Week 5...Time is FLYING!

Today's Buzz Briefs which I wrote myself this morning...notice my name at the bottom! haha :)
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/30/entertainment/main4219048.shtml

I went out on a shoot today with Brad (one of the Producers) and Dan (one of my fellow interns). We went to the Javits Convention Center for the "Fancy Food Show" which was AWESOME because there were over a thousand different specialty food vendors there--which meeeeaaannnnssss over a thousand different SAMPLES of cookies, candy, meats, cheeses, breads, pasta, beverages, etc. SO fun. We got in free with our press passes...the public had to buy a tickets for a few hundred dollars, I believe.

Our purpose of going was to get footage for a story Brad is working on of a berry called "miracle fruit." It supposedly alters your taste buds when you eat one--makes sour and bitter foods taste sweet. Brad tried it a few weeks ago and said it worked...but not well enough for all the hype that's being brought up around it. But I guess it is a cool concept.

We interviewed the guy who is the only commercial supplier of "miracle fruit" in the world. This guy really believes that this fruit can replace sugar as a sweetener--and actually prove to be a "miracle" for people with diabetes and that sort of thing. I'll let you be the judge. I'll post Brad's story (which I contributed to with a few questions and some alternate footage, as always. haha) Here's a segment on it from the Early Show:

Happy Friday

My Weekly Photo Essay: "What They Said"
http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2008/06/26/in_depth_showbiz/photoessay4212033.shtml?source=search_photo

Heath Ledger Story: "Ledger's Performance: No 'Joke'"
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/27/entertainment/main4214955.shtml

Yay for Baseball!

Wednesday:

Wednesday morning, all 80+ CBS News interns were invited to attend and be introduced on the Early Show. It was fun hanging out with the other interns from different departments...we ended up on camera a few times--including when the weather guy pointed to me and my friend Amy (also an interactive intern) and said "We've got reps from South Carolina and LSU here!" I got a few calls from people telling me they had just seen me on TV. 5 mintues of fame...haha. Here are the CBS Interactive Intern girls (Amanda, Me, Amy, and Lucy):

The Early Show crew filming segments out on the Plaza. They were all pretty nice...
After being out on the plaza, we went on a tour of the Early Show set--and got to watch them tape an interview with Julie Chen and Sigourney Weaver to air at a later date. It was cool to be able to see how CBS does their show as compared to when I was at the Today Show a couple weeks ago. Us with some friends from Evening Weekend News (Aaron and Chris) in the Early Show Studio before the Interview started:
The Early Show Control Room: where all the magic happens:

Once I got to work, I helped interview 1980s Super Model Kim Alexis. She has a new show on TV Land called "She's Got The Look" that she's promoting. I took alternate footage like I've been doing for previous interviews with the digital camera to lay over the regular still camera footage. :-)

After work, Amy and I went to a Mets game. Here we are at Shea Stadium (with the new one being built in the background)...we made friends with a local baseball fan. haha$10 tickets for an MLB game--Definitely worth 10 bucks...I enjoyed it a lot and was glad to see them kick some Seattle Mariner butt. HOWEVER, I am still a Braves fan (and even more so a GAMECOCKS fan!!!). Gotta stay true to my roots!

Today:

The Senior VP of Standards & Special Projects, Linda Mason, held a presentation for all of the interns to attend. She went over CBS's codes of conduct/ethics. It was pretty interesting because a lot of it was based on everything we learned in Journalism 303--Law and Ethics. I guess there is a reason we have that class...haha.

There were also a lot of things I wasn't aware were so important that she covered in the presentation--reasons why different problems arise and how to cover our butts when they happen.

Tuesday, Tuesday

A couple of today's assignments...

