Weekly musings of a j-student at an internship

Week 16: THE END

2010-05-07T12:38:00.004-05:00

Whew! It is my last day and I'm a little saddened by it. This past week has been just a killer for me, trying to balance school and work. I pulled a few all-nighters and drank loads of coffee. Now, the result is me walking into cars, into chairs, into door frames and any other stationary thing. Yes, I'm exhausted. I want to hurl myself into bed and not wake up for 24 hours.

Though enough about school, while freaking out about other things, I was able to go up to the Capitol and write a story about a rally of people demanding the state legislators do something about the budget. It was interesting to say the least. After everyone had split up to go about their mission, I went on to sit in on a Senate session. It was very fun and while I was sitting in with other professional journalists, I loved their commentary of what was going on (we sat in a soundproof area, thank god!). This may be dorky of me but I would love, love, LOVE to have one of their jobs. :)

Unfortunately, I'm so tired, the gravity of this being my last day hasn't really kicked in. Maybe it will next week, when everything is over. Maybe. Probably. Definitely. I will be sad. This internship did really spoil me.

Until then, good-bye Oklahoma Gazette.

Thank you for giving me this internship opportunity, helping me learn quite a few things, letting me write awesome stories, taking me under your wing and watching me fly and then guiding me whenever it looked like I was about to drop like a rock and thank you for allowing me to do those floaters, of course! :)

P.S. I was totally kidding about the floaters throughout this blog. They are the best! ;)

Week 15: The beginning of the End

2010-04-30T15:10:00.002-05:00

Yes, a very dramatic title for a post. Well, why not? It really is the beginning of the end of my internship at the Gazette. I have one more week left and I can tell you, I'm going to miss this place and the people who work here; though I will NEVER miss doing the floaters (GRRR, floaters...).

This week wasn't very much different from before with the exception that two out of the four interns' last day was either yesterday or today. Luke and I will stick around for another week, meaning one more week of floaters and Hey Do This! Yes!

Again, this week wasn't much different. I wrote floaters and wrote a story for the book. Basically an abortions bill update. I haven't officially finished it yet because on Monday one of the first law suit hearings against the ultrasound bill will take place.

While it wasn't very different, the Gazette editorial staff was very nice about taking the interns out to eat to Ingrid's Kitchen and paying for us. :) The lunch conversation was very fun too, but I won't go into detail.

This is so surreal. I can't believe this internship is coming to a close. If any one of you has the chance to intern at the Oklahoma Gazette, do it. You won't regret it. :)

Week 14: Exhaustion

2010-04-23T14:45:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm exhausted! This past week has to be one of the most draining weeks I have had, both physically and emotionally. Dividing up my time between my internship and school is always a balancing act but throwing in hiring for the Daily next semester, the last two days threw me for a loop.

I started this week going to the 15th anniversary of the Alfred P. Murrah Building bombing. It was very somber and while I think I was too young to understand the significance of that day as a child, I developed a better understanding of that day.

During the ceremony and throughout the day when I walked through the museum for the first time, I cried at least three times: first during the reading of the names by family members of the victims, the my initial response to the museum and how they used the news reels of that day that I vaguely remember and when I read my friend's article in The Oklahoma Daily about a family's journey moving on.

It's these events I wish and hope that I find the right words to tell the story.

The next Wednesday, I was able to cover Bill Clinton coming to Oklahoma City to accept an award from the museum's foundation. The event was good, but at that point in the day, I was spent. Click here to read my story.

After that, I worked on school work and interviewed applicants. I can't tell you how glad I am it is the weekend and how excited I am to sleep and catch a few awesome bands at the Norman Music Festival! :)

Week 13: Craziness

2010-04-16T15:07:00.003-05:00

This week was a bit different than normal weeks in that I wrote mostly life and arts type stories. I wrote a feature on the Oklahoma City Arts Festival, a mini-feature on the band Gentle Ghost and wrote the normal floaters for every week (Ugh, floaters). I did write one brief thing for news but this is a first time in a while that I have not written anything newsy or political.

Next week, though, I'm jumping back into the news with the remembrance of the OKC Bombing Monday and Wednesday is the day I cover a dinner with Bill Clinton. I'm excited. :)

I have three weeks left of my internship after today. That's insane. And it is sad for me. I really like my internship and the people that I work with.

Week 12: Reporting and writing

2010-04-09T16:18:00.004-05:00

I know I have said this more times that I can count but I really love my career choice. I continually do what I really like to do.

