3. Since high school, it has been my dream to intern at a TV news station in Pitts-
burgh. Whenever I visited relatives there, I would watch the newscasts—mainly
the weather reports since one of my first career goals when I was younger was to
be a meteorologist. That usually meant watching Joe DeNardo, a meteorologist at
WTAE-4, who’s been forecasting Pittsburgh weather for over thirty years.
The goal to become a meteorologist never materialized, however, my fascination
with the television news industry grew over time. Once it was time to apply for
internships my junior year in college, my first choice was WTAE-TV since I was
most familiar with their on-air talent from watching their newscasts. I was almost
certain I would be an excellent candidate for their internship program, but just in
case, I applied to KDKA-TV and WPXI-TV as well, and a few other local TV stations
near where I live.
I held my breath. Nothing. For a while, it looked like an internship in Pittsburgh
was futile. KDKA’s date for internship interviews was during my spring break in
March, and I already had plans to visit San Francisco during that time. WTAE never
responded. But I still had one chance. Shortly after applying to WPXI via e-mail, I
received a response stating that interviews were being conducted in March. That
could go either way, depending on my travel plans.
On March 2nd, the Friday before I was supposed to leave for San Francisco, my
phone rang. I hesitated. The area code was 412, a Pittsburgh number, and I knew
the number wasn’t one of my relatives calling. Who could be calling me, then? I
answered. A cheery voice on the other end responded:
“Hi, this is Carly Noel calling from WPXI.”
Thank you God.
Carly wanted to schedule me for an interview. With my travel plans and school,
it would be difficult for me to fly out to Pittsburgh. It looked like I would have to
cross WPXI off my list too.
“Do you have a few minutes to answer some questions right now?” Carly asked.
Perfect. I still had a chance! I responded to her questions, without any time to
prepare materials or have pre-rehearsed answers ready. After the questions were
finished, I was certain I would have to wait for a final decision later.
“So…are you in?” Carly responded. I couldn’t believe it. How could she be sure I
was qualified enough for this internship through a brief phone conversation?
“Yes...” I hesitated, not wanting to officially commit until I heard back from WTAE.
“Great! If you change your mind, just let me know.”
If I knew then how much fun I would have that summer, I would have instantly ac-
cepted. Luckily, I never changed my mind. Looking back on everything I did this
past summer, I really did have an opportunity of a lifetime. I wanted to do “every-
thing and anything” in Pittsburgh, and I can proudly state that I did just that.
-Stefan Aleo
December 2012
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION...
KDKA
WTAE
WQED
WPXI
WPXI Journal.indd 3 1/5/14 8:16 PM
4. MAY 24, 2012
Here is my first journal for my internship at WPXI.
Hours this week: 20
It has already been quite a busy week since I started
orientation last Thursday evening. As soon as I
stepped in the door for training, I knew I chose the
right place to intern. When I arrived, the station’s heli-
copter was taking off into the sunset, headed towards
Pittsburgh to cover breaking news. I entered the
building and met the other interns (there are nine of
us total). Shortly thereafter, we were greeted by our
internship supervisors and headed into their classroom
for a crash course in learning how to post content to
their website. I am working in the web department for
“See and be Seen,” which is WPXI’s entertainment
section. The producers (and our internship supervi-
sors) are Carly Noel and Rob Johnston. So far, they
have been extremely accommodating and are a great
pleasure to work with.
From what I heard at orientation and from talking with
the other interns, I quickly found out that I managed
to land “the” internship in the Pittsburgh area. I am
actively working for the station. I am not just shadow-
ing other employees, nor simply watching them work
or doing menial tasks for them. Unlike most other TV
stations, which are unionized, the web department
here at WPXI is non-union. I can take pictures with
their cameras, edit them with their computers, and
even work with their video equipment in the future.
The nine of us are split up into teams, and we cover
events happening around the Pittsburgh area. We
then upload the photos we took at the events and put
them on a slideshow for their website.
Sunday was my first day covering events, which
happened to be a fashion show called “Glitzburgh,”
which is a fund-raiser featuring local celebrities and
fashion models. Since the station does not have its
own vehicle for “See and be Seen,” we are responsible
for transporting ourselves to the events. Thankfully,
they reimburse us forty cents a mile for gas, and
cover parking expenses. Our job was to take photos
of groups of people attending, as well as the fashion
models. I quickly learned how to work the camera
to get photos, as well as where to go to get the best
photos. Luckily, someone working the event spot-
ted myself and the other intern working with me, and
directed us to a special section for the media to get the
models walking down the runway.
“Don’t worry about people getting in your way,”
he said to us, “They’ll move for you because you’re
famous!” That was the first time I heard someone
mention the word “you” and “famous” in the same
sentence, as was a little flattering given the fact that
this was our first event. I guess my media credentials
are more powerful than I first imagined.
The fashion show was a success. I met some play-
ers from the Pittsburgh Steelers, and was able to get
excellent photos of Miss Pittsburgh and Miss Teen
Pennsylvania. I used a multiple exposure mode on the
camera to get photos of the models, which really im-
pressed Carly. She complimented my photo work and
told us she couldn’t wait to work with us again. I’m
pleased that I was able to make a good first impres-
sion.
Monday I had a chance to work with our other supervi-
sor, Rob. We headed into downtown to film a seg-
ment on the new “North Shore Connector,” which is
their light rail system connecting downtown and the
sport stadiums across the river. Rob wanted to do a
positive segment on how quickly and easily it was for
commuters to reach the stadiums. Gretchen (the other
intern) and I rode the subway multiple times, and even
got separated from Rob when the doors on the train
closed on us, leaving us stuck inside the train while
Rob was waiting outside. Rob thought it was hilarious
how he already lost the interns on his first day with
us, and was worried we would never trust him again.
The situation was more comical than chaotic, and we
quickly relocated Rob after getting on to another train
at the next station.
From going out in the field with Rob, I learned several
tips:
1. Always ask for permission before filming. We were
stopped by 2 Port Authority officers asking if we were
granted permission to film the trains. Rob cleared it
with their PR person before we went out, so we were
ok.
2. The bigger the camera you have, the more respect
you get. Rob told me that others assume larger equip-
ment equals “news photographers”, which means you
are not there to film stunts or cause chaos. We carried
their video camera, as well as a smaller still camera
that day. Since we were technically not allowed to film
inside of the rail cars, we had to use the still camera
to sneak video from inside the train. Knowing your
boundaries as a media professional is important to
maintaining good relationships with other businesses
and the public.
