It’s been a great learning experience being able to live and work in D.C. Learning more about politics and interviewing Congressmen, are only a few of the many highlights. It’s sad to think that we are only a few days away from ending our time in here and it’s scary to think that come Saturday I’ll have my Masters!
I’m excited for the next part of my life to start, life after school. I’m looking for jobs all around the country. I’d love to move anywhere really. I like discovering new places and meeting new people. Being able to live and work in a completely different and new community is an exciting thing. Understanding what concerns a community and reporting on stories that will help keep the people of the community informed is why I love this job.
We are winding down with only a few days left in D.C. and with that said it’s really been a pleasure reporting for KTAB. I’ve had such a great time learning about Texas and I’d really love to visit soon, because it seems like such a great place! Finding stories that concern Texans-more specifically Abilene, at first seemed to be a hard task- but it’s been such a great learning experience.
I just finished my Silent Drill Platoon package, featuring Lance Corporal Seth Capps. I really hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed working on it.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Silent Marine Drill Platoon
This week we were able to film the Silent Marine Drill Platoon at one of their performances. One of the guys in the Platoon is from Tyler, Texas and we were able to interview him and find out what it’s like to be a part of the platoon.
They screen thousands of Marines from all over the country and hand pick men to be a part of Drill Platoon. The men they choose have to be between 5’11 and 6’2 and have a build proportionate to their height. They have to be in top physical shape and only men can be a part of the platoon. The men that are chosen serve a two year “tour”, where they train and perform for two years. They train and practice for up to eight hours a day and they have wash and clean their own uniforms, which they say can take up to two hours (by hand!).
The whole performance was in front of the Iwo Jima memorial and it was a beautiful ceremony. They do tricks with their rifles, including throwing them around and twirling them. The Marine band marches and plays first and then the Silent Drill Platoon performs. There were a lot of people who gathered to watch the performance, including a lot of families with young children.
The Silent Marine Drill Platoon is very disciplined and precise in their every movement. It was really cool to watch after talking to Lance Corporal Seth Capps (from Tyler, Texas) because he gave us insight into their everyday lives. He even let us hold his rifle and see how heavy it actually is. It weighs a little over 10 pounds and it’s actually heavier than I thought it’d be. So watching them twirl the rifles and throw them with ease-was really amazing.
One of the great parts of being a reporter is being able to meet and talk with many different and interesting people that you probably wouldn’t have otherwise met. I really enjoy meeting and talking with new people and for me, that’s one of the best parts of the job.
Only one final week to go in D.C., then I will officially have my Masters and begin the job hunt. It’s scary to think about, but I’m ready to live and work in a new community. I love the idea of immersing myself into a community and reporting the news that’s important to them.
So after this upcoming week-I’ll be off and hopefully you’ll all enjoy my last few reports for KTAB! It’s been a great experience being able to report for KTAB and I’ve really enjoyed every minute of it!
They screen thousands of Marines from all over the country and hand pick men to be a part of Drill Platoon. The men they choose have to be between 5’11 and 6’2 and have a build proportionate to their height. They have to be in top physical shape and only men can be a part of the platoon. The men that are chosen serve a two year “tour”, where they train and perform for two years. They train and practice for up to eight hours a day and they have wash and clean their own uniforms, which they say can take up to two hours (by hand!).
The whole performance was in front of the Iwo Jima memorial and it was a beautiful ceremony. They do tricks with their rifles, including throwing them around and twirling them. The Marine band marches and plays first and then the Silent Drill Platoon performs. There were a lot of people who gathered to watch the performance, including a lot of families with young children.
The Silent Marine Drill Platoon is very disciplined and precise in their every movement. It was really cool to watch after talking to Lance Corporal Seth Capps (from Tyler, Texas) because he gave us insight into their everyday lives. He even let us hold his rifle and see how heavy it actually is. It weighs a little over 10 pounds and it’s actually heavier than I thought it’d be. So watching them twirl the rifles and throw them with ease-was really amazing.
