2012 WNAF Internship Program Summary

2012 Internship Program Emily Miels New Richmond News Michael Even Wisconsin Dells Events

Mitch Vomhof Grant County Herald Independent, Lancaster

PROGRAM AT A GLANCE • WNAF assisted in sponsoring four paid internships for the summer of 2012.

• $2,000 was paid to four member newspapers that agree to participate. Participating newspapers paid $1,200 toward compensation.

• Nine WNA member newspapers applied to become one of the five sites. One of the five sites chosen to host an intern, the Door County Advocate in Sturgeon Bay, was ultimately unable to work with a student’s schedule.

• A total of 18 students applied from a variety of journalism programs across the state.

Ryan Spoehr The Star, Sun Prairie

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The intern: Emily Miels Newspaper: New Richmond News

Hometown: Oshkosh, Wisconsin College attending and major: University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Journalism major with a double minor in Radio-TV-Film and music industry.

In Emily’s words: I am journalism student at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and an editor at our campus newspaper, but this was my first time working as a journalist outside of a college setting.

I was offered the internship on my birthday, which was the best present I could have received. Within 10 days I packed up my things and moved more than four hours from my home in Oshkosh. I was nervous but ready to take on a new challenge.

My first big task was completing the St. Croix County Fair Guide. I wrote more than 20 stories for a 24-page insert in less than a month. During that challenging process, I was able to meet some great people and connect with the community.

After that, I had the chance to write a variety of other articles and improve in areas I have not had much prior experience with. I got to try different types of photography using a DSLR camera, shoot video and cover community events. I also had the chance to attend some community board meetings and write the weekly police reports, which I’ve never done before.

My favorite assignment was covering the Heritage Hillside Series throughout July and August, especially the Elvis Show. It was fun to see the talented local musicians and experience such a popular New Richmond event.

Overall, this has been one of the best experiences of my college career. I can’t thank the New Richmond News staff and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation enough for giving me this opportunity. I will definitely take everything I learned this summer with me as I continue my journey into the journalism field.

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The intern: Michael Even Newspaper: Wisconsin Dells Events

Hometown: Reedsburg, Wisconsin College attending and major: University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Broadcast Journalism In Michael’s words: So far, my internship through the WNA Foundation with Capital Newspapers has been an incredible experience. I’ve been at four papers thus far and have learned new things at each destination.

I started at the Dells Events, where I received my first assignments and learned how to get through interviews with some language barriers.

My next stop was Mauston where I learned how to sift through police reports during my two-weeks at the Juneau County Star-Times.

I was lucky enough to cover sports for some time in my hometown of Reedsburg at the Times-Press, and learned a considerable amount about the farming industry at the Sauk-Prairie Eagle.

I received my favorite assignment while working in my hometown of Reedsburg, where I was asked to

write a column on the 88-team Little League tournament, which was being held in the town for its 25th year. The column was about my experience playing in the tournament 10 years ago. It was fun revisiting my memories and getting feedback from former teammates and others who had read the article.

I learned the most from a story I did for the Juneau County Star-Times about a ceremony for a woman who had died as a result of the flooding in northern Wisconsin. A gas station in New Lisbon where the woman worked held a balloon releasing ceremony to honor their former co-worker.

It was a sad experience, but a good one, because I had never covered death before. Dealing with the emotion of the event and talking to the victim’s friends was a valuable experience in journalism and life.

This internship will surely benefit me in my future career as a journalist. I’d like to thank all of the abovementioned newspapers, as well as the WNA Foundation for giving me this life-changing opportunity.

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The intern: Mitch Vomhof Newspaper: Grant County Herald Independent

Hometown: Watertown, Wisconsin College attending and major: Wisconsin Lutheran College, Milwaukee In Mitch’s words: I was nervous about traveling to a region of the state that I had never been in before. However, from the day that I came in for my first interview, I felt that Lancaster (and the entire area) would be a great place to work and to live.

From the time I began working with my high school’s newspaper, over four years ago, I knew that I was interested in journalism. I elected to become a journalist because I realize that in the age of the Internet, the flow of information and accurate reporting of news is crucial. As a journalist, my goal is to cover the news fairly and accurately and place useful information into the hands of the general public. Because information is such a powerful (and misused) tool, it is important to report the truth so that people are presented with an accurate view of the world. My education at WLC has also prepared me with the necessary ethical code to present the news in an accurate and unbiased way.

Information is one of the most valuable currencies a person can trade in today. Journalists play an important role in arming the public with that information.

Therefore, it is crucial that the news be reported accurately and without bias so that consumers have all of the information that they need to make responsible decisions and develop well-informed opinions.

Journalism is not a platform to advance a position or inflict viewpoints on the audience – rather, it should display the facts dispassionately and allow consumers to formulate their own thoughts. On a practical level, this should manifest as an emphasis on accuracy and impartiality in reporting, regardless of the reporter’s own biases.

I believe that now, more than ever, journalists are important for the accurate representation of the news to the general public. Because so many people have access to a platform to share information, it is critical that journalists be in place to serve as gatekeepers in order to provide only the news that is worthwhile and accurate to the general population.

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The intern: Ryan Spoehr Newspaper: The Star (Sun Prairie)

Hometown: Lake Mills, Wisconsin College attending/attended and major: Madison Area Technical College, journalism UW-Eau Claire, journalism and history In Ryan’s words: I’ve been interning at Hometown News Group, a group of publications in the Madison area. During the internship, I worked at The Star in Sun Prairie. I also wrote for the DeForest Times-Tribune, Poynette Press, Waterloo-Marshall Courier and Waunakee Tribune.

Two years ago, I also interned at my hometown newspaper at the Lake Mills Leader, also in Hometown News Group, for Madison Area Technical College’s Journalism Certificate. I was also the news editor and editor at The Clarion at Madison College. I am transferring to UW-Eau Claire for Journalism and History this fall. I’ll be working at The Spectator, the UW-Eau Claire newspaper.

It’s difficult to label any assignment as my favorite.

I looked at every assignment as an opportunity to improve and prove that I belong in journalism. Also,

I’ve wanted to be a reporter since I was in elementary school, so I enjoy writing stories every day. Some are just more difficult than others.

If I had a favorite assignment it would be covering the Dane County Fair. As a part of the coverage, I got to take a news story – the drought – and tie it in with the fair. I also wrote a feature and shot video. I was able to encompass essential parts of journalism.

I learned a lot from that assignment as well, primarily with efficiency and planning. I ended up with more video than I could handle, but I could have taken more photos. I learned that not just planning, but thinking a plan through is essential. More time could’ve been spent taking photos that could have been used as a photo essay in the paper or website or they could’ve been on the Facebook site.

Overall, this was an unforgettable experience for me.

I don’t think there was a day that I didn’t think about how fortunate I was to have this internship. I was 22 when I took my first journalism class and had my first article published. I know opportunities like this are hard to come by.