3. If possible, try to include a local business into your
WPXI Journal.indd 4 1/5/14 8:16 PM
5. story. Rob wanted to stop by a snow cone
stand near one of the stations and mention
in his story to stop by this place when you
take the Connector. The guy running the
stand was more than happy to receive the
free publicity, and even treated us to free
snow cones. It was a perfect way to end the
day.
Rob let me film his standups and take some
video with the camera, which I was more
than excited to do, since I love working with
video equipment. Even though they are
only shown online and not on TV, it’s still
rewarding to see my work.
Tuesday evening I worked with another
intern, Alyssa, and went to PNC Park to
cover “Pup Night,” which meant we had to
get hundreds of pictures of cute dogs and
their owners.
“This is one of the most popular slideshows
on the website,” Carly told us, “Make sure
you get enough good pictures.” It felt dif-
ferent entering the stadium through the
press entrance and we even got to see the
broadcast booth before heading down into
the stands where the puppies and dogs
were. We ended up posting 140 photos on
the website, and were complimented again
by Carly on our photo work. The other
web producers liked the slideshow too, so I
would say that was a success as well.
Wednesday I came in for a brief video train-
ing session. Even though I already used
the camera a little bit on Monday, I wanted
to learn a little more about the equipment.
Carly and Rob went over basic video shoot-
ing skills that I was familiar with from my
classes at QU, so that was a bit tedious, but
we all had a chance to set up the camera
and tripod, and practice shooting video. I
was the only one that worked with similar
equipment before, and the other interns
sensed that I seemed to know the camera,
because they all said that they know to call
me if they had a question with the camera.
I give Quinnipiac credit for the skills I ob-
tained working with video cameras.
My first week was busy, exciting, and re-
warding, and I can’t wait for next week. I’m
glad I was able to make a good first impres-
sion at the station, and hope that someday
it might lead to a job in the Pittsburgh area.
ROB JOHNSTON
WPXI Journal.indd 5 1/5/14 8:16 PM
6. “Pittsburgh: My Second Home”
Posted: 5:12 p.m. Wednesday, May 23, 2012
There are three things in life I love -- My family, Pitts-
burgh and TV News. Luckily for me, I get the chance
to enjoy all three this summer while completing an
internship for WPXI.
Even though I have lived in Connecticut my entire life,
Pittsburgh has always been my second home for me
since I was little. My father grew up in Westmoreland
County, where most of my relatives are, and my mom
attended college in Pittsburgh. Every summer (and
some holidays), our family would pack up the car and
make the 500 mile, 10 hour trip to Pittsburgh to see
family, with a stop along the way in Carlisle to visit my
grandmother. Needless to say, when I made the drive
over here by myself this past week, the GPS wasn’t
much help since I already knew the way.
You know on the “Today Show” when Al Roker says
at the end of his weather report, “here’s what happen-
ing in your neck of the woods?” I have always consid-
ered Pittsburgh my “neck of the woods” and have very
fond memories of Pittsburgh and the Allegheny Valley.
While my classmates in school shared about their trips
to Disney World or Cape Cod, I shared about the fun I
had at Kennywood or Sandcastle. (Who needs Disney
World, anyway, when you have two awesome amuse-
ment parks right outside the city)? I explored the
Carnegie Science Center, ate at restaurants in Station
Square and watched baseball games at PNC Park. I
even saw Ty Pennington one year while touring Fall-
ingwater. Over the years, I grew to love the city and in
high school, decided that I would either attend college
in Pittsburgh or complete an internship at a TV station
in Pittsburgh.
I ended up applying and got accepted to Quinnipiac
University in Hamden, CT, where I am currently study-
ing Film, Video, and Interactive Media with a minor in
Interactive Digital Design. (If you’re unfamiliar with
the name, that’s okay because it is a pain to spell and
pronounce). At QU, I’m technical director and audio
engineer for Q30, which is our campus TV station. It’s
both exciting and stressful at the same time, especially
in the seconds before we go live on-air, but I love it.
TV News has always been an interest of mine my
entire life, and I consider myself a “TV News Junkie.”
I know this because every time I look at my Facebook
News Feed, nearly every post is from the various TV
stations I follow. I watch old newscasts on YouTube
and record newscasts from cities across the country
I travel to rather than the latest episode of “Jersey
Shore,” which, to the surprise of my friends, I com-
pletely detest. When I was little, I was fascinated with
weather and watched the local TV meteorologists give
their forecasts—and still do with interest today.
With that being said, I am thrilled at the opportunity to
intern for “See And Be Seen” at WPXI this summer.
I love traveling, exploring, and reporting on all of the
events in the Pittsburgh area, and can’t wait to “See
and be Seen” what event I’ll be covering next.
And I promise not to include play on words in every
blog post I write this summer.
WPXI Journal.indd 6 1/5/14 8:16 PM
7. we (the interns) watched everyone chow down 20
wings, we were fed celery sticks and carrots. How-
ever, we ended up getting the leftover wings after the
contest. It was actually hilarious watching the staff
eat the wings. They acted like 12-year-olds at a class
picnic. They were on their phones, taking photos of
themselves eating the wings and tweeting updates.
I know college students are often chastised for this
behavior during class, but to see older adults doing
this was hilarious! Nevertheless, it was one of the best
events I covered so far and well worth coming in early.
Another intern took photos of the event, so it was my
turn to edit the photos and put them up on the web-
site. When Rob looked at the pictures the other intern
took, he said to me, “Stefan! Why did we have you
clean plates at the wing tasting? We should of had
you take the photos instead!” Apparently the photos
came out so-so. It was nice to get another compliment
on my photography skills.
Once the slideshow was posted, I had some free time,
but that didn’t last long. Carly’s boss, someone from
Creative Services, asked the other intern and I if we
could be extras for a photo promo shoot. Of course I
agreed! She took us into the newsroom where David
Johnson, one of the main anchors, was sitting. I had
just met him at the wing tasting, so I knew exactly
who he was. They were getting photos of David, and
they needed us to engage in a conversation with him
using our hands. My guess is that they needed it for
the background of the pictures. We ended up talking
about the wing contest, which made it somewhat less
awkward, as I was in awe sitting next to one of the
most respected anchors in Pittsburgh. Again, had I
not come in early, I would have missed this opportu-
nity!
There was still some free time left, so I ended up
watching the 5pm news live from the studio. As al-
ways, it was interesting viewing what goes on behind
the scenes of a newscast. Even though there was
severe weather that day, the atmosphere in the studio
was relatively calm, with the occasional breaking story
change. Also, compared to the stations in Hartford,
the Pittsburgh stations do not freak out every time
there’s a thunderstorm. During one of the breaks, I
had the chance to talk with the chief meteorologist.
