. 

Investigative reporter Erica Byfield conducting an interview for her upcoming special. 

Me doing a stand-up. 

Let the Games Begin

This week set the tone for the duration of my summer. I had the opportunity to work in the newsroom and in the field with reporters. Monday was a very light day. I attended the morning meeting, learned how the assignment desk is ran, printed scripts for Fred Blankenship and Carol Sbarge for the noon newscast and got the mail. Although it may not seem too exciting, I had a fantastic time doing it.  

On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to shadow reporter Nefertiti Jaquez as she covered a wreck in Dekalb County and a press conference about the Zika virus in Fulton County. The first story was about a lady who loss control of her car and fell noes first onto a playground. The good news is that driver and her husband, who was in the car with her, were fine. After Jaquez reported the story live for the noon show, I followed her back into the news van to learn how to log a story, also known as transcribing, and put together her package with her photographer. When she was finished, I had he opportunity to do a stand-up. Jaquez helped me write my script, which was challenging, and coached me on how to be conversational in my speech and less tense in my body language. It went well. It took me three takes to ease my nervousness, loosen my body and be conversational. The second story was about a senior center in Fulton County that was being sprayed for the Zika virus. The story was meant to bring awareness in the Fulton County area because there have been 16 cases of the Zika virus in Georgia and 6 alone in Fulton County. That is something else! Jaquez interviewed the Fulton County commissioner and he said that his goal is to protect pregnant women, children and elderly men and women. After Jaquez covered the story live for the 6 p.m. newscast, I had the opportunity to do another stand-up about that story. I used all of the tips that Jaquez gave me during my first stand-up and used them to do my second, which went well. 

In addition to shadowing that day, I had the opportunity to update the election results from the county primaries for the 11 p.m. newscast. It was really cool but very tedious. I was in charge of updating the results for 10 counties. I began to see double after looking at two computer screens for three and a half hours! Although I got home past midnight, I would do it all over again. 

On Thursday, I had the opportunity to go out with reporter Tyisha Fernandez to cover a story about an alleged murderer who was taken into custody after four years for allegedly killing his business partner. This story had been covered multiple times when the case first happened and investigators were looking for the suspect, and Fernandez was the FIRST person to cover the story and interview the brother of the victim since the alleged suspect had been taken into custody. The brother was so inspiring. The family is very deep in their faith and knew that the alleged suspect would be found. In addition the brother, who is a gospel artist, played the song that he wrote during the time they were looking for his brother four years ago called "Keep Standing." The song is AMAZING! Listening to Fernandez interview the brother reminded me of why I want to go into the broadcast journalism field and tell stories just like that family's. After the interview was over, I had the opportunity to have lunch with Fernandez and her photographer, Matt. Fernandez told me her story about how she got into the business. One thing that stuck with me is that people told her that she would never be a reporter. They told her that she did not have the voice or the "look" but look at her now. She is a part of the #1 news team in the country. After lunch, we went to a gas station so that Fernandes could log her story and put together her packages for the 5 and 6 p.m. newscast. Afterwards, we went to the church where the murder victim was last seen by his family. Tyisha covered the story live for the 5 and 6 p.m. newscast. It is always so cool to see the reporters report live and do it so effortlessly. After she finished the 6 p.m. newscast, I had the opportunity to do a stand-up. This time I incorporated all of the knowledge and tips I had been given by Jaquez and Fernandes. My third stand-up went really well. I wasn't nervous and I made sure to relax myself. Also, writing my script was easier. 

I learned a ton this week, and I strongly believe that God perfectly aligned the reporters I went out with this week. Jaquez taught me a lot about being a journalist, different media terms, writing and on air skills. Fernandes instilled a lot of confidence in me. Her story inspired me more than she will ever know. The things that people told her are some of the things that I have told myself at times. She is truly a living testimony of hard work, dedication and believing in yourself. Both reporters were really big on being kind to everyone. When I was out with Jaquez, we saw another reporter from another station who was covering the same story and instead of looking at him as competition, she treated him as a colleague. Fernandes told me that people who she has given her card out to in the community at different events have provided her with great stories. In fact, the story that she covered on Thursday was given to her by a friend that she had met at an event months ago. Although he had been called by the other news competitors, he decided to call Fernandes first. Furthermore, Jaquez and Fernandes were passionate about volunteer work and finding ways to give back outside of work. 

