Friday, August 20, 2010

Signing Off

Today was my last day.

It was already a heavy breaking news week for Dallas with a shooting at a local police department and a teenage couple involved in killing a woman and seriously injuring her husband. Then came the police chase that ended besides a Love Field runway.

Yesterday a man decided to lead Dallas police on a chase, not really high speed, just a chase.

We weren't too concerned about it at first. The man was driving at average speeds most of the time. But even with a missing tire he showed no signs of ending the chase willingly.

It wasn't until he decided to drive through a chain-link fence and onto Dallas Love Field airport runways or taxiways that we knew we had a national story on our hands.
It was hectic on Thursday afternoon when it all went down. I helped with the story, went out on the scene and got the byline.

Today was the follow. They had released the name the night before so I had to update with that information and then find out more on his background and what the airport was doing about the security in light of someone with a partially disabled truck being able to very easily drive through a chain-link fence and onto the runways.

Let's just say I had my work cut out for me. But with the help of my fellow AP staffers and persistence, we were able to get the story out. This was the version just before I spoke with airport officials. One can never tell who will publish which version, but this is close enough.

It's been a great summer with the AP and I have met a lot of great editors, reporters and photographers. I learned a lot and I hope to use what I learned in my future endeavors.

Until the next time, goodbye AP and thank you!





Monday, August 16, 2010

Last week and new horizons

It's my last week with the AP.

This summer has gone by amazingly fast. Now, to be fair, my internship is ending a week ahead of schedule. For those of you that haven't heard, I was offered my first job out of college.

No, not with the AP.

This job has almost been two years in the making. A couple of years ago I interned with the Statesman Journal in Salem, Oregon as part of the Chips Quinn Scholars program. It was a great summer.

The executive editor told me on my last day to keep in touch because he wanted me to come back eventually. I didn't realize at the time that that someday would coincide perfectly with my graduation.

After keeping him posted over the years and letting him know where I was going in the summers for internships, December came around and again, I let him know I would finally be graduating in the summer.

This time, I wouldn't have to worry about having to go back to school after my internship. This time, all I had to worry about was landing a job in a newsroom.

This isn't as easy as it seems these days. I'll admit that I was getting a little stressed out about it earlier in the year. Some people say to start looking before you graduate and before the end of your internships because it takes a long time, sometimes several months.

But in February, after e-mailing resumes, cover letters and clips to several job postings from the journalism job listing websites to no avail, I stopped. I decided that the stress was too much and that I needed to just focus on getting through the semester and the internship I had lined up for the summer.

So I did, I stopped the job search and focused on what I was doing at the time. It felt right.

Although I cheated periodically and sent out a couple stray packets to see what would happen. Nothing but rejection letters and a lot of "we have decided to look at other candidates at this time."

So there it was.

But there was hope on the horizon with my back-and-forth e-mails with Bill Church. Since December we had e-mails going about the possibility of something opening up soon. I sent recent clips, an updated resume, you name it.

It paid off.

On the same day all of the AP interns (about 25 of us) got the "we will probably only hire a few of you" speech, I got the e-mail from Bill that they wanted to do a phone interview.

I was really excited to talk with the three editors I got to know that summer in Oregon. It went really well and after a couple of weeks of waiting _ somewhat stressful weeks _ I got the offer.

I have since signed the offer and am making my plans to move to the Pacific Northwest, hence the premature ending of my internship.

But it has been a great summer with this news organization.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Wheels Down, Wheels Up!







Okay, so today I went to the airport to watch for President Obama's arrival.
It was a close call because stupid Google maps tried to send me in the wrong direction! Luckily, I know Dallas, and I managed to get there on time.

So it was a wheels down, wheels up call. AP Washington reporters were on the flight so there was no story to be written by me, but it was nice to witness a president's arrival.

Leave it to Dallas for there to be a little drama! One of the motorcade officers wrecked, but wasn't seriously hurt or anything. It wasn't at the airport so I didn't see it, but another intern gets updates from the DPD and let me know about it. The AP in Dallas was already aware_news travels fast after all.

It was super hot and I was glad there was an air conditioned waiting area for us.

So, there it is, probably as close as I'll get to both the president and Air Force One.