Since I’m interested in weather, I’m hoping I get a
chance to shadow him for a day.
Finally, my “normal” schedule for the day started. I
was scheduled to go with Carly to a Gavin DeGraw out-
door concert in the city that evening. Carly ended up
securing an interview with Gavin before the show, so
we left early. Carly mentioned that they chose me to
MAY 31, 2012Journal #2
Hours this week: 21
Total: 41 hours
Once again, so much has happened since the last jour-
nal entry. The situations I get in while covering events
keep my life interesting. Friday was my first solo
event, so I wanted to make sure to do an extra good
job taking photos. That ended up being more difficult
than expected. I was covering a Beer Craft/BBQ festi-
val outside of downtown Pittsburgh next to the Google
building and several new buildings that are being reno-
vated for future restaurants/shopping. I’m mentioning
this because, to my surprise, the beer tasting was held
inside one of the unfinished buildings. Therefore, it
was dark inside with light coming in from the floor to
ceiling windows in all directions. For taking photos,
this is next to a nightmare when you’re trying to get
good group shots of people. I ended up getting a few,
but I had to go outside where fewer people were to
get group shots. Without another intern helping me, I
couldn’t get to every person.
When I posted the slideshow online, my boss found
a few blurry photos, so those had to be taken down.
She was hoping for more group photos, but after I
explained to her the difficulties of getting the right
lighting, I think she understood. At least with this
internship, I’m learning by doing, and not by watching.
I’m glad our producer Carly gives us feedback on ev-
erything we post, so we can improve for future events.
Compared to Friday, Sunday was a very easy event to
cover. I headed to a dog park (this time with another
intern helping me) to take photos of a carnival they
were holding to raise money for charity. Since it was
the hottest day of the year that day, we wanted to take
plenty of photos in a short period of time. Luckily,
dogs are very photogenic (when they’re behaved and
standing still), so it was easy getting good action shots
of the dogs playing in the park.
Tuesday I pulled a typical “Carly and Rob” day by
working at the station for 10 hours. I wasn’t supposed
to be on for that long, however, thunderstorms and
hail were forecasted for later on, and I didn’t want to
drive through storms/traffic and potentially be late. I
left earlier in the afternoon, which turned out to be a
good decision because the station was holding a wing
contest, where a panel of judges (the news anchors /
staff) got to taste test buffalo wings from 10 restau-
rants in the area. We served everyone wings and while
WPXI Journal.indd 7 1/5/14 8:16 PM
8. cover a concert first because of my experi-
ence with cameras. They wanted some-
one that knew what they were doing for
a “professional event.” We arrived at the
venue and set up for the interview. Basi-
cally, I was there just to make sure Gavin
was framed correctly at all times while she
interviewed him. Nevertheless, it as excit-
ing to step behind the camera and watch
Gavin and Carly talk about his favorite
songs, places to go, etc. Gavin was really
polite and patiently answered all of our
questions, even though he was soon due to
go on. I didn’t have time to get a picture
of him with me, but he did shake my hand,
which was good enough for me since the
last time I shook hands with a celebrity
was...never.
As soon as the interview ended, there was
a freak downpour, which delayed the con-
cert a little. Since Rob and Carly both had
tickets for the show, we ended up hanging
out a little bit before the show started. It
was wonderful talking to media profession-
als about work/career opportunities and
how they got started in working for WPXI.
I had permission to take photos of the first
3 songs of Gavin. When he finally came on
around 10pm, I headed to the photo pit and
got excellent photos of Gavin. I couldn’t
believe it when one of the security guards
told me, “Ok, that’s 3 songs, you’re done!”
because it went by so fast! Once I put the
photos online and got back home after
midnight, I had put in a 10 hour day. Quite
tiring but well worth it!
A couple tips I learned:
1. I should get to the station as early as
possible more often.
2. Take advantage of the opportunities
that come out of nowhere.
3. Be aggressive. Even with my photo
pass for the concert, it was a little tricky
getting past security. Luckily, Carly was
right beside me to help me make sure I got
in ok, but for future times, she told me that
I should try to be a little more aggressive,
especially if I already had prior permission.
Next week I’m scheduled to shadow a com-
mercial production shoot, so I’ll write about
that in my next entry.
WPXI Journal.indd 8 1/5/14 8:16 PM
9. Hello, my name is ‘Intern 5’
Posted: 5:19 p.m. Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Hello, my name is “Intern 5.” At least that’s what
it says on my media credentials. Ah, the benefits of
being an intern. Over the past few weeks at WPXI,
I’ve realized how much this badge—a simple plastic
card with some magnetic thingy that allows me to
get through the parking gate and the side door at the
station—has transformed me from a normal person to
a “VIP.” Note how I didn’t say “celebrity.” I’m defi-
nitely not there yet, nor have aspirations to become
one. To many, I’m known as “Stefan Aleo,” but when
I travel to events and wear my credentials to take pho-
tos, I am known as “Intern 5.”
So, here are some highlights of my time here from
Stefan Aleo, AKA “Intern 5.”
My first night interning, I quickly learned how special
you become when you mention your media affiliation
at the front door/gate/ticket booth. That night, it was
at Whim Nightclub at Station Square for “Glitzburgh,”
a fashion show and fund-raiser event featuring local
celebrities. The event staff warmly greeted Gretchen
and me, thanking us for covering the event.
The people at Whim could not have been more help-
ful. When it came time to enter the main area where
the runway was, one person showed us where to
stand to get the best photos of the event. He told
us something to the effect of, “Don’t worry if people
are in your way, they’ll move for you because you’re
famous!” That was the first time I heard the words
“you” and “famous” in the same sentence, and I
thought, I can get used to this.
It was pretty much the same at PNC Park, where I cov-
ered “Pup Night” and engaged in short conversations
about people’s dogs. My experience was repeated at
Misty Pines Dog Park, where proud owners, trainers
and animal shelter workers shared with us information
about their dogs at the Helping Hounds Carnival. It’s
wonderful talking and learning about others’ lives for
a brief moment and learning something new every-
day. (Sorry for the cliché, I couldn’t think of a better
phrase).
Finally, my highlight of my experience so far was the
opportunity to shake hands with performer Gavin De-
Graw because the last time I met a celebrity was never.