Moreover, I learned that I have everything that it takes to be a successful journalist, it just takes practice, dedication, belief in myself and a commitment to trust the process. This week made me so excited about starting my career and continuing to learn and grow.

Me organizing the scrips for the noon newscast. 

Nefertiti and me after her shoot was over. 

Photographer Mr. Sinclair bought us Chick-Fil-A. It was GOOOOOOOD!

Me updating the election results. Side note, "Dancing With the Stars" was playing on the third screen to my left. 

Some of the interns after election night with anchor Justin Farmer. 

Tyisha Fernandes and Matt getting ready to go live. 

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It's Getting Real

On May 19, I attended the intern orientation for WSB-TV at 9 a.m. I walked into the building full of nervousness and excitement but became relieved once I met the other 10 interns. To start off our day, we met with human resources and our supervisor. In addition, two former interns, Maranda and Chelsea, joined our supervisor to give us a student perspective of WSB-TV. After talking with our supervisor and the former interns, Maranda and Chelsea took us on a tour of the building. This was the moment I had been waiting on since I first watched WSB-TV as a young boy. We started on the bottom floor where the radio stations are held. While touring the radio stations, we passed on of my favorite radio personalities on Kiss 104.1 ,Sasha The Diva, as she was broadcasting live. As we walked by, I waived at her, and she waived back!  After we finished downstairs, we went to the third floor see the WSB-TV studio and newsroom. When we walked into the studio, my heart dropped. It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life. As we were looking at the set, Jocelyn Dorsey walked by us and greeted all of us. I was in complete shock because I did not expect to see one of the journalist so soon. Everything from the camera equipment to the news desk looked so cool. Afterwards, we walked across to the newsroom, and I tried to regain my composer. We walked into the newsroom and I lost my composer all over again, internally, of course. I saw Erica Byfield, Dave Huddleston, Erin Coleman, Aaron Diamont, Craig Lucie, Karen Minton, and Fred Blankenship.I could not believe it. I saw standing in the same room with the people who I have watched and have admired for years. Everyone was very nice and welcoming. After leaving the newsroom, we went to a conference room to meet with our supervisor to go over our schedules and expectations for the summer. In addition, our supervisor gave us the option of coming in on Friday, May 20, to attend the morning meeting where anchors and reporters pitch stories.


The next day, I attended the meeting and was fascinated by all of the stories being pitched and the fact that I had the opportunity to hear about the stories before they were shown on television. Before the meeting ended, the interns and I left early to get our badges and become "official." With our badges in hand, we walked to the news room to learn how to put together the scripts for the anchors. Before the noon broadcast, the producer began to send the anchor's scripts to the printers and we got to see Maranda put the scripts in order. In a matter of moments, we met one of the men who work in the studio, and he offered to let us sit in the studio during the noon broadcast to watch the anchors LIVE. Again, I internally lost my composer. It was an amazing experience to watch Fred Blankenship, Carol Sbarge and Brad Nitz LIVE! Before we left for the day, we ran into Blankenship and Sbarge in the hallway and Blankenship gave us some great advice about staring off in the news business and finding a job after college.


This week, I learned a lot about myself and the importance of getting out of my comfort zone. My supervisor talked about being aggressive and not waiting for reporters to ask us to shadow them. I have to take the initiative and ask them myself. If they say "no," say "thank you" and ask someone else. Hearing her say that put a fire in me to go above and beyond. In addition, God is teaching me trust. After coming home after orientation, I became very anxious and overwhelmed with everything that I had experienced that day. In that moment, one of my favorite people, Taylor Wilkerson, texted me and asked me about my day. She reminded me that this experience would as another testimony of God's love and faithfulness. What would I do without Tay-Tay?

I am stocked for the road ahead, everything I will get to experience and all of the people I will have the opportunity to meet. I know that I will leave with more skills and a greater passion for journalism. Greater than that, I am still in awe that God blessed me with this extraordinary opportunity.




The control room and crew during the noon broadcast.



Fred Blankenship and Carol Sbarge LIVE.



The set where the lottery numbers are announced.



Me outside of the building the Saturday before orientation.



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