This is my final blog post for my internship at WEAR-TV. I really enjoyed my time working at the station, but there is nothing left for me to do. I wish I could have spent the last month at the station, but based on the circumstances, that was not going to happen. There was a lot more that I wanted to accomplish, including making a demo reel, but we cannot always get what we want.

I am in a completely different headspace now than when I started. I wanted to be a sportscaster in January and had no plans of going to graduate school. I was going to apply for a job at news stations as soon as I graduated, but things have changed. I have realized that being a sportscaster is not what I want to do. Instead, I think I want to be a college softball coach. So, I will be attending grad school in the fall as a graduate assistant coach for a team, I am just not sure where yet. It is contingent on what school offers me a job and what graduate degrees that school offers. I am still very appreciative of everything that I learned at the station.

This will be my second to last blog post because my supervisors at WEAR have not given me an assignment in weeks and after reaching out to Dan, he made it clear that he simply does not have anything for me because he barely has anything for himself to do. He also was nice enough to say that he does not want to stress me out anymore than I already am with classes being online now. I have enjoyed my time at WEAR and genuinely wish that this did not have to end the way it did. I had no idea that when I left the last time that it would be my last, and when I drove home for spring break, that I would not be coming back except for to to pack my stuff up and move out of my apartment.

Last week was a very hectic week for me. I have had multiple interviews for grad school, seven online classes, three stories to write, and more. I have been very overwhelmed and, frankly, I am very thankful the week is over.

For my internship, I have only been given one assignment for the last couple weeks, or at least David and I took it as an assignment, and it was to join a ZOOM meeting for all of the interns for Sinclair Broadcast Group, which I did. It was just over an hour long and was very informative. David and I both asked questions and got them answered, which was very insightful.

As for the future, I have talked to Dan and he said that there have been two people at the station who have tested positive for coronavirus and the station is shut down. Apparently, it is chaotic for everyone and that they are just trying to figure out what they are going to do, so that there is nothing for me and does not want to burden me. I am assuming this is also why Kim has not given us anything to do- she’s too busy with everything else.

This week was another week where my internship was to be done remotely. I have emailed one of the supervisors at WEAR-TV, but I still have not received a direct response. She has sent a message to David, the other intern, and myself about an intern webinar for all of the interns for all of Sinclair Broadcasting Group. David believes that the webinar is our next assignment. She did not clarify, but that is how it appears to me, as well. However, the webinar is for this coming Wednesday, which means that there is not an assignment for this week.

This last week has been the second week that we are working remotely. Because of this, the internship role for sports is a little obsolete because there are no games for me to attend. Kim has tried to find things for me to do, including writing a package for some footage and in-depth web scripts. Unfortunately, I have not been taught how to do that- I have only learned how to write a script for highlight videos, which is actually mostly ad libbed. I responded to Kim asking if she could explain what it is and how to go about, she responded saying that she was figuring out how to proceed and then never got back to me. I am not surprised she didn’t get back to me because she is probably very busy right now with everything going on.

Mondays are my busiest days, as I am still having to attend online class meetings for 4 hours and it is the day that all of my teachers are making their work due, so I will email her again tomorrow morning and see if there is something else for me to do. I will also CC Dan and Steve on it and see if maybe there is anything that they might need me to do.

This was the first week we were off because our supervisors have stopped our internship. We may do an assignment or two over the break. It is unclear what we are going to do now that school is closed for the rest of the semester.

This was a slow week at the station.

On Tuesday I covered Pine Forest baseball, who played against Pensacola Catholic. It started to rain, but we stuck it out.

On Wednesday, I met the guys at the Bay Center and did an interview with the Ice Flyers coach. From there, we went to Fort Walton Beach. We covered a NWFSC women’s basketball practice because they were preparing for the state tournament that they were hosting. We did interviews with the coach and three players.

Thursday was my final day. We went to UWF and covered a 16u travel volleyball team that is going to Colorado to play a tournament. We interviewed the coach and three of the players for a package.

I drove home for spring break Friday morning.

Last week was another fun and exciting week at my internship. I worked 20 hours over four days.

On Tuesday, it was just another day at the station. I edited a VO about Auburn basketball, so that was exciting. I watched the game and chose my own highlights. I did not go anywhere to take notes or help.

Thursday was a really fun day. When I got to the station, the 6 pm show was on and Lou Ferrigno was a guest. He had an interview with Bob, then took over the weather segment and it was just so much fun. I got to meet him after and he was such a nice guy! Afterwards, I went and covered the UWF men’s basketball game.

Friday was another normal day and I did not leave the station. I did, however, get to edit two videos for the show. One was fairly short, but the other one much longer. I am getting much better at editing VOs, but I want to learn how to put together a VOSOT and packages now. Hopefully, that will be the next thing.

Saturday was a lot of fun because I volunteered to help with the WEAR booth at Pensacon! We did trivia, gave away prizes, and did a raffle. It was something I had never experienced before and I am definitely glad that I was a part of it.

Week 5 was easily the most exciting week of my internship by far for a couple reasons. I worked Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. On Tuesday, I went to the Pine Forest High School regional semifinals game and took notes and stats for Dan to use on the show. The girls won and would go on to play on Friday, as well.

Thursday was a very slow and boring day for me, unfortunately. I did not leave the station and did not have anything to edit. I mainly just sat in a chair and watched Dan and Steve edit and write their scripts, then watched them on the air.

Friday, was an exciting day for me. Dan had me edit together a video to preview the PSC men’s basketball game that would make-or-break their season. When I was finished, he told me what revisions to make, and I made them. He then used my video in the show, which is the first time my work made it on the show (besides my interviews) and I was very proud! Then, I went to the Pine Forest regional final game and they won to make it to states! Steve went with us, so I did not take notes and just enjoyed the game. If I’m being honest, it would have been hard for me to take notes anyways because the guy sitting in front of me was taking up much of my personal space and kept bumping me and making me move to accommodate him. Regardless, it was an overall great day.

Saturday was the most fun day, however. I had volunteered to walk in the Mardi Gras parade in Downtown Pensacola. I met the group at 9 a.m. and we rode to the parade route on the float from there. It was freezing when I got there, but by 11 it was beautiful. I met a lot of new people from the station and just had a great time. We started the actual parade at 2 and it was amazing walking and giving out beads and plush toys to the crowds. We were done by 3:30, then I went home because I was exhausted. It was an absolute success.

Unfortunately, this week was a shortened week. I was able to go in on Tuesday and Thursday, but that was all due to another emergency room visit. I was diagnosed with a relatively rare condition that flares up randomly and is extremely painful. I should be able to go back in on Tuesday, assuming the pain has subsided.

On Tuesday, I got out of class early and got to WEAR at 5:30. I went to high school soccer game for a short amount of time due to the home team mercy-ruling the other team. We, then, went to Washington High School to get footage of the quarter-final boy’s basketball games. We got the end of the Washington game and the entire Gulf Breeze vs. Escambia game. Then we went back to the station and watched the 10:00 show. I talked to Dan for a while about what I should do to get where I want to go. I finally left at 12:30 a.m.

On Thursday, I joined the station in the UWF Mardi Gras parade. We walked through campus handing out beads and mini footballs. I pulled the wagon with all the mini footballs in it for the parade. It was one of my favorite things I have done so far, and I plan on being in the parade downtown this coming Saturday.