These past weeks had been interesting but not as much as I though it would be. For our internship, my classmate and I decided to apply at a digital media company, where one of our professors is Editor-in-Chief, because we hadn't heard from the other media companies we applied for online.
It is interesting because I got to go to a new place, meet a few new people. Furthermore, I finally got to travel by the train. On a daily basis. Even. During. The. Rush. Hour.
I also got to learn how the site's frontpage works. We were taught and made to package these stories that appear on the page. We were provided with laptops to use at the office. I even got to use a corporate email address. (I don't know if it's only me, but after I sent that mail containing interview questions, I was thrilled. There some sort of a sense of responsibilty and accountability because that mail contains not only my name but the company's as well.)
On the whole, I wished there had been more challenges. Sure, I got to be behind the scenes of the site's most prominent feature, but that was about it. I was expecting more legworks because the course I took under the company's EIC was one of the most challenging I've had as a journalism major, wherein we really had to go out and interview people, research intensively, and undergo some "workshop" in class as we presented our papers. If only he was the one to handle us trainees, things would have been different.
I wanted to see my name in the byline after genuinely pursuing a story, to be blunt about it. I got the chance to do the latter, but our names were not in the byline for some unknown reason. Either way, the event about which we wrote the story was the best experience I've had from this internship. We got to cover the press launch of the Jose Rizal Heritage Trail tourism campaign of the DOT. In celebration of the hero's 150th birthday on June 19, the DOT promotes the places in the country Rizal had been to. At the launch, which began at 8 a.m., I got to see (and pseudo-interview) the Tourism secretary.
We toured around the Rizal Park, Intramuros, and Paco Park. I think the best part was the special buffet where the guests were treated to the favorite dishes of Rizal, such as tuyo, tinola, pancit miki, adobo, and the famous tsokolate e. I think it's obvious that tsokolate e was my absolute favorite. Afterwards, we had to hurry back to the office to write the story because it will be uploaded that same afternoon. I'm so glad my co-intern and I decided to go. It was a taste of what real practice of reporting is, I think.
That's what my summer was about, more or less. And a few new films I watched, here and there. I am frustrated that I haven't got to read new books at all though.
And oh, before I forget--belated happy birthday to my ultimate favorite J-actress in the whole wide world no matter what my officemate says: Juri! <33