One of the great parts of being a reporter is being able to meet and talk with many different and interesting people that you probably wouldn’t have otherwise met. I really enjoy meeting and talking with new people and for me, that’s one of the best parts of the job.
Only one final week to go in D.C., then I will officially have my Masters and begin the job hunt. It’s scary to think about, but I’m ready to live and work in a new community. I love the idea of immersing myself into a community and reporting the news that’s important to them.
So after this upcoming week-I’ll be off and hopefully you’ll all enjoy my last few reports for KTAB! It’s been a great experience being able to report for KTAB and I’ve really enjoyed every minute of it!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Week 4 in D.C.
It’s been a pretty quiet week. There have been a few stories I’m working on that haven’t panned out yet. I’m still waiting on call-backs and permission to shoot certain events. Sometimes reporting is a waiting game. But at the same time you have to produce something-so you have about 5 different projects that you’re working on at once to see which one you get first.
It cooled off at the beginning of the week-which was a really nice change. But then towards the end of the week the heat started to creep back up again. It’s hitting 102* on Saturday-my friends and I are planning on seeing a movie, because with that temperature and high humidity, frankly it’s just to gross outside to do much of anything.
This week I helped out a fellow reporter a lot. She had to interview Congressman Thornberry twice this week, so I went along with her to help her shoot the interviews.
The Congressman is always very nice and accommodating. His office is beautiful-with a large wall sized map of the world on one of the walls. He has many pictures of his kids around and a few pieces of their “artwork” from when they were little. It’s always nice to interview a Congressman who’s down to earth and an all around nice guy. It allows us to not be intimidated by his role and helps make our job that much easier.
It cooled off at the beginning of the week-which was a really nice change. But then towards the end of the week the heat started to creep back up again. It’s hitting 102* on Saturday-my friends and I are planning on seeing a movie, because with that temperature and high humidity, frankly it’s just to gross outside to do much of anything.
This week I helped out a fellow reporter a lot. She had to interview Congressman Thornberry twice this week, so I went along with her to help her shoot the interviews.
The Congressman is always very nice and accommodating. His office is beautiful-with a large wall sized map of the world on one of the walls. He has many pictures of his kids around and a few pieces of their “artwork” from when they were little. It’s always nice to interview a Congressman who’s down to earth and an all around nice guy. It allows us to not be intimidated by his role and helps make our job that much easier.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Chatting with the Congressman
I joined another of the Texas TV station reporters from my newsroom to do another interview with Rep. Neugebauer this morning. When we need a meeting with him, we contact his Press Secretary, Beth. She is so nice and down to earth. It’s fairly easy to get an interview with our Congressmen as long as we schedule it in advance. The other Texas reporter and I usually go together and ask both of our questions at once to make it more convenient for the Congressman and to help each other out with videotaping.
We arrived early and set up our equipment and started our interview a few minutes early. Afterward, we stayed and talked for a bit about some of the “stuffed” objects in his office.
There’s a stuffed water buffalo head hanging on his wall and a zebra rug on the floor. I asked Congressman Neugebauer if both were real. He said he shot them on a hunting expedition that he and his family went on in Africa and it was a really fun experience. The Congressman told us that the people who take you out onto the hunting expedition are able to tell the older members of the heard, so when you shoot to kill, you take down a member of the heard who was already very old. Apparently they can tell the older animals just by looking at them from a distance, by the different marks on their bodies and identifiable scars. I thought that was neat because it wouldn’t be kind to take a young animal's life.
We talked to Rep. Neugebauer off the record for about 20 minutes and it was nice to see how down to earth he really is and how easy he is to talk to. Whenever you interview someone in front of the camera, you often don't get a sense of who they “really” are as a person. But in having the chance to just chat about non-news subjects was great and I really appreciated how openly he talked with us.
We arrived early and set up our equipment and started our interview a few minutes early. Afterward, we stayed and talked for a bit about some of the “stuffed” objects in his office.