Saturday, August 7, 2010

Catching up

daily morning conference call with all regions

patio view from AP headquarters




Well it's been a while since my last post, but to be fair, I have been busy.

After Austin, I went to New York to visit the AP headquarters along with the rest of our intern class. We met the president and many other high-ranking editors. We also had several opportunities to ask questions and chat with some of these individuals.

It wasn't all work though. I met several great fellow interns and we wandered the streets of New York together, did some shopping and stayed up really late. I also did some solo wandering to be able to grab some photos. Sometimes it's better for me to do that on my own so I don't have have people waiting while I randomly focus in on something I have to capture.

It was a fantastic experience and I'm really thankful I had the chance to be a part of it.

We were able to get a bigger picture of what the AP is all about. It really is a global news organization which sometimes you don't think about when you are in the day-to-day reporting out of your bureau. But when I read the wire now, I have a better appreciation for just how far this organization reaches. It's really impressive.

When I got back to Dallas I was catching up with everything when there was more information being released about the Coppell mayor that shot herself and her daughter. It was really frustrating because it seemed like I was just behind everyone with the updates. It turns out our AP Texas e-mail wasn't receiving the releases so for two days of stories I was a little behind on getting the news out. I was able to get the stories out the same days as the information was released, but it was a couple hours after the others. Luckily that has all been remedied so I think if we do decide to run any more stories about it, at least I won't be the last one to know.

AP does like to be first after all.

There has also been some routine daily stuff going on the past couple of weeks to keep me busy. That, and I have still been struggling to get my enterprise finished. I have only three weeks left and it's going to go by super fast.

It's amazing how 12 weeks can seem like a long time at the beginning of the summer then they just disappear.


Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Intense story

I started the week in the Austin bureau which was very nice. They have a prime location just outside the Texas State Capitol. It was really just an excellent place to have the office.

The people there were great and one reporter gave me the media tour of the capitol. So it was a great start to the week.

Since I have to work this week through like normal, I flew back in to Dallas Tuesday night and reported for duty in the Dallas bureau this morning.

From the get go there was already talk about reporting on this story out of Coppell.
This is one of those stories that just sticks with you.

I was in the office at 9 a.m. and out the door by 9:30 a.m. to head to the scene. I spent the morning talking with neighbors, then going to the city hall and police station to get more information about what had happened.

Everyone in the neighborhood and coworkers of the mayor were in shock and disbelief at the thought of what transpired.

I was back in the office at around 3 p.m. and waited for editing so I could send out another writethru for the afternoon papers.

I'm not sure what else will be revealed about this situation.



Austin





Friday, July 9, 2010

Houston






The Houston bureau visit was nice.

I was able to write a few things, worked on enterprise and met the editor that I said would always forget me.

We had a chance to talk and go over some things about the Otty Sanchez story which were very useful. It was good to meet face-to-face and be able to chat. She has a strong personality, is driven and stylish_a good combo.

Next week: Austin bureau

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Mother pleads not guilty by reason of insanity

This was the spot story I worked on today.

Had the San Antonio reporter not been busy with would-be hurricane coverage, I would not have had the opportunity to write this story.

It was challenging not being able to be there for the hearing, but the people with DAs office were very helpful in assisting me. Catherine was especially helpful in sorting out the details. Although my first update was a little sketchy and needed further clarification from the central desk (which I was initially a little embarrassed about), I was able to sort it all out for the more thorough write thru.

By the time it hit the wire, I felt good about the final version.

I worked on it almost all day, and with a story like this, it's important to have all the facts straight.

In between waiting for edits and wrapping up interviews, I was able to sort out some other details for my week in Houston starting Tuesday.

Overall a busy and productive day. I also had my first evaluation for the first four week period and although there were a lot of good marks, there were some room for improvement marks as well.

I totally agree with everything we discussed and I'm looking forward to the next round of my summer with the AP.

Let the travels begin!




Sunday, June 27, 2010

Palin


So, Saturday night was spent covering Sarah Palin in Tyler, Texas.

It was a 2 hour drive from Dallas which wasn't too bad on the way up, but on the way back after being the last person in the venue waiting to make sure everything was okay with my story to get on the wire, it was a bit brutal.

