Check out what I just wrote and posted on the Sentinel’s Web site. Finally some breaking news, which is exactly what I wanted from my internship.
I’ve done my fair share of features, and I daresay I’m pretty good at them. What I wanted from my internship was daily “down in the mud” experience. Imagine how disappointed I was when all I got in Watsonville was fluff features. Gimme news! Gimme a flap jacket and a notebook in Baghdad! Ok I’m pushing it.
I reported this from my desk, thanks to very cooperative emergency dispatchers (Missouri law enforcement really could learn from California). The cops & courts beat reporter, Jennifer Squires was on the scene with the photographer, Shmuel Thaler. I put it all together into 3 paragraphs, which the ACE completely transformed when we got more info, and it’s still the story I’m proudest of so far.
Sure, it took me four calls to the dispatch center when a seasoned reporter would have needed one. And, I felt pretty stupid when my editor kept asking me questions I didn’t have the answer to. But, darn it, I wrote breaking news. Gimme more!

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