This week, I covered a town hall meeting in Guthrie with U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R- Oklahoma, where he was very gracious to those on the other side of the floor. I unfortunately missed out on the famous one in OKC but the Guthrie one was basically the same.

My cover story came out. It was good. I loved the cover art for it. Click here to read the longer version online.

The best part of my week though was when I got to interview two really respected journalists, former CNN and NBC News correspondent Mike Boettcher and Editor-at-Large of TIME Magazine Mark Halperin. I would give my right arm to be working at TIME Magazine by the way. :)

Now, if you read either one of these guys' biographies you would be amazed at their careers. While both are extremely impressive, Boettcher, who considers Oklahoma City his hometown, has become one of my heroes. I am hoping he will be teaching at OU again next year because I would love to have a class with him!

I would honestly give a vital organ to have half the career of either one of these men. They have the careers I aspire to have. It's speaking to these people that reaffirms my love for what I do and makes me want to give it my all and do what I can to make me want to become a better journalist.

Week 11: Stress!

2010-04-02T14:22:00.004-05:00

This week, I wrote a story for the Gazette.

Not too much different from what I usually do every week, correct? Well, this week is different mostly because this week's story is scheduled to be a cover story for the Gazette.

A COVER STORY!

You can use the words of Joe Biden when President Obama signed the health care bill into law to describe how I feel about it.

It's about the top ten delinquent taxpayers in the state. Let me tell you, no one was very happy to talk to me, sadly enough.

I had nightmares about this story for three days. It was all the same, I was trying to finish my story and somehow, somewhere down the road, I couldn't finish for deadline and then I look at the paper the next day and The Oklahoman wrote my story. I would wake up in a cold sweat every time and was too agitated to go back to sleep.

Well, unlike what my subconscious was so afraid of, I did make deadline and my story is in the process of going through its third review of fact checking.

Pick up a copy of next week's Gazette. It should have my name on the cover of it. :)

Week 9 & 10: Spring break and history

2010-03-26T15:04:00.002-05:00

So, I was lame and decided to go into the office last week because I had almost absolutely no spring break plans to speak of and I'm accomodating to my poor status. It was a really off week for everyone, mostly because Rob and a majority of the staff was gone for most of the week. I mostly did what I was supposed to do but was completely unhappy with my sources because apparently, they too believed they deserved a vacation.

This week, on the other hand, was insane! As most would know, unless you have been living under a rock for the past week, the U.S. House passed national health care Sunday night.

Game over, Republicans. Wrong.

Monday, the Republican leadership of the state legislature came out and called for the Attorney General to sue the federal government. Click here to view my story on Monday's press conference.

Well, that was only the start of it. Attorney General Drew Edmondson, Democrat and governor candidate, issued a statement that he would look into it and that it was just to early to sue. U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin, Republican and governor candidate, started accusing Edmondson of being disloyal to what Oklahomans want. The health care opt out bills got voted on at warped speed. A few lone Democrats spoke out against the majority. Sen. Randy Brogden, Republican and yet another governor candidate, got accused of being racist.

My head is spinning just writing this down.

Now, try putting that into a big story to come out next Wednesday. Yeah, you're head is spinning a little bit too now, huh?

Keep an eye out for next week's Gazette and read what these people had to say.

Week 8: Halfway through!

2010-03-11T14:54:00.003-06:00

Wow. I honestly cannot believe it's going to be spring break next week, meaning this semester is halfway over. If you have been reading this blog, you know that I had the worst time trying to understand what I was writing about, thinking I put out one of the worst stories I have in the Gazette.

Well, that might be so, but I think that it also got the someone important to do something about it.

Click here to view the story.

The Oklahoma Gazette goes out on stands every Wednesday. My story was first viewed by readers Wednesday and by Wednesday late afternoon, Corporate Commissioner Dana Murphy came out and openly criticized this plan by the telecommunications staff and told them to stop.

Now, I'm not sure if my story did something or if it was just coicidence, I'm just glad that I was able to wonder if my story did make an impact on the community.

Week 7: Jargon

2010-03-05T04:08:00.003-06:00

After a whirlwind week that was last week (writing one big story for the book and two small stories for the Web as well the regular floaters), I was preoccupied with things going on with my bank statements.

During our editorial planning meeting Tuesday morning, Rob Collins, the editor, gave me a story about a new proposal by the Oklahoma Corporate Commission's staff to have a new fee for each phone number to make all calls in the state toll-free.