There’s a stuffed water buffalo head hanging on his wall and a zebra rug on the floor. I asked Congressman Neugebauer if both were real. He said he shot them on a hunting expedition that he and his family went on in Africa and it was a really fun experience. The Congressman told us that the people who take you out onto the hunting expedition are able to tell the older members of the heard, so when you shoot to kill, you take down a member of the heard who was already very old. Apparently they can tell the older animals just by looking at them from a distance, by the different marks on their bodies and identifiable scars. I thought that was neat because it wouldn’t be kind to take a young animal's life.
We talked to Rep. Neugebauer off the record for about 20 minutes and it was nice to see how down to earth he really is and how easy he is to talk to. Whenever you interview someone in front of the camera, you often don't get a sense of who they “really” are as a person. But in having the chance to just chat about non-news subjects was great and I really appreciated how openly he talked with us.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
D.C. Diversity
One thing I’ve noticed since I’ve been in D.C. is there are many different ethnic food restaurants. So a few of my classmates and I decided that we should try different food that we’ve never had before.
Tonight we made a reservation at an Ethiopian restaurant. When we walked into the restaurant the first thing we noticed was there were no tables. There were stools –around a large table-indented like a bowl. All the food was placed in a big bowl-in the “table”. Everyone orders a dish and it’s served in one giant bowl and eaten with your hands with a thin pancake-like bread. It was delicious. It was a very communal meal and it was extremely different from any meal I’ve ever eaten. The food was spicy and their hummus was great! But the atmosphere of the restaurant made the whole experience feel very
“authentic.”
But we are almost halfway done with our time in D.C. and I’m sad to have it pass so quickly. I’ve seen and done a lot while here. But there’s so much more I want to explore.
Tonight we made a reservation at an Ethiopian restaurant. When we walked into the restaurant the first thing we noticed was there were no tables. There were stools –around a large table-indented like a bowl. All the food was placed in a big bowl-in the “table”. Everyone orders a dish and it’s served in one giant bowl and eaten with your hands with a thin pancake-like bread. It was delicious. It was a very communal meal and it was extremely different from any meal I’ve ever eaten. The food was spicy and their hummus was great! But the atmosphere of the restaurant made the whole experience feel very
“authentic.”
But we are almost halfway done with our time in D.C. and I’m sad to have it pass so quickly. I’ve seen and done a lot while here. But there’s so much more I want to explore.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Remembering those lost.
My last story was about a new bill that would give new benefits to Gold Star parents. Gold Star parents are parents who’ve lost a child while serving our country. The original bill stated that in order for Gold Star parents to benefit from state run VA nursing homes-they’d have to have lost all their children in service. But the new bill would change the law-so parents who lose only one child in combat would qualify as well. It’s a simple change and one that has met no opposition while trying to be passed.
In order to do the story, we had to find parents who would be affected by this change. That was the hardest part-locating Gold Star parents who’d be willing to talk to us. We finally found James and Carolyn Duffy.
They were extremely friendly and genuine people who opened their home to us for the interview. We had to talk about the death of their son and it was probably one of the hardest interviews (to date) I’ve had to do. But as a reporter there will be times the interviews are going to be tough-especially those that involve a loss.
As the Duffys told us about their son, they started crying and it was hard for us to not feel for them. No parent should have to bury their child and it must have been an extremely trying time for them. It was hard not to tear up as they were crying to us about the pain they had after losing their youngest son.
We had to ask the hard questions, prying into their private lives and even though it was a tough interview-they were inspiring people. The Duffys have been through a lot in their lives and burying a son is probably one of the hardest things for any parent. But we were glad they were willing to share their story with us and all of our viewers. They are people I'll never forget and their story will be a part of me for a long time.
In order to do the story, we had to find parents who would be affected by this change. That was the hardest part-locating Gold Star parents who’d be willing to talk to us. We finally found James and Carolyn Duffy.
They were extremely friendly and genuine people who opened their home to us for the interview. We had to talk about the death of their son and it was probably one of the hardest interviews (to date) I’ve had to do. But as a reporter there will be times the interviews are going to be tough-especially those that involve a loss.
As the Duffys told us about their son, they started crying and it was hard for us to not feel for them. No parent should have to bury their child and it must have been an extremely trying time for them. It was hard not to tear up as they were crying to us about the pain they had after losing their youngest son.