Today's Buzz Briefs:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/24/entertainment/main4205278.shtml

AP Story--Israelis Flattered By "Zohan" Movie:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/24/entertainment/main4205541.shtml

Photo Essay--New Orleans' First Tourist Attraction To Open Since Katrina:
http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2008/06/24/travel/photoessay4205578.shtml?source=search_photo

Weekend Report

So, I had quite a fun/eventful weekend! The CBS interns are all invited to the concert series the Early Show has every friday for most of the summer. Different from the Today Show--The Early Show tapes their concert segments a week before they air. Friday, Rihanna performed--she was live on the Today Show, then headed over to our plaza to tape for this coming Friday. It was neat to compare my Kenny Chesney Today Show experience with the Early Show Rihanna one, since one was Live and one was taped. Rihanna sang each song twice so that the producers could pick which they thought was better. I feel lucky I've been able to see both ways the concerts are done, and also that we're invited to be VIPs for the remaining shows in coming weeks! :)

Rihanna performing on the Early Show Plaza:Friday afternoon at work was pretty slow...worked on a few AP stories before leaving CBS for the weekend.

Then I headed off to Time Square to attempt to see another Broadway show...I'm obsessed. I've figured out that if you ask for student tickets at the Theatre box offices, they have them for $25 (unless they've sold out already). So...I walked into Eugine O'Neill theatre and redeemed the LAST student rush ticket for Friday night's performace of Spring Awakening.

Amazing.

I can't stop listening to the soundtrack. Definitely my favorite Broadway show I've seen in a long time.

I started a part-time weekend internship yesterday at Fox 5...New York City's local Fox station. My cousin is a sports agent--one of his clients, Duke, is the main sports anchor at Fox. He does a Sunday night show called "Sports Extra" which he invited me to help with every week so that I can get my fill of sports broadcast this summer, since I am unfortunately not getting that at CBS right now. What I will be helping with at Fox 5 is very similar to what I do in multimedia services at Williams Brice Stadium. I'll be logging games on TV as well as cutting footage to lay over the anchor track--and helping to put together packages for the show.

So, yesterday on my first day, I came in to basically observe and to watch them film the show. It turns out that Michael Strahan from the New York Giants (who just announced his retirement) was coming in to be interviewed for last night's show. Let me tell you...I was SO much more excited to meet Strahan than I was to meet any of the other celebrities I've met so far while I've been here. Sports broadcast is what I want to do--and there's just something about athletes that fascinates me! :) He was nice enough to take a picture with me:So Exciting. Definitely looking forward to getting my hands on some sports!!!!

Today...just a usual Monday...AP stories and some photo essays. Worked on a story about Nelson Mandella turning 90, as well as a story on the memorial service held yesterday for Stan Winston (special effects creator for Jurassic Park, Terminator, etc.) Also, a story and photo essay on summer runway shows this week. Yay for Milan Fashion Week: http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2008/06/23/in_depth_showbiz/photoessay4202720.shtml?source=search_photo

Working for the weekend...

Today was pretty low-key. I did a few AP stories and a couple of photo essays...nothing too exciting. The biggest news we had was Jamie Lynn Spears having her baby. WOO HOO. However, I was able to run over to 60 Minutes for a little bit with Daniel (got to see Alex for once). All of the interns who want to are going to the Early Show taping of the Rihanna concert tomorrow at 11:15 on the Plaza. Should be fun...hanging with the other interns is a good time!

One of the photo essays I did today...These celebrity quotes go on the AP wire every Thrusday--my producer made it my little job to make a photo essay like this every week. Not a big deal, but kinda fun to have a little weekly job to be in charge of. :)...What They Said: http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2008/06/19/in_depth_showbiz/photoessay4193982.shtml

This is the story that one of the producers I work with, Melissa, wrote on her interview with Ludacris to go with the videos I made. Melissa does most of the celebrity interviews that come through here-so she lets me help her when she does! :)...Ludacris Vies For Eco And Online Revolution: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/18/entertainment/main4192499.shtml

I'm getting bad at this everyday posting thing...

