Encouraging and supportive editors
“Make sure you don’t get lost in the newsroom; it’s easy to be forgotten in such a big place.”
This was the repeated advice I received from various University of Colorado instructors once they heard I would be spending my summer at Gannett News Service. I also was told stories about big-time editors who were cold and interns who were neglected while working in big offices. The fear those stories created only intensified when I pulled up to the massive USA TODAY and Gannett twin towers in McLean, Va., on my first day of work. After being told by two guards I couldn’t enter the parking garage yet and had to use a separate entrance, I wasn’t let past security inside the building until two of my smiling editors came to greet me. But from the moment I was able to meet the people I would be spending my Summer working with, my fears vanished.
I have never worked with a group so concerned with guiding and encouraging me toward what I wanted to accomplish in my time at work. My editors wanted me to experience and learn about all the aspects of the GNS newsrooms, which also was a goal I mentioned at orientation. Not only have I been able to edit copy, but I also have reported and gathered information for graphics and worked in GNS’ D.C. bureau and on USA TODAY’s news copy desk.
GNS is going through operational changes, but they made sure I didn’t get lost in the process. In fact, my responsibilities have increased with the changes, and I feel even more a part of the newsroom and the changing industry.
My experience can help dispel rumors about editors and internships in larger newsrooms. I’ve never been in such a positive work environment, and I credit GNS editors and Freedom Forum/Chips Quinn staff, which helped me get here, for the best learning experience and Summer I’ve had so far.
This was the repeated advice I received from various University of Colorado instructors once they heard I would be spending my summer at Gannett News Service. I also was told stories about big-time editors who were cold and interns who were neglected while working in big offices. The fear those stories created only intensified when I pulled up to the massive USA TODAY and Gannett twin towers in McLean, Va., on my first day of work. After being told by two guards I couldn’t enter the parking garage yet and had to use a separate entrance, I wasn’t let past security inside the building until two of my smiling editors came to greet me. But from the moment I was able to meet the people I would be spending my Summer working with, my fears vanished.
I have never worked with a group so concerned with guiding and encouraging me toward what I wanted to accomplish in my time at work. My editors wanted me to experience and learn about all the aspects of the GNS newsrooms, which also was a goal I mentioned at orientation. Not only have I been able to edit copy, but I also have reported and gathered information for graphics and worked in GNS’ D.C. bureau and on USA TODAY’s news copy desk.
GNS is going through operational changes, but they made sure I didn’t get lost in the process. In fact, my responsibilities have increased with the changes, and I feel even more a part of the newsroom and the changing industry.
My experience can help dispel rumors about editors and internships in larger newsrooms. I’ve never been in such a positive work environment, and I credit GNS editors and Freedom Forum/Chips Quinn staff, which helped me get here, for the best learning experience and Summer I’ve had so far.
posted by Chips Quinn Scholars at 8:58 AM
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