We had to ask the hard questions, prying into their private lives and even though it was a tough interview-they were inspiring people. The Duffys have been through a lot in their lives and burying a son is probably one of the hardest things for any parent. But we were glad they were willing to share their story with us and all of our viewers. They are people I'll never forget and their story will be a part of me for a long time.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
You are now entering the District of Columbia...
Welcome to the Nation’s Capital.
Moving to D.C. marks the beginning of the end for me-for the last six weeks of our Master’s program at Syracuse University; we trek down to Washington D.C. to live and breathe everything the city has to offer and report for our respective stations across the country.
I’m reporting for KTAB in Abilene, Texas, which is interesting since I’ve never been there or to Texas (unless an hour in the Houston Airport transferring flights counts). There’s a lot to know about Texas and I’m trying my hardest to consume as much information as I can and understand what issues are important to Texans.
I’ve experienced a lot in the first week I’ve been here:
I’ve battled the Metro subway system -- which is colorful and, at times, confusing. It’s usually packed with people and trying to carry a tripod/camera along for the ride proves to be difficult. The metro farecards are also extremely frustrating because having them anywhere near your cell phone, credit cards or other electronic devices deactivates them. And one of my fellow reporters successfully deactivated five cards in one day.
The 100- degree heat here in D.C. is unbearable at times, but I’m sure most of Texas is used to that kind of heat. Carrying a tripod/camera around Capitol Hill in over 100-degree weather is tiring. And when some of the Metro cars don’t have air conditioning, it makes your day that much hotter. Your “professional dress” becomes less professional- as the day wears on and you sweat like never before.
But on a more positive note, meeting and interviewing members of Congress on issues
that affect Texas has been a more pleasant experience. The first interview my fellow
Texas reporters and I had was with Rep. Mac Thornberry. He was very nice and
accommodating and his Press Secretaries were great! Going to interview him was a little intimidating (I’d never met a Congressman before), but after meeting him and seeing how down to earth he was, the interview went by smoothly. The next Congressman I interviewed was Randy Neugebauer, who was equally nice and helpful! He fit us into his busy schedule and as soon as we were done with the interview he had to run to vote on legislation on the floor of the House of Representatives.
All in all, it's been a great start!
Moving to D.C. marks the beginning of the end for me-for the last six weeks of our Master’s program at Syracuse University; we trek down to Washington D.C. to live and breathe everything the city has to offer and report for our respective stations across the country.
I’m reporting for KTAB in Abilene, Texas, which is interesting since I’ve never been there or to Texas (unless an hour in the Houston Airport transferring flights counts). There’s a lot to know about Texas and I’m trying my hardest to consume as much information as I can and understand what issues are important to Texans.
I’ve experienced a lot in the first week I’ve been here:
I’ve battled the Metro subway system -- which is colorful and, at times, confusing. It’s usually packed with people and trying to carry a tripod/camera along for the ride proves to be difficult. The metro farecards are also extremely frustrating because having them anywhere near your cell phone, credit cards or other electronic devices deactivates them. And one of my fellow reporters successfully deactivated five cards in one day.
The 100- degree heat here in D.C. is unbearable at times, but I’m sure most of Texas is used to that kind of heat. Carrying a tripod/camera around Capitol Hill in over 100-degree weather is tiring. And when some of the Metro cars don’t have air conditioning, it makes your day that much hotter. Your “professional dress” becomes less professional- as the day wears on and you sweat like never before.
But on a more positive note, meeting and interviewing members of Congress on issues
that affect Texas has been a more pleasant experience. The first interview my fellow
Texas reporters and I had was with Rep. Mac Thornberry. He was very nice and
accommodating and his Press Secretaries were great! Going to interview him was a little intimidating (I’d never met a Congressman before), but after meeting him and seeing how down to earth he was, the interview went by smoothly. The next Congressman I interviewed was Randy Neugebauer, who was equally nice and helpful! He fit us into his busy schedule and as soon as we were done with the interview he had to run to vote on legislation on the floor of the House of Representatives.
All in all, it's been a great start!
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