It was definitely different.

When you are covering an event or a speaker that is repeatedly making comments about "mainstream media" embedding themselves at the event while you are trying to set up shop (i.e. finding a place to plug in a laptop wherever you can so you can write your story), let's just say it is a bit humorous _ not that AP is mainstream media. It was just funny that me and another print reporter were in a dark corner.

All I know is that I was there to do a job and I did.

I'm including a close shot of Gov. Rick Perry _ he answered some questions before introducing Palin at the Oil Palace in Tyler.

No comment on a Perry/Palin team.


Thursday, June 24, 2010

Progress--Week three almost down!

Well despite my little moment earlier this week, I'm feeling pretty good about my progress thus far.

I have made progress on my first enterprise story and am starting another one. I want to keep the wheels moving on them. I can't discuss what they are about, but I think if all goes well, they WILL be picked up.

Yesterday, I was able to help with the ongoing coverage of the Dallas police chief's son. I went with my trainer to pick up the 911 calls and transcribed them.

The story made the national AP wire and was picked up by several publications all over the country including The Washington Post. This will be my second story to make it there.

It actually continues to travel around the Web even today.

It's possible that I will be making a short road trip for a story on Saturday, but I won't know until tomorrow. We'll see how it goes. If all goes well, it too, will make the national wire.

Fingers crossed!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Pshh.

So just as I am psyched up for the week I have a moment of frustration.

I walk into the office and there is actually some spot news breaking in the Dallas area. This would be a great thing had I been able to cover it. Unfortunately, this coverage started a couple of hours before I was set to be in the office and another reporter was already at the press conference by the time I got there :(

So there I was missing the action. To make things worse, during our daily staff meeting via conference call, the Houston editor has a tendency to forget I'm in the Dallas bureau.

At this point, I feel it's pretty bad that I haven't made an impression. We haven't met and I'm sure she has her hands full, so I don't blame her or anything--she also has an intern in Houston she sees and works with on a daily basis so I don't think it's intentional, but it just troubled me a little bit.

After missing out on the breaking news and being forgotten on the conference call, I knew I needed to take some action. With my trainer out of the office and our bureau functioning on a skeleton crew, I took the suggestion of my editor and started scouring the Texas newspaper websites for a pick up just in case we had missed anything with everyone focused on the morning story.

I sure enough found a story about how Dallas isn't prepared to deal with a major disaster and pitched it the editor that always forgets me. She said it was good and to run with it. So that kept me busy, plus I kept working on my enterprise and nailed down an interview I had been waiting for and wrote another story in between.

Let's just say things turned around from the morning situation.

This is all a learning experience and I learned today that it's time to cut the cord and get in there. It's time to really be aggressive. One thing is for sure, I have always left a good impression through my work ethic at my previous internships and it really didn't sit well that I was so forgettable.

I know what has to be done and I'm ready to do it.

As my editor said Friday, there needs to be more everything and I totally agree.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Downtown Dallas Farmer's Market–Cooking demo




Time is of the essence!

Well, 12 weeks may seem like plenty of time.
It's really not.

After working last week (week two), and getting my weekly evaluation, I'm feeling a sense of urgency to get my enterprise stories written.

I have been working on one in particular that I want to wrap up. It's been challenging getting a few details squared away, but if all goes well, I should be able to have it done next week. I'm also going to start on a second enterprise story next week as well.

I have two solid weeks in Dallas left before I start traveling for the AP. The first week of July I'll be in Houston, the next week in Austin, then New York. Two weeks is not a long time. It will be over before I know it. So I really have to push to get these stories done.

Next week, I have at least one spot news story to cover (things have been a little slow in Dallas as far as spot news is concerned), but I expect to be writing much more than the first two weeks. The more I can write, the better off I'll be.

Meanwhile, I continue to plug away at trying to refine my writing and reporting. It helps to get the weekly feedback. Sometimes you don't realize the mistakes you're making until they are pointed out. My editor has a funny way of pointing out some of the things I need to change. It's good to be able to laugh a little at yourself.

But in all seriousness, I take the advice to heart and try to implement the information into my work.