As I started to look into it, I started confused. As I'm writing the story, I'm even more confused. Why? Since it is a proposal, nothing is final. It's actually a living draft that may or may not come together. Then talking to the people involved, I got more confused. Why? Because of the telecommunications jargon.

I honestly hope that my story this week makes sense and that whatever is ailing my bank statement will be fought away.

Week 6: "OH MY GOD!"

2010-02-26T16:03:00.010-06:00

"Oh my God!" was what I said over and over again in my head Wednesday when I realized I would be going to the Billy Joel/Elton John Face 2 Face concert which was yesterday at the Ford Center. Coming from a dad who loves Billy Joel and a mom who loves both, I knew seeing them would be legendary! Seeing two iconic, talented musicians from mid-range ticket seat in an arena, what could be cooler?!

Thursday night, I found out what was. Writing a review for the Oklahoma Gazette's Web site, I was just happy to be getting free tickets to go to a concert I had been wanting to go for about year. When my friend Jamie Birdwell and I looked in the envelope to see where we were sitting, we freaked out!

"WE ARE ON THE FLOOR, FOURTH ROW!"

The concert started with so much anticipation in the room, it felt like a balloon with too much air inside.

Needless to say, I had a blast at the concert and Elton John looked at Jamie and myself, then blew us a kiss, probably because we were the youngest people in the first 10 rows...

To read what I officially thought of the concert, click here to view my review for the Oklahoma Gazette.

Week 5: Source trouble

2010-02-19T15:33:00.006-06:00

Don't you hate it when people don't get back with you when you need them to? Occupational hazard that someone you need to talk to doesn't get back with you in a timely manner.

In most every other occupation, it's alright to let the person who is trying to get a hold of you wait a day and a half to get back with the information, but if that person is a journalist, you better believe they are muttering curses upon you. Nothing personal, but with deadlines hanging over our heads, it's hard to think pleasant thoughts for you.

Part of being a journalist is relying on other people to get back with you, so you can further your story. Without those people, a story is dead and lifeless. It's all-together boring.

No particular reason why for this post, but I find this problem quite annoying. So, you non-journalists out there, if a journalist calls, please call back soon or be okay with having someone not being your biggest fan for a while.

Week 4: Working at the Capitol

2010-02-15T14:50:00.000-06:00

The more I have immersed myself into my chosen career path, the more I realized you either find yourself loving or hating your decision. The further I walk down the line, the more I love my choice. Working on a frustrating story for the past two weeks with elusive legislators, I finally was able to get comments, by going to a committee hearing.

Now, if you have ever seen a movie where someone is speaking to a federal committee, with legislators sitting, facing toward the people giving their testimony and a crowd sitting in rows facing the committee, it was nothing at all like that. Instead, we have a group of people sitting in a circle, chatting with one another and everyone else sitting in a bigger circle around them.

Thursday, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee met and discussed bills. The hearing was 2 hours long. I loved it.

Am I crazy? Possibly.

How can I possibly find any of what was going on in a two hour long meeting interesting? First off, the legislation discussed effects the state and second, the people there were just entertaining.

Now, that is in no way demeaning the fine people we have voted to represent us, but if people are expected to sit in a meeting, someone needs to say something interesting. And believe me, many interesting things were said in that meeting.

"How far will we continue?"

Curious? Read my article in the Oklahoma Gazette on Wednesday to find out. :)

Week 3: Stepping out of element

2010-02-05T15:41:00.000-06:00

One of the things I love about journalism is you get the opportunity to always be uncomfortable. What I mean is, when you cover a story, you go to events you would never go to on your own, talk to people who would never cross your path otherwise and experience new cultures and norms. Whenever I report a hard issue or need to immerse myself into a different world, I feel that if I don't feel uncomfortable, I'm not doing my job right. I'm in no way judging what I'm seeing but rather letting it all sink in. With my discomfort is the urge of me wanting to understand what is going on around me better.

This week, I was very uncomfortable but not in a way that I'm accustomed to. As a news writer, I go out, talk to people, write down what I'm told and string it together to make a story and give it out to the people in hopes that they can make up their own mind on what is going on and do something about it. I try to make these stories enjoyable but the main goal is to inform and I understand they want news and will go elsewhere for entertainment.

This week, I was on the other side of the editorial office. I wrote my first ever full length life and arts feature on a singer-songwriter. Now, I have written personality profiles before but they were all coming from a news standpoint with a big news hook or an underlying issue. I have never written a story where my goal was to entertain (minus the fiction I tried to write when I was in grade school).