Ludacris talks to CBSNews.com about new endeavors, public service, and how he got his start in the music business:

Ludacris talks to CBSNews.com about his experience in films and how the roles he has played have helped him with controversial situations:


The two videos above are the only thing I've been working on for the last 3 days...
At first I had finished the project--with one 4 minute video--that didn't really follow any particular story line. I ended up deciding that it would be better to do two videos for the site to #1-make them easier to follow, keeping to one central subject and #2 to make them shorter to accomodate people's short attention spans. That took forever because I had to basically re-edit everything to fit and flow together. My producers think I did a good job...and I guess I'm satisfied with the finished products. I'm always critical on myself because I always feel like I have room for improvement. But alas...I'm a published editor on CBSNews.com! :)

What I've been doing today is finishing posting the video to video forums, as well as posting the links to Ludacris fan sites to get more exposure.

I also just got back from the weekly meeting in Susan Zirinsky's (exec producer of 48 Hours) office with Daniel who does web pieces for 48 Hours and 60 Minutes for CBSNews.com. Those meetings are always pretty interesting because we have to decide what will go on the website to promote the next week's show. We discussed the problem of new competition--America's Got Talent is on NBC at the same time and gets stellar ratings--and what to do to put more promotion out there. The audience also likes things that are interactive online--so we discussed the possibility of a 48 Hours crime website. Other than that, we all just chatted for a little bit--Susan's a big deal here at CBS (and elsewhere) and she knows me now...so that's really neat to be able to say. (not to brag, haha)

There's a 60 Mintues meeting I'll be attending with Daniel tomorrow. That should be cool too!! :)

Busy Busy Busy

Beverly,
Please forgive me for having not posted in a few days...by the time I get home, the last thing on my mind is sitting back down at my computer to type some more. haha...but I'm glad I have this blog so I can look back on it later and remember my experience.

The last few days have actually be very exciting. On Tuesday, rapper Ludacris came into the studio for an interview. It was very exciting to meet someone as well known and multi-talented as Chris Bridges (his given name). Being a rapper isn't exactly the most well respected job in the world, but Luda has made a well respected name for himself as an actor in the 2006 Oscar Winning movie "Crash" as well as others in recent years. He's also become something of a business man with his new website WeMix.com where independent music artists can post music and get feedback from peers and even other celebrities like Ludacris.

My project for the last 3 days was to create a short video with the interview footage on Final Cut Pro. I will definitely be posting it on here as soon as it is on the web so that you can see my first video project!! (FINALLY!!!!)

Yesterday I was invited to go out on a shoot for the first time. HGTV's interior design reality show Design Star is starting its 3rd season this month. They held a promotion/competiton for the show out in Greeley Square which was open to the public as well as the press to interview the finalists and the judges (who consisted of big names in the design world including Vern Yip from TLC's Trading Spaces). One of the other interns, Dan, went with me and was put in charge of the boom mic. The other two producers were the correspondant and the photog. I was put in charge of the digital camera with which I took still photos for a photo essay I just finished this afternoon. I also took some video footage to get some hand held shots for the package that one of the producers is puting together. The hand held shots are cool because they give the still footage a raw/documentary like feel. This was a technique I played with in my Ludacris package and it looked really, really cool!!!

Here's the HGTV Design Star Photo Essay:
http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2008/06/13/in_depth_showbiz/photoessay4179463.shtml?source=search_photo
And the video that it goes with (some of the interview footage is mine :) )



Today was pretty much the best day so far this summer.
I got permission from my supervisors to come in at 11 today so that I could use VIP passes that Alex (Luchsinger)'s Aunt (who is a producer) got for us for the TODAY show's summer concert series with Kenny Chesney. Not only were we able to enjoy the short concert and see Matt, Ann and Natalie, but his Aunt Patricia let us come into the studio with her and shadow her for a while during the 4th hour. I ended up meeting a lot of people including Hoda Kotb, Kathy Lee (haha), Tiki Barber, and Jane Krakouski from NBC's 30 Rock who was being interviewed by Kathy Lee and Hoda. It was SUCH an interesting and FUUUUN experience to be able to see how the top rated morning news program is run and what the studio actually looks like inside. Despite the fact that I feel like a traitor to CBS...it was VERY cool. Here's me ahd Hoda:



Another cool...yet horribly sad...thing that happened today was BREAKING NEWS. In a matter of minutes there were three big stories that came through the wires into our newsroom...1. R.Kelly was acquitted 2. Taliban militants attacked the main prison in southern Afghanistan freeing prisoners 3. Tim Russert dies of heart attack...shocking.
Hearing news before it breaks is very eerie. Especially with the Tim Russert news because we heard it pretty much as it happened. What's weirder is that Russert's family didn't even know the news before we did. Our VP of CBSNews.com let everyone know that nothing would be broken from CBS until NBC had broken the news...which I thought was very respectable. Despite all the mudslinging there is between news outlets--I feel like there is still somewhat of a fellowship between them, too.

RIP Tim Russert :-(

The rest of today was just me tying up some loose ends on the projects I have been working on all week. We also had cake to say goodbye to the "Show Buzz" website...very sad. haha... The site is going down (the Insider.com bought it out) so everything entertainment we do will now be under CBSNews.com/Entertainment.

More of the Same

Didn't do much today...
Got here about 9, worked on a photo essay with the pictures from when we shot the TV pilot the other day to go with the story that was written up on it. The PE was embedded into the story:

http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/08/tv/main4162401.shtml

After I finished that, I worked on another photo essay with pictures from the TV Land Awards which was hosted by Vanessa Williams last night. That award show is always interesting because they bring back and honor people from classic and older shows like "The Golden Girls", "Happy Days", and "Roseanne".
The final thing I did today was a quick story from the AP wire about how SAG is in negotiations to prevent repeating a strike like the one in 2000. Sort of a boring day...

I'm supposed to help interview Ludacris tomorrow...that will be SO exciting.

Catching Up On Yesterday and Today

The past two days have been pretty exciting--haven't had much time to sit down and write about them until now.
Yesterday morning I came in to the studio to find that I had been kicked out of my desk because a camera crew was setting up to shoot a pilot for a new show. One of the producers told me that they needed extras to make the scene appear as if it were a full room--so I figured that would be a fun experience for my Thursday morning at work.
The show will be called "The Tower" starring Marcia Gay Harden--who plays Zoe, a millionaire who takes over a local Florida newspaper to make it into a thriving tabloid paper. The scene, shot from the perspective of a cell phone camera, takes place in a staff meeting with the new boss (Harden)--who goes on a rampage against one of the senior editors who tries to argue with her decision to make the newspaper a tabloid. She belittles, embarrasses him and fires him. At the beginning of the pilot, the video winds up on youtube and Zoe is being interviewed about her harshness toward her new staff. It was really cool...we all had to act surprised and scared at what she was saying to "Charlie" (the edior who gets fired--and also who I was sitting beside). :) The scene is shot between mine and his heads so you can see the side of my face on camera the whole time. Pretty neat!! I hope it gets picked up...

Here's a few photos:

The guy in the grey suit and bow tie to my right is "Charlie"....and above is Marcia Gay Harden. Recognize her?? :)

Today I mainly just pulled some stories from the AP wire. Nothing terribly noteworthy...just some stories about Ed McMahon's home foreclosure, Rosie O'Donnell's statements on why she is choosing to wait to remarry her girlfriend, and a story on CBS/Paramount's plans to remake "My Fair Lady". I also did a few event photo essays. Not too exciting of a Friday--however, I did find out that rapper/actor Ludacris is coming in for an interview with Showbuzz on Tuesday...which will be VERY exciting.