I’ll admit I didn’t know any of his songs prior to that
night, so I felt a little guilty that I got to meet someone
I didn’t know much about. Gavin was exceptionally
sweet and patiently answered interview questions for
See And Be Seen, even though his time was limited.
Had I mustered up the courage to ask him for a picture
with me, you would have been looking at his photo
with me on this page, but since I didn’t, you will see an
image of the magnificent sunset at Stage AE during
the concert. No this image isn’t “instagrammed.” I
don’t believe in putting pre-determined filters on im-
ages, but that is another story.
Getting right up to the stage to take photos of Gavin
for the website was another thrilling experience be-
cause once again, the last time I had front row tickets
at a show was never. Despite my inner audio system
nearly getting blown out by screaming girls in my left
channel (ear) and the earthquake-like rumbles com-
ing from the speaker in my right channel (ear), it was
something I will not forget for a long time. In fact, I
got so into getting the right photos for the website, I
couldn’t believe it when I was approached by security
to leave because my three song limit of taking photos
was up.
So this concludes episode one of “The Intern 5 Chron-
icles.” Rather than write a recap of everything I did
every week for my blog, I’ll alternate between stories
about Pittsburgh and my internship experience. So
until next time, I’m Stefan Aleo, signing off until next
week’s edition of my weekly blog.
WPXI Journal.indd 9 1/5/14 8:16 PM
10. JUNE 7, 2012
Journal #3
Hours this week: 11
Total: 52 hours
Compared to my last few weeks here, it was a slower
week, due to the fewer amount of hours completed
and the fact that it was a slower news week locally. All
of the news stations in the state are in Centre County
covering Jerry Sandusky’s trial, and as a result, are
busy coordinating reporters at Penn State.
I’ll start with last Friday’s event. Fridays seem to be
my least favorite days. For the second time, more
unexpected “glitches” came up while covering events.
They are not major problems, nor anything that would
discourage me from covering future events. Neverthe-
less, here’s what happened. I covered for someone
else that day, and it was good to get the extra hours
in, but had I known what I would run into, I might have
reconsidered coming in. All day Friday our county
was under a tornado watch, and thunderstorms were
expected in the afternoon. I was scheduled to cover a
gala at the Pittsburgh Zoo that evening. I was hoping
it would be cancelled due to severe weather, but no
one told me otherwise it was cancelled. So I ended up
driving in torrential rain, arriving at the station just in
time to leave again.
By the time Denny and I arrived at the zoo, I was al-
ready tired. Thankfully, Denny had to be at another job
early the next morning, so we were planning on getting
as much pictures as we could quickly before heading
back to edit and post the photos.
Usually when we cover events, we are free to roam
around and take group photos of people we run into.
For this event, we had a media guide help us find the
right people (zoo board members, important contribu-
tors to the event, etc.) Unfortunately, our guide had
only worked at the zoo for 2 months and did not know
a lot of people we were supposed to take photos of.
All she had was a list of names. Repeated attempts to
contact her boss were futile, so we ended up walking
all around the zoo trying to find everyone. Thankfully,
the weather started clearing up, so we weren’t walk-
ing around in the rain. We asked several people where
certain people were, and everyone seemed to know
where one important board member was. That board
member was Sally Wiggin, a news anchor at a compet-
ing station, and therefore, the one person we did not
need a photo of. I actually found that funny that the
one person everyone knew we did not need.
Anyway, a lot of time was wasted finding everyone.
We tried to find other important local celebrities that
were supposed to attend the Gala, but our guide told
us that they probably didn’t show up because of the
weather. We had photos of zoo animals and a lot of
“no-name” people, but no one instantly recognizable
to lure viewers on the website’s slideshow. I felt like I
had not done my job, but realized that certain factors
cannot be controlled, so we had to make do with the
photos we had. Thankfully our producer Carly liked
the animal photos I took, and was understanding that
we couldn’t get a lot of the “important” names.
Monday I thought I was going to be shadowing a
commercial production shoot. I ended up going with
our other producer Rob to a local high school. The
school won WPXI’s “Prom Promise” campaign, where
students signed pledges stating not to text and drive.
Unlike Connecticut, the texting while driving ban is a
new law here, and they are trying to raise awareness
of the dangers. We got good interviews with the prin-
cipals and students. I was happy for the students that
deserved the award ($500 cash), because this was an
inner-city school that didn’t look as though they had
many organizations for students. It was wonderful to
hear the principal say that all of the money was going
towards the student activity fund, since they deserved
it. I’m lucky that I get to cover positive events like this
one!
No major problems covering the event Monday,
though I nearly saved Rob’s story because he forgot to
press record on the camera while interviewing a stu-
dent. That student gave the best soundbites, so I’m
glad I was able to catch his mistake before the student
returned to class so we could interview him again.
Tuesday I came in to shadow the assignment desk.
Carly thought it would be beneficial to me, now that
she knows I’m a “news guru.” (I’m glad I’ve made
that impression on her so far). Tuesday was jury se-
lection for the Sandusky trial, so they were busy coor-
dinating satellite feeds with WJAC, their sister station
in Johnstown (near Penn State) and NBC Universal for
national feeds. Everyone was monitoring five things at
once, which looked overwhelming to me. One reporter
was looking for a local story, so one person at the
desk was monitoring police scanners while browsing 3
different news websites for stories and on the phone
at the same time! I can’t imagine how stressful that
must be.
Meanwhile, the person I was shadowing was coordi-
nating stories with the producers for the noon news-
cast. They actually told me that it was a slow news
day locally, so they weren’t that busy. I found that
WPXI Journal.indd 10 1/5/14 8:16 PM
11. hard to believe. Minutes before the noon newscast
started, there was a 3-car accident downtown, so now
the reporter had a story. It was amusing to hear the
other people at the desk shout across the newsroom,
“Accident! 6th and Ohio Street downtown!” and do a
little cheer, as if they won the lottery.
Their excitement continued during the noon news
while watching coverage of the Sandusky trial. They
were watching the other stations newscasts carefully,
looking for any stories they had that we didn’t. WTAE,
the other competing station (same place Sally Wiggin
anchors) were the lucky ones since their reporter was
the only reporter in the market allowed in the court-
room during the trial. The editors were hoping that
WJAC could serve as their “pool reporter” instead of
WTAE.
Obviously, keeping a close eye on the competition is
crucial to this position. The person I was working with
told me that having a story that other stations don’t is
one of the rewards. During the noon news, the editors
were really pleased that KDKA, the major news sta-
tion in Pittsburgh, ended their live coverage of the trial
earlier than ours. “OOOHH LOOK! KD’S OUT! KD’S
OUT!” the desk editors shouted across the newsroom.