Interviewing was easy. The singer was so nice and accommodating. It was a blast talking to her.

Being a newbie, I decided to read old stories that is standard at the Gazette when it comes to music stories. What I read were stories so crafted and well-worded that I could sort of hear the music in my head or at least had an idea of what it sounded like.

I freaked.

"I have never written anything like that in my life!" I thought to myself. These stories were not only personality profiles on the individuals but rather reviews of their music as well. For so long, I have trained myself not to insert my opinion in my work that I felt like I forgot how to go about something like that. I'm afraid I made myself literally sick over it.

When I sat down to write, I felt blocked. I didn't know where to start. For the first time in more than four years, I honestly had no idea how to write. I never had that problem before. Writing had become second nature to me. Give me the information and I could get you a completed story within the hour. I knew the formula, I knew what words to use, I knew what to write to grab my reader.

With this story, I took a hard swallow and just wrote as well as I could, giving it my best. I wouldn't let my editor down and have him running around trying to fill the space. I could beat it or at least fight it!

Moral of the story: I took a step out of my writing element and I survived! It just makes me believe more so than ever that you HAVE TO get out of your element to become a better journalist.

This will not be the last time for me. I am set to write a few more life stories in the future and hopefully, I'll find my groove and I'm so glad. Instead of being flat, I'm getting the opportunity to become more well-rounded.

First impressions

2010-02-01T13:11:00.000-06:00

These past two weeks have been a whirlwind. Trying to get settled in at school and learning the ropes at my internship. Whew.

At the Oklahoma Gazette, the editorial interns (Luke Atkinson and I) are left to complete the Hey! Do This (HDT) section and the little mini stories that shortly follow that section; we call them floaters.

Luke and I have decided to switch off doing floaters and doing HDT every week. They're not that difficult to do and both of us have been able to hit these things out of the ballpark in less than a day.

With that being said, this internship is very hands on and we are continually given the opportunities to write and cultivate our clipbook. At this point, we are both working on a few full-length stories for the Gazette. Right now, I'm finishing off with a feature on a Oklahoma City singer-songwriter and a legislative story. Hopefully, if all goes according to plan, these stories will run in the Feb. 10 edition of the Gazette.

Anyway, back to work!

Update!

2009-12-27T21:46:00.000-06:00

In case you are confused as to why there are short briefs below, this blog was used during a journalism class I took my sophomore spring '09 semester. Now, I'm using this blog for another journalism class; my internship credit class for my spring '10 semester at an Oklahoma City metro-area alternative weekly, the Oklahoma Gazette.

So I'm going to start with a little bit about me. My name is LeighAnne Manwarren, I'm a journalism student at the University of Oklahoma and as part of my spring internship credit, I was told to blog about my weekly doings. :)

Student videos informs of Oklahoma's high incarceration woman rate

2009-04-19T20:33:00.000-05:00

OU sociology, criminology students' video won a state-wide contest. Their topic was about the high incarceration rate of women in Oklahoma. Photos by LeighAnne Manwarren.

In a recent report, Oklahoma was ranked number 1 with women incarceration in the country. Sociology and criminology students across the state were challenged to create a video detailing the numbers and the affects of the high incarceration rate of women.

One of OU's criminology capstone class was one of the winning videos in the Social Innovation Challenge hosted by the University of Tulsa.

"We are fortunate to win the contest on last Friday afternoon. There is a $1000 prize associated with the honor," said Kelly Damphousse, sociology professor.

Damphousse said his class plans on using the money through OU's criminology club to provide and develop programs at OU for children whose parents are incarcerated with the goal of encouraging them to attend college.

SIC is a program across the country, encouraging students to make a positive change in the community through creative and innovative ideas.

I-35 construction continues

2009-04-05T18:17:00.000-05:00

Motorists see more construction on Interstate 35 in north Norman. Photos by LeighAnne Manwarren.

Motorists will be affected by two off-ramp and lane closures as construction continues on Interstate 35 in Norman.

The southbound I-35 off-ramp to eastbound Robinson Street closed Sunday, March 29 and is expected to reopen by the end of April, said David Meuser, Oklahoma Department of Transportation spokesman.

Meuser said motorists could still access eastbound and westbound Robinson using the westbound off-ramp.

The southbound I-35 off-ramp to US-77 closed Wednesday evening as workers replace the bridge over northbound I-35. The ramp is scheduled to reopen in four months.

Meuser said north and southbound I-35 will be narrowed to one lane as crews move barrier walls and repaint stripes on the pavement from around 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. each day. It will reopen to two lanes both directions during the day.

Phase One of the construction is scheduled for completion in summer 2010.

“We are on the target, time wise,” Meuser said. “Overall we have been very pleased at this point at how things are going.”

Big postponement for the Big Event

2009-03-27T10:45:00.000-05:00

With a predicted snow storm headed for central Oklahoma, Big Event leaders postponed the event until mid-April. Snow began to fall Friday, March 27. Photos by LeighAnne Manwarren.

Due to the inclement of weather, OU's largest community service project, Big Event, was postponed to April 18.

Big Event Chair Amanda Holloway said the decision to postpone the Big Event from Saturday, March 28 until Saturday, April 18 was a joint decision between members of the Big Event executive committee, and personnel in Student Affairs, the President’s Office and at the National Weather Center.

While students were informed of the postponement, student leaders of the Nonprofit Leadership Student Association in association with the American Heart Association were disappointed by the change.

"That day is the American Heart Association's Heart Walk in Oklahoma City," Chelsea Mooneyham, biology sophomore and NLSA secretary, said. "With Big Event moved to that day, there is no way that the OU community can participate in that now."

Big Event leaders and university officials hope that students signed up for Big Event will still participate on its later date.

"We can’t please everyone, but we’re trying to do the best we can for the students and the organizations," Holloway said. "We’re getting everything ready to go on the 18th and looking forward to having a great day."

Economic hardships hit Norman Regional

2009-03-01T18:28:00.000-06:00

Norman Regional laidoff 70 employee positions, hospital officials announced last Tuesday.

Hospital officials said in a statement due to current economic conditions affecting healthcare and other businesses both in the state and the nation, Norman Regional had to let go less than 200 employees within the year. Brenda Finkle, Norman Regional's public relations officer, said a majority of the layoffs were within the nursing staff, despite talk of a future nursing shortage.

Finkle said at this time, it would be inappropriate to speak to the staff over current nursing workplace obligations.

Hospital officials hope through the layoffs, it will finalize the actions of their economic recovery plan.

Hospital officials earlier this week cited lower patient revenue and higher accounts receivables affecting their budget. At the meeting, they have also identified an additional $5 million in non-salary savings for the remainder of the fiscal year, ending June 30, 2009.

**Norman Regional hospital. Photo by: LeighAnne Manwarren**

Norman proudly recogizes its black history

2009-02-11T22:38:00.000-06:00

The first African American couple to purchase a home in Norman accepted the City of Norman's black history month proclamation.

George and Barbara Henderson were presented the official proclamation stating the month of February as Black History Month in Norman by Mayor Cindy Rosenthal at the Feb. 10 City Council meeting.

"We did not know that Norman was a 'sundown town;' if we did, we might have not gotten a house here," G. Henderson said. "The fact that we stayed here is a tribute to Norman; this is home."

The Hendersons have been residences of Norman since 1967, where B. Henderson became the first chair of the Norman Humans Rights Commission and G. Henderson became an esteemed faculty member of OU.

G. Henderson said as a community, Norman is better than it was yesterday and that he hopes it will continue to be so.

**Norman City Council prepares for its Feb. 10 meeting. Photo by: The Oklahoma Daily's Michelle Gray**

New trail connects north Norman to campus

2009-02-07T14:49:00.000-06:00

A new bike and pedestrian trail is scheduled to be extended this summer along East Duffy Street near Campus Corner, connecting Campus Corner to north Norman.

More than 20 residents voiced their opinions about the extension that will be constructed practically in some of their front yards Thursday at the Norman City Hall Complex.

“Right now, I’m just trying to weigh out the pros and the cons of [the extension],” said Liz Jackson, a resident who’s property will be used in the project.

The trail, called the Legacy Trail, will replace old sidewalks from the intersection of Duffy Street and Jenkins Avenue with wider paths along the south side of Duffy Street and along the east side of Asp Avenue between Duffy Street and Campus Corner.

The second meeting was scheduled for March 2, but might be delayed because the first meeting was delayed during the ice storm, Norman Parks Planner James Briggs said. If it is rescheduled, it is still expected to be in early March, he said.

**Paul Stickley, CH Guernsey & Company engineer, talks about trail logistics to Norman residents. Photo by The Oklahoma Daily's Merrill Jones**