Summer Internship Hones Student's Reporting Skills, Focuses Christian Worldview
by Natalie Harris
September 25, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Practice is the only way to become an excellent journalist. Bearing that precept in mind, I packed my car, drove across three states, and spent two months interning with the news department of American Family Radio (AFR) during the summer of 2006. I hoped to sharpen my journalism skills, increase my understanding of world events, and improve my resume. The internship exceeded my expectations. Altogether I spent eight weeks with AFR, which is the broadcast ministry of the American Family Association, based in Tupelo, Mississippi. The first four weeks were dedicated entirely to reporting. Over the next three weeks, I learned to craft and produce newscasts. The last week I spent with other aspects of the ministry, writing print stories for AgapePress and exploring the AFR Production Department. Although AFR news director Fred Jackson gave me every opportunity to try new things, the entire internship was fitted to my pace.
Starting off with a solid month of reporting sharpened my writing skills, gave me time to develop a beat, and trained me to juggle multiple stories at one time. I functioned as a full-time reporter, making phone calls, writing stories, and voicing them for the air. I especially enjoyed interviewing author Phyllis Scholarly (Eagle Forum), movie reviewer Ted Baehr (MovieGuide), WORLD Magazine editor Marvin Olasky, and others. Everything I learned in those first four weeks was essential during the next phase of my internship.
During the fifth and sixth weeks of my internship, I began to learn to craft a newscast. One of the regular anchors trained me to choose stories, arrange them, and voice them, as well as how to edit the whole newscast for the air. After two weeks of observation, I took over the shift myself and produced three newscasts a day for a week.
As necessary as it was for me to spend most of my time reporting and anchoring, the Production Department and AgapePress deepened my understanding of radio journalism. In Production I watched radio personalities voice track, saw what goes into making 30-second spots, and helped produce the "AFA Report," a daily 25-minute program featuring several members of the AFA staff. All of these things gave me a better grasp of the technical side of radio journalism, and it helped me value and critique the production of my own news stories.
One of the best parts of the internship was the time spent talking with Fred Jackson. Almost every day, he spoke with me about a cultural issue and addressed all of my questions. We talked about cults, the situation in the Middle East, and many similar issues. I had a strong Christian worldview before. But like a camera lens, this internship has brought world events into focus, and I now perceive them according to my worldview.
I highly recommend this internship for any journalism students who are interested in developing their ability to report news and who wish to strengthen their Christian worldview. Thank you, AFR, for a wonderful eight weeks!
For more information on the AFA intern program, contact the AFA Foundation
Natalie Harris is a student at Patrick Henry College in Virginia. American Family Radio, the broadcast ministry of the American Family Association, is a network of almost 200 stations that stretches across 35 states.
