On Background

Disclaimer: I want to describe what I'm doing, but my intention is to do so in a way that does not identify the people I work for and work with - at least, not easily. Likewise, I am not using my name on this blog because I don't want it to be searchable. If you're reading this, you probably know who I am anyway.

For informational purposes, I'm going to describe what I'm doing. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

I'm working at a large newspaper in the city that covers the areas of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. (These three cities make up "The Triangle.") For four weeks, I'll be stationed at the features desk and for the next eight or so (I'm still not entirely sure how long I am staying here), I'll be in metro. I don't have any assigned area of coverage right now, but I imagine as different writers go on vacations and whatnot, I'll be expected to fill in the gaps. Starting at features was a surprise; I figured they'd put me in news in order to acclimate myself to the city, but working on soft news has its own merits. It's at a slower pace, which is nice for someone who needs the time to look up directions. I'll start the summer with a more regular schedule, meaning I'm less likely to work weekends or late nights. The people are also extremely friendly - not that that's an exclusive characteristic of features writers. The downside? Getting clips will be slower, and I'm expected to pitch immediately - which is fine, but I wanted some more time to figure out what things were like down here.

Anyway, so I started last week with two days of intense orientation and my first full day in the features department. News uses Quark down here and features uses SaXo, which means I'm learning two different publishing platforms but it's fine because they're not difficult. I've already got three solid assignments (potentially a fourth), and they're across the board: a movie review (hm, I wonder why I was asked to review this film), a news feature relating to this story, and a larger package that I'll write more about later. I'm the only intern who is not local: two are from Duke and three are from UNC-Chapel Hill. They are all pretty wonderful - we've got two photo interns, a sports intern, a metro intern, and a fashion intern. I expect them to be an integral part of my social life (especially if this past weekend is any indication), and I am relieved for it.

Though this doesn't speak to the last semester, some of you know where I worked before this job and the stark contrast of this place to that one is amazing. Unlike over there (and I can't decide if it's the medium or the city that makes the difference), editors and writers are friendly and want to talk to you, and the other interns aren't insanely competitive and unfriendly. The warmth of the environment despite the massive layoffs (which I'll write about later) is something I haven't experienced since...I worked at my last newspaper.

On a personal note, I'm staying with another staffer from a different department who lives close to the newsroom, which is in downtown Raleigh. She's great, the place is nice, and she has two large and friendly cats. (I'm aware the preceding sentence contained an incredibly poor series.) I've never been much of an animal person (domesticated animals, at least) and this is my first time living with pets, but they're pretty cool so far. I only get scared when the huge cat jumps from the dining table to the kitchen counter because then he's taller than me, and I'm afraid he'll attack, but that seems to be just paranoia at this point.

I've got to get up early to drive around and do a few interviews, so I'll wrap it up and describe my weekend tomorrow. For the record, driving has been fine. Oh, and a question for other journos that may be reading: The reimbursement rate here is 37 cents per mile - is that the average going rate across newsrooms?