A New Way To Tell A Story

It's always good to learn how to tell stories in different ways--that's what I keep telling myself. Today I was assigned my first photo essay as an official "producer" on CBSNews.com, meaning my name will appear on the website. Woo Hoo! My project was to do a 12-13 picture bio of Harrison Ford. The downside: Pulling photos and stories about famous people from the AP wire is not what I had expected to be doing. When I accepted this internship I knew I would mostly be recutting things from the different CBS news programs for the website...but I figured everything I would be doing would be with video storytelling. My supervisors have told me that I will have the opportunity to do all of the above...so I guess I just need to be patient. Experience is experience no matter the form--being at CBS in NYC is an experience in itself!
But back to my photo essay--it really took me all day to do because I started from scratch (meaning I wrote my own captions instead of pullling them from the wire). It was also very time consuming to choose which pictures to use. There are so many good pictures and facts...its hard to narrow down, especially with someone like Harrison Ford. So explaining his personal life, career, public service, etc. in so many words is challenging.--BUT I guess you have to do the same thing when writing a script for a broadcast package and eliminate what you absolutely don't need.

Day 2

Today I got familiar with "The Tool" which is something that everyone who produces and publishes pieces (no matter what they are) to CBSNews.com. I was also introduced to AP Image Search and some other sources of stories and multimedia. I was assigned a celebrity photo essay to work on this morning:
http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/elements/2008/06/03/style_fashion/photoessay4148779.shtml

I was also able to attend two meetings with one of the web producers: 48 Hours and 60 Minutes. They have meetings each week to discuss what parts of the shows will be featured online and what "extras" can be developed to accompany them. It was very exciting...I got to meet Susan Zirinsky--Executive Producer of 48 Hours. The main character from the movie "Broadcast News" is based on her and her time with the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather. After 48 Hours, we headed over to 60 Minutes (their production takes place across the street). Over there I met Bill Owens--60 Minutes Senior Broadcast Producer. Hopefully I will see all the important people I have met around a good bit during the summer and they will remember me. :)

The Beginning

I started my internship yesterday at CBS Interactive in CBS Broadcast Center (524 West 57th Street). We spent Monday morning touring the building--seeing where all the CBS News shows are filmed and produced. Interactive is in studio 48, which happens to be the newsroom directly next to where CBS Evening News with Katie Couric is filmed (in studio 47)! The other sets we toured were CBS Sunday Morning, Inside Edition, 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, The Early Show, etc. It's all very exciting and overwhelming to be working in the same building where shows that have become a staple in many American households are produced.
Monday afternoon the 6 interactive interns were divided up among the different producers based on interests and skills. As a broadcast major I will be working with video/editing, etc. I've been told I will also be required to do some story writing and picture/video hunting and some photo essays to accompany those stories that will go on the internet. The shows my group pulls from are mainly 48 hours and 60 minutes--we work closely with producers to decide which segments we will cut and put on CBSNews.com. Also, my group does a lot with CBS Show Buzz, which is the Entertainment part of the website. I don't exactly want to go into entertainment reporting--however, working with showbuzz will allow me to get more "field" experience as I will be sent out to get video coverage of different events--and also interviews from various (possibly famous/well known) people.--How could anyone pass that up? :) Also, I asked one of my supervisors how available the equipment is for interns to take and use. There are some DV cams and tapes we are allowed to take if we decide we want to go out and do some stories on our own. If we pitch them to the producers they may decide to put them on the website if they like our idea and we do a good enough job. They are also willing to let us practice doing stand ups and interviews with the cameras they have in the newsroom. I feel very reassured that I can still be creative and have the opportunity to get out in the field as much as I want to with the freedom to borrow equipment, since most of what Interactive does is recut stories and segments from CBS News shows.
As people are turning to the internet more now than ever, I feel like this internship will be a good opportunity for me to be ahead of the curve as the internet is slowing taking over television broadcast. I'll be exposed to the equipment that is used to make a news website work and will have one up on my competition when it comes to getting a job in the future. :)
I'm Official!!!...