I’m not sure what to think of the assignment desk.
I’m glad I got the chance to shadow them, but I’m not
sure I can handle doing 5 or more things at once. It’s
the brains of the newsroom, processing news com-
ing in and distributing stories out to reporters, plus a
lot more! I left the assignment desk after the person
I was working with was talking to someone that was
wanted by the police. He wanted to confess the crime
he did—to the assignment desk! The editor calmly
explained to the person that he had to had proof that
he actually did something before reporting it. I’m sure
they get their fair share of crazy callers into the news-
room. I would probably hang up on them. The editors,
however, told me that their main priority was to call
everyone back, even if they weren’t going to take their
story seriously. Like any business, customer service is
usually their #1 priority, and that goes for the same in
the newsroom.
I was supposed to shadow someone in Creative Servic-
es, my main area of interest, later that day, but since
their editing systems were down for maintenance, they
were not doing much. Hopefully I get the chance to
shadow them soon!
WPXI Journal.indd 11 1/5/14 8:16 PM
12. JUNE 14, 2012
Journal #4
Hours this week: 13
Total: 65 Hours
Carly was off this week, so I only covered two events.
Saturday I went back to PNC Park, this time to take
photos of the baseball game and the Boyz II Men Con-
cert afterwards. Although it was my second time at
PNC Park, it was my first time working with Liam, the
other intern. Liam happened to be interested in sports
broadcasting, so this was a good match to go with.
Carly told us to enjoy the game before the concert, so
we arrived early and took photos of tailgaters relax-
ing before the game. It was a good thing we did—the
stadium was filled to capacity that night because of
the concert.
When we got to the press ticket box, we had to wait
a while for our passes because we were only given
credentials to cover the concert that night. Had we
arrived later, we would have missed more opportuni-
ties to take fan photos during the game. Because we
didn’t get into the park until after the game started,
we couldn’t get a lot of fan photos entering the sta-
dium. We didn’t want to interrupt fans while the game
was in progress, so we mostly wandered around the
stadium trying to get candid photos / action shots of
the game.
Halfway through the game, we decided that we should
watch it from the broadcast booth. Our press passes
allowed us access to it, so we thought we should check
it out. Last time I was there for Pup Night, there was
no need to go up there, and since this would have
probably been the first and last time I would be able to
see the broadcast booth, it sounded like a good idea.
When we got up there, we found empty seats next to
all of the other sports reporters in the area. Since this
was televised on Fox, their commentators were there,
as well as a bunch of other local reporters than Liam
recognized. It was a bit intimidating at first, and we
felt out of place, since we didn’t have any laptops with
us to report the game. I’m not an avid sports fan, nor
do I know all of the rules of baseball, but it was still
exciting to watch the game from a high vantage point.
In fact, I enjoyed it more because the announcers kept
repeating the umpire’s calls and gave us more of an
analysis than what you get from sitting in the stands.
We stayed until the end of the game and then headed
down to the press area to see where to go for the con-
cert. They took us through the players’ tunnel, which
led to a hallway where all of the other TV reporters
were standing, waiting to interview the players after
the game (they won, by the way, a big deal for the
Pirates).
After the players exited, we went down in another tun-
nel right below the field. We were one of the first pho-
tographers there, so we ended up standing right next
to the members of Boyz II Men. Other fans noticed
too, as they dropped their iPhones down from their
seats to snap photos of them before they went out.
We had to get back to the station to upload the pho-
tos, so we took pictures of the first couple of minutes
at the concert. Like Gavin DeGraw, we were right next
to the stage and were able to get excellent photos of
their performance.
Monday was another big day. A group of us had to
head to Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, West Virginia
to get photos and video of the fun activities one gets
to do at the resort. Since I had the GPS, I ended up
driving the group an hour and a half to Oglebay. I love
traveling to new places, and haven’t been to West
Virginia before, so this was a completely new experi-
ence. I didn’t even know WV had nice resorts! Luckily
for us, WPXI reimburses us forty cents a mile travel-
ing to events, and gas has come down to a reasonable
$3.47 a gallon here, so I won’t go broke by the end of
the summer.
Anyway, we arrived at the resort and met the market-
ing director. She took us around to the various areas
of the resort. Carly trusts me with their video equip-
ment, so she told me to get video of the resort while
giving the photo-taking duties to the other interns.
As exciting as it was to finally be able to take video, I
was nervous how the shots would come out, since this
was my first time using the video camera. I know the
interior shots turned out well, but I’m concerned the
exterior shots didn’t turn out well. It was drizzling the
entire time there, and I didn’t want to get the camera
wet, so most of the exterior shots are from inside of
the car we rode in or from covered balconies. Since
Carly is off this week, I haven’t heard back whether or
not I did a good job, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed
that the footage is still useable.
The Marketing Director told us she’d put in a good
word for us, so I know we did a good job covering what
needed to be highlighted at the resort. Despite the
drizzle, it looked like a fun place to vacation!
The internship has me going places all around the re-
gion. This Saturday I get to help out with the Wheel of
Fortune auditions the station is holding, so I will write
about that in my next entry.
WPXI Journal.indd 12 1/5/14 8:16 PM
14. The Perks of Being a WPXI Intern
Posted: 5:35 p.m. Thursday, June 21, 2012
Have two weeks really gone by since I last posted
about the events I’ve covered? I think it’s time for
another episode of “The Intern 5 Chronicles.”
I’ll start with my time at PNC Park, where fellow intern
Liam and I got to watch the Pirates beat the KC Royals
perched high above the clouds…I mean the broadcast
booth, which I guess is sort of at cloud level given the
panoramic views of the city and field. Unfortunately,
my sports broadcaster knowledge is a bit rusty, so I
can’t tell you if I happened to run into the top sports
announcers from Fox or not, but I can tell you that
there are free snacks and drinks available to munch on
quietly (take note other interns if you get scheduled to
cover an event at PNC Park in the future).
For me, the best seats I’ve ever had at a baseball
stadium were the “obstructed” views at Fenway Park
(yes, not every person in Connecticut is a Yankees
fan), watching the Pirates score runs with my own
eyes (or on the 3,000 TV screens up there, on a 10
second delay, in case I happened to miss a hit) was
something I will never forget. For Liam, an avid sports
fan and aspiring sports commentator, this must have
felt like heaven to him, but I’ll let him describe it in his
own words should he choose to write about this.
I’ll admit it was a bit intimidating at first to sit up
there, given the fact that I didn’t have a laptop to up-
date scores/tweet/surf espn.com like the other report-
ers were and felt out of place. Since this was probably
the first and last time I would be able to watch a game
from the broadcast booth, I took the sights and sur-
roundings all in. Aesthetically, PNC Park is one of the
most beautiful baseball stadiums, so to go where fans
usually don’t get to see is a nice bonus.
Speaking of places where fans don’t usually get to go,
our real work began after the game. Boyz II Men was
holding a concert on the field, and we needed to get
photos of their performance. So Liam and I made the
trek from cloud level to coal mine level (the players
tunnel leading to the field) to get to Boyz II Men before
the hordes of fans did. After adjusting to the sudden
change in air pressure (OK, maybe I’m exaggerating a
bit here), we made it to where they were standing, just
steps below the field. “I think that’s them,” pointed
out Liam. And there they were, the members of Boyz
II Men standing an arm’s length away from where we
were standing.
The last time I saw Boyz II Men, they were on a 1993
episode of “The Fresh Prince,” so naturally I didn’t
recognize them at first. I didn’t want to act like some-
one from TMZ, so I didn’t get a photo of them there,
but I didn’t have to worry, as several iPhones were
lowered from the stands. Apparently, fans got the
word that they were right underneath their seats, so
they politely asked the other photographers standing
with us to get a picture of Boyz II Men. Their concert
went well, and given the sold-out crowd at PNC Park,
I would say that it was successful for both PNC Park
and Boyz II Men.
Last Monday was another big day with a road trip to
Oglebay Resort in West Virginia. Gretchen covered
the trip highlights in her previous blog post, so I won’t
repeat what we did here, but I did learn a few things
while visiting. One, Oglebay is pronounced as (ogle-
bee) and two, there are nice resorts in West Virginia,
which is something I would have never expected from
driving through the state briefly.
I was in charge of getting video of the many activities
Oglebay has to offer. With the constant drizzle, it was
a bit difficult shooting outdoor scenes with the cam-
era, so most of the footage I got was from inside the
resort. Not that I was lazy with the outdoor shots—I
just didn’t want to find out how wet the camera could
get before it malfunctions! Plus, I take pride and care
of my Panasonics. The time at Oglebay was well
worth the trip, and I will definitely head over there for
a visit in the future.
Finally, Saturday was probably the highlight of my
internship experience thus far when Rob, Alyssa, and
I headed down to the Meadows in Washington, not to
gamble nor bet on horses, but to join the thousands
of avid “Wheel Watchers” compete for the chance to
be the next American Idol!! (Whoops, wrong show. I
meant to say, enter a drawing for a chance to be ran-
domly selected to play a game of Wheel Of Fortune for
the chance of getting on the real show in L.A, but that
didn’t sound as exciting).
In reality, the event was more than exciting. I can’t
recall the last time I was constantly smiling the entire
day. Everyone I met looked like they were having the
time of their life, and I was too. We watched as fans,
young and old, descended towards the stage where
the game was being played, hopeful that their name
would be called to “come on down” (darn it, wrong
show again) to play for lavish prizes like Wheel Of For-
tune pens, key chains and exclusive Channel 11 water
bottles! Hey, you can’t drive ½ of a Kia like they give
out on the real show, so this is a much better deal.
About the only person more excited than the eager
WPXI Journal.indd 14 1/5/14 8:16 PM
15. JUNE 21, 2012
Journal #5
Hours this week: 13
Total Hours: 78
I’ll write a brief entry about my week. Saturday was probably the
highlight of my intern experience so far when Rob, intern Alyssa
and I went to the Wheel of Fortune auditions held at a nearby casi-
no. People got a chance to fill out a form and play a quick version
of the game, with the hopes that will get called to audition out in
L.A for the real show. Our station airs the show, so we also had
Channel 11 reporters and photographers help out with the event.
We were supposed to help out hand out the prizes given to the
contestants at the end of each round, but they had people already
taking care of that for us. Basically, that left us responsible for
taking pictures of the event. I got some more experience with the
video camera when I helped out Rob shoot his standup, but for the
rest of the time we relaxed and got to watch the contestants on
the stage.
I was smiling the entire time, that’s how exciting it was. I imag-
ined myself covering these types of events someday, except that
I would be getting paid! There are definitely perks to being an
intern at a TV station!
Tuesday I went with another intern to a high school to cover a
summer camp held by popular Steelers player Ben Roethlisberger.
We needed pictures of him playing football with the kids. Not
wanting to run into the same problems we had at the zoo when
no celebrities showed up, we were hoping Ben would be out there
too, and for more than a couple of minutes. Thankfully, he was!
We had someone direct us to where he would stand for his press
conference, so we got good pictures of him talking to reporters.
We also were able to get excellent action shots of him throwing
the football to a variety of kids as they rotated stations through-
out the morning.
The only downside was that we weren’t allowed directly on the
field, so we had to get pictures from the track. Our camera
doesn’t have a telescopic lens to get close up shots, so there
weren’t as many close-ups of him as Carly wanted. She was hop-
ing for more shots focused on him and fewer panoramic photos
like we took. I was disappointed that we didn’t get “outstanding”
photos as Carly had hoped, but hopefully the next time we should
try to get closer without breaking any rules for future events.
Nevertheless, Tuesday ended well as the station was holding an
outdoor picnic celebrating the start of the Olympics! I had the
chance to sit with a reporter and producer, and they shared some
advice on getting into the business.
fans was Marty Lublin, the traveling host
for Wheel Of Fortune. Marty jumped up
in the air (of which Alyssa got a perfect
shot of him doing that, which you may
view on our website as soon as you finish
taking the time to read this. It’s picture
#121) gave plenty of goofy poses for the
cameras, and danced as if he had just won
the jackpot at the casino. On a scale of
exciting game show hosts from 1 to 10,
with Alex Trebek being a 1, Marty was a
16. Maybe a 116 if you count the number of
Red Bulls he consumed in between shows.
We watched as Channel 11 veteran reporter
Alan Jennings called out names and we
cheered as contestants made their way
onto the stage to get their photos taken.
Because I was also near the stage, and not
dressed as sharply as Alan Jennings, a
number of them also congratulated me on
being called. “Um…I’m here with Chan-
nel 11,” I told them, while pointing to my ID
badge.
The contestants played a lightning round
version of the game, but not before intro-
ducing themselves to Marty and the crowd.
Most were retired schoolteachers and steel
workers, but there were also a few college-
aged contestants as well. There was even
a retired Chinese Professor from West Vir-
ginia, wearing a shirt that said “free hugs
and kisses!” (The homemade T-shirts the
contestants were wearing could have easily
won design contests, by the way. They
were outstanding)! If they mentioned that
they enjoyed dancing, Marty cued the DJ
and let the contestants dance for a few
moments.
Everyone, regardless whether they were
called or not, looked like they enjoyed every
minute and many did not hesitate when we
needed a crowd to record Rob’s standup.
For those that do make it to the final audi-
tions in L.A, I hope to see them on the real
“Wheel Of Fortune” in September when I
watch back home. And I’ll remember the
fond memories of that hot June day when
Intern 5 cheered them on.
WPXI Journal.indd 15 1/5/14 8:16 PM
18. JULY 5, 2012
Journal #6
Hours this week: 13
Total Hours: 91
Before vacation last week, I had the opportunity to
shadow Stephen Cropper, the Chief Meteorologist at
the station. Weather has always been an interest of
mine since I was little, so I was curious to see what
goes in to producing a forecast for the newscast. Ste-
phen was exceptionally helpful when I asked him ques-
tions. He used several analogies when explaining the
various technical aspects of the weather and gave his
perspective on forecasting weather for TV. Basically,
it all comes down to coming up with a weather “story”
for the newscast, and he used this term a lot.
Stephen was also interested in what I was doing in
school. When I told him about my design minor and
my interest in working with computer graphics, Ste-
phen saw an opportunity for me. He let me type in the
forecast on the weather computers and showed me
how to animate the keyframes on the weather map for
a few minutes. I think he was impressed at how well I
picked up learning the software, because after doing a
little bit of work, he said, “I’m going to grab some cof-
fee. Make sure the graphics look ok before you render
them.” So for a few minutes, I was in charge of the
entire weather center.
Later, he showed me how he interprets the weather
data and comes up with his forecast. He also let me
type the weather forecast in the headline crawl that
appears in the bottom of the newscast and the email
that goes out to those that subscribe to weather up-
dates. This doesn’t sound as exciting written down,
but this was different. The forecast was not his. It
was mine. He wanted me to come up with my own
“weather story” based on the data. Thankfully, the
forecast was an easy “sunny and pleasant, high 77”
and not anything too complicated.
I think he was also impressed with my knowledge of
weather terminology, because he said I typed the cor-
rect format for temperatures (written as “70s” not
“70’s”) without him prompting me to. I asked if his
interns were doing the same work on the computers
too. What surprised me was his response, which was
that they weren’t on that stage yet.
Aside from the weather, Stephen shared some im-
portant career advice with me too. He was stuck in
a similar situation to what Geoff Fox was when he
lost his contract from WTNH and got moved to Fox
CT. Stephen was at another station in Pittsburgh for
17 years and found himself without a job a year ago,
due to contract negotiations. Luckily, like Geoff Fox,
another station saved him and hired him. Stephen told
me the importance of networking and always keeping
a current online profile. He said he never really paid
attention to online networking, and wished he did from
the start.
Overall, I was very impressed after working with
Stephen and hope to work with the weather graph-
ics some more. He told me I was more than welcome
to shadow him again, so I will take advantage of that
opportunity when I have another slow week at the sta-
tion.
This past Monday, another intern and I went (again,
for the third time!) to PNC Park to practice interview-
ing skills. It gave me another chance to work with
their video camera and practice framing subjects. We
basically talked to tailgaters in the parking lot before
the baseball game and asked them some simple ques-
tions about their favorite players, etc.
When we returned to the station, our producer Carly
showed us some editing techniques. There were a few
minor issues with the video I took. The video was a
little dark, but still fixable, and the framing was a little
off in one of the interviews we got. Despite the minor
flaws, the video we did made it onto the website. I’ll
say again what has been so great about this intern-
ship: I’m learning by doing, not by watching, and any
mistakes made are approached with constructive criti-
cism and advice on what to do the next time.
Tuesday I was asked to cover another concert in the
area. This time, Roger Waters from Pink Floyd was
playing downtown. As with my other solo events in
the past, this one was also met with some glitches.
Carly forgot that I was covering the concert that night
and accidentally gave away both of the web depart-
ment cameras to the other interns. So we had to bor-
row someone else’s camera to get pictures.
The concert went well, and I thought I got plenty of
good pictures to post online, but I was shocked when
I reviewed the pictures afterwards. Out of the 250 or
so I took, only about 30 were decent to put online. I’m
not sure if it was the camera’s settings that resulted in
blurry pictures or my lack of making sure the settings
were correct, but regardless, I was extremely disap-
pointed that I could not get more for the website.
WPXI Journal.indd 18 1/5/14 8:17 PM
20. JULY 13, 2012
It’s been quite a busy week! Here is journal #7.
Hours this week: 24
Total Hours: 115
As I was promised, July was going to be a busy month.
Carly made good on her promise that I would be able
to work in the Creative Services department. They
were doing promo shoots on Monday and Wednesday,
and she asked if I could be a production assistant for
them. So I started the day early on Monday by picking
up breakfast for the production crew before heading to
the station. They were filming morning news promos
for the Olympics, hence the early start time. WPXI’s
promotion department / production team is called
“Studio 11” and they produce several local commercials
in-house too. During most of the day, I observed the
production crew, took photos of the talent, and acted
as a stand-in for the crew to get the proper lighting.
During down time, myself and another production
assistant that knew the director made sure the crew
and talent had enough food and drinks throughout the
morning. I wanted to do this because I am strongly
interested in Promotions and Creative Services, and I
wanted to meet the CS director. I’m glad I did! The
entire crew was friendly, interested in what I was do-
ing in school, and appreciative of the help, despite my
limited knowledge of where to find certain people /
supplies around the station. The morning news talent
joked with the crew in-between shoots, and despite
the early start time, made the whole day go by fast.
Here was where I observed most of what I’ve been
learning in my FVI classes regarding proper lighting,
camera settings, and sound.
On Tuesday most of the staff and interns headed
down to Heinz Field (where the Steelers play) for
“Skylights Media Day,” which is WPXI’s major promo-
tion event for high school Friday night football games.
Basically, football players, cheerleaders, and coaches
are invited down to Heinz Field to have their picture
taken and be interviewed. They do this so that when a
specific player does well in the fall, the station can play
back their interview from the summer and have a still
picture of them.
Out of the nine of us, Carly trusted myself and another
person with taking individual team photos for the web-
site, so I was kept busy throughout the day. Luckily,
I got a chance to meet Ed from the Art Department,
another area that I want to shadow. After talking with
Ed, he told me I can stop by anytime to shadow his
department, so I hope I get a chance to do so before
the end of the internship. The day ended with us (all
of the interns) getting an inside look at Heinz Field,
including the players’ locker room.
Wednesday was basically the same as Monday, where I
assisted with Day 2 of the promo shoots, this time for
weather and traffic. Again, everyone was very sup-
portive and thanked me for my help.
Thursday was an easy day. There was a promotion
event at a local amusement park, where people could
meet one of our Meteorologists. All I had to do was
hand out leftover Skylights fun sticks from Tuesday
and take pictures of people that wanted to pose with
our Meteorologist, Scott Harbaugh.
Mr. McFeely from Mister Rogers Neighborhood
(“Speedy Delivery”) was also having a meet and greet
that day, so after I set up our tent, I met one of my
childhood heroes. He signed autographs and told me a
little bit about the people he knew at WPXI as well.
Anyway, when I returned to our tent, Scott had already
arrived, so we got some pictures and handed out the
fun sticks to the kids. It was wonderful getting some
one-on-one time with a meteorologist, and we talked
more about career paths and weather forecasting. I
was surprised when he told me he’s been forecasting
the weather for TV since he was my age (22)! In a
much smaller market, of course, but still nevertheless
exciting that he was on air that young. So now I know
3 out of the 4 meteorologists at the station!
Scott and I talked about my internship experience, and
what it’s like working for WPXI. I know that one of the
main things one should do as an intern is to observe
the work environment and see how everyone behaves
and interacts around each other. Scott and I both
agreed that WPXI’s work environment is pleasant,
and most employees are down to earth, fun people
that work well together. I’m extremely lucky I found
a place that doesn’t have many stuck up individuals.
After shadowing several departments, I haven’t heard
one complaint from anyone, and I think most has to do
with the job at hand. There isn’t time for any dis-
agreements or gripes about the workload. Everyone
must work together to get the task done, because with
TV, most deadlines are scheduled down to the minute.
WPXI Journal.indd 20 1/5/14 8:17 PM
21. Filling up the Bucket List
Posted: 5:47 p.m. Thursday, July 19, 2012
Wow! So much has happened since I last updated this
almost a month ago. Over my two months here at the
station, I have slowly filled up my “bucket list” of what
I wanted to accomplish personally while spending the
summer in Pittsburgh and at WPXI.
One of my goals was to shadow one of the meteorolo-
gists here to get a sense of what it takes to build a
weather forecast. So for one afternoon I was Stephen
Cropper’s shadow. Stephen was especially helpful
in answering my questions about weather, and used
several analogies to explain weather terminology. He
told me that delivering a weather “story,” and not
simply a forecast to the viewers was of most impor-
tance. After showing me the basics of how to work
with the data on the weather computers, he let me tell
my “weather story” by having me type in the forecast
in the headline ticker. The last time I had to interpret
weather data and come up with a forecast was prob-
ably back in my high school earth science class, but
this time, my quick forecast blurb would be seen by
hundreds of thousands of viewers, and not just my
teacher. Thankfully, the forecast was simple, “sunny
and pleasant, high 77.” As someone that has been an
avid weather watcher for a long time, this was a big
deal to me.
My first “am-I-seriously-doing-this?” moment came
shortly after my quick lesson on how to animate the
keyframes on the weather map. I guess Stephen
thought I was proficient enough to handle the graph-
ics program, because he told me, “I’m going to check
on something. Check and see if the map is animated
correctly. I’ll be right back.” So for approximately five
minutes, I was in charge of the entire weather center.
I could have changed the forecast to, “Considerable
cloudiness, with a 35% chance of Godzilla. The Dark
Knight rises at sunrise at 6:04 a.m. High 877,” but
Intern 5 knows better than that.
Cross “meet a meteorologist” off the bucket list.
I was once again a shadow last week, this time for
Creative Services where they needed a production as-
sistant to help with a promo shoot. Basically that in-
volved getting up in the middle of the night (for college
students, 5 a.m. is the middle of the night) to pick up
breakfast for the production crew. The news promos
say to “start your day early with Channel 11 News,” so I
can say that I did just that, quite literally. Plus, my car
smelled like Panera Bread for the rest of the week, so
it was well worth the early start time.
Anyway, I dutifully filled my production assistant du-
ties by standing under the bright studio lights at eight
in the morning with no less than eight people crowding
around a monitor deciding the best way to light you.
They were shooting morning news promos to air dur-
ing the Olympics, and I was the stand-in for the talent
while they got ready. The morning news anchors were
energetic, hilarious, and interesting to observe, and I
still don’t know how they manage to stay that way in
the morning. If I were here longer, I would not hesitate
to assist on another promo shoot.
Cross “oversee a production shoot” off the bucket list.
Last Tuesday was Skylights Media Day at Heinz Field,
a major promotion event for the station where high
school football players and cheerleaders come for
team photos and interviews in preparation for Friday
night football games in the fall. The rest of the interns
and I helped take their photos, and were rewarded with
a treat at the end of the day: a guided tour of Heinz
Field, which meant we got the chance to admire the
perfectly manicured grass and go inside the locker
room of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Cross “go behind the scenes at Heinz Field” off the
bucket list.
Finally, the latest addition to fill my bucket was during
a trip to Idlewild Park where I teamed up with Me-
teorologist Scott Harbaugh for a meet and greet (to
meet him, not me). In addition to Scott appearing at
Idlewild, there was also someone else that was there
that I had been eager to meet for a long time: Mr.
McFeely, who played the mailman from “Mister Rog-
ers Neighborhood.” Scott hadn’t arrived yet after I set
up, so I made a beeline to the Land of Make Believe to
see if I could get his autograph and a picture with Mr.
McFeely. Along with myself, there were also several
other people in their 20s in line too. And by that, I
mean 22-month-olds, not 22-year-olds.
Mr. McFeely is exactly the same in person as he was
on TV, meaning that he completely stays in character
for his appearances and tells everyone his famous line,
“speedy delivery!” He gave everyone an autograph
inside an envelope with a hand written stamp. On
my stamp, he wrote “WPXI,” a fitting tribute to my
internship experience here thus far.
Cross “Meet Mr. McFeely” off the bucket list.
In two weeks, I will have to cross, “WPXI” off my
bucket list too. Although I am sad that my time here
will be over soon, I hope that it is temporary and that I
can uncross “WPXI” sometime in the future.
WPXI Journal.indd