It's tricky to switch from writing for broadcast to writing for print. It's a skill that is constantly being used for the AP and one that I need to further refine.

That being said, it was a good week, but next week I'm gonna have to take it up a notch!




Wednesday, June 16, 2010

City Hall




So I went to Dallas City Hall today for a press conference. In all the years I lived in Dallas before I never had any business there.
I was able to practice an AP skill of dictating a story from the field.
I'm sure other news mediums do this as well, but it was cool to do it for the AP. I had never tried it before.
I was a little unsure of how to do it at first. I wondered if I was supposed to just spew the facts, or talk in sentences I would want written....
After talking to my trainer, he told me to collect my thoughts then call him back with the story. He would take care of the rest.
So I hung up the phone, quickly wrote the short 130 word story (what AP calls a News Now) and called him back.
I read the story and he typed it up and edited it to send to the wire. It was a great experience!
Can't wait to try it again!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Friday, June 11, 2010

Red ink

Week one of 12 down!

Well, it's one when your job is to take a red pen to the copy. It's another thing when the red pen is taken to your own copy. Before I graduated, I was copy editing for The Prospector so the red pen was in my hand.

It's inevitable with being a reporter that editors go over your stories with the red pen. We all know what this means–corrections, suggestions and trimming.

Some stories get more than others.

With this internship, I print out a copy of all my unedited stories and save them for the end of the week when I get an evaluation.

So today, I got my first evaluation.

Despite the bleeding pages, I was really thankful to get the feedback and suggestions on how to improve my writing for the AP. It wasn't all bad, don't get me wrong.

It was really useful to see those comments and be able to discuss them with my editor and trainer. Every summer internship has been a little different for me, and this summer, I rather enjoy the fact that I will be getting this feedback on a regular basis.

This internship has a pretty solid training program.

Now that week one is under my belt I can go in next week a little better prepared.

As they say, you can't be in this business if you have a thin skin. This is especially true when it comes to having your work edited.

Overall, I had a very productive week. I wrote every day, got my first byline picked up by several news outlets and am working on an enterprise story.

And I'm getting the hang of our operating system.

Looking forward for week two!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

First Byline

Today was exciting.

I have been writing all week long, but today I got my first byline for a story I wrote about a police chief that got arrested.

The story was put on the Texas wire around noonish and was being picked up shortly thereafter. It made it to around five websites including the Austin American-Statesman and the Houston Chronicle.

A while back in my news editing class, Lourdes Cueva-Chacón gave us a little workshop on how to use the tools from google accounts along with other useful tools for research and social media. During that workshop I made a google alert for any time my name Elida S. Perez pops up on the Web.

Let's just say it was super handy today in keeping track of where that story published. Every time a news outlet picked it up, I got an update. Without it, let's just say it would have been very challenging to find out where it landed or if it landed anywhere.

So, yey!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Variety

What I love about being a reporter is the unpredictability.
You can learn a new system, learn new writing techniques, but you can never really predict how your day will go.

Variety is good.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Day one with the AP

Well, I survived the first day.

It started out routinely enough, I left way too early in the morning to make sure I wouldn't arrive late. Driving on 635 in Dallas can be slow at best during rush hour so now I know how long it takes to get to work about 15 minutes early and not almost an hour early (unlike today).
I met mostly everyone in the bureau and was happy to find that my colleagues have good senses of humor.

--Newsrooms can be intense and it's great when people can find a little humor in the small stuff.

Just as I was getting the ball rolling on some routine posts to the wire, breaking news hits.
It's a strange process when you are on your first day and you realize you are in the midst of a big news event. Luckily for me, the professionals are at hand to make sense of it all. Since it was my first day, I did my best to help out the seasoned reporters by gathering contacts and listening for any changes while they wrote several updates. It can sometimes feel as though you're a little turned around in situations like that.

I also can't help but feel a little rusty after editing all year for The Prospector and Borderzine.com when it comes to writing fast and getting back into the reporter swing of things. But I can see that that rustiness will quickly disappear as the days go by.

There is really no choice in the matter.

I'm happy to be with the AP for the summer and I intend to make the most of it. There are great reporters to learn from and many stories to be written.