summer of '09

This summer was filled with many events that equaled up to one memorable summer. This summer I was given the opportunity to intern with the San Bernardino 66ers, a minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was such a great experience being a media intern. Through this internship I gained more knowledge in broadcasting, the different styles of writing and several life lessons. My first day consisted of learning how to work the copier and the scanner, typing out both teams starting lineups, writing the lineups on the stadium score board, answering phone calls, keeping a pitch count during the game, and finally, writing the game recap. The last two tasks were the most important because they informed the public of what happened during the game. After each inning, I would inform our radio announcer, Mike Saeger, how many balls and strikes the pitcher threw. He would then announce the information over the radio. Therefore, consistency was essential. The most challenging task was writing the post game summary. This was true for two reasons: the stories had to be done in APA format, and the summary had to be concise. It took awhile to adapt my writing in APA. Previously, all my recaps had to be written in MLA format. After seven and a half hours, I successfully survived my first day as an intern. I felt quite an accomplishment and I was proud of myself for doing my job. As the days continued on I became more comfortable and confident in my work. I learned to perform different tasks as the season progressed. One of my other jobs was creating stat packs. Assembling these stat packs required going on both teams website pages and getting each players personal stats. These stat packs were also distributed to all the stadium suites. Answering phone calls required giving directions to the stadium, transferring calls, and taking down messages for fellow employees who were not available.

After my third game, I was permitted to explain the plays to the official Minor League Baseball organization. This became easier as my baseball league knowledge increased.

Having watched the other intern, Kevin, perform this feat, I was convinced it was easy. However, this was not exactly true. Reporting to Minor League Baseball is a two-part assignment. Not only did I have to make sure I kept track of all the plays correctly but I also had to report it to Minor League Baseball in a specific manner. It was a slow learning process but I mastered it within a few weeks. As for writing the recap it became easier with the help of Kevin. We often tag-teamed the recap giving each other our best input. After writing the summary we would wait until Matt, our supervisor, would be done helping Mike broadcast so that he could proof read it for us. Once it was revised, we would scan it and send it out to all the other employees and then fax it to the local radio stations.

Working at the 66ers baseball stadium has helped me understand the field of Journalism at a more in-depth level. I was able to see first hand how much time is necessary to prepare for live broadcasting. It is more than just reading stats and calling out play-by-play on air. Being a journalist requires the ability to have appropriate filler information, which includes funny stories about the players involved, during the at-bats, pitching change, etc. Speaking clearly is essential in the occupation. The thing that has helped me the most in regards to Journalism is learning to write in APA press format. Though it was confusing in the beginning, I managed to switch over from MLA fairly quickly. The biggest thing that was instilled in me was that APA press is supposed to be written in past tense. Thanks to the help of my fellow interns I now have a better understanding of the format.

Through this internship I have also learned several life lessons. I realized that communication is crucial especially when working in these types of professional settings. I also learned that sometimes it is not what you know but who you know. During the game series when Manny Ramirez came to do rehab, I met several news reporters and journalists from ABC, ESPN, Union Tribune, The Sun, and several more. I got business cards from a reporter from ESPN and ABC. With this, I can use it as a means of networking. I also met a few of the other media associated with the different minor league teams. One of them gave me their business card and told me to contact them and they would do their best to help me get to my aspired career. This internship has been such a blessing to me and I will use the information that I gained, in the future to help bring out the best of my goals and pursuits.

**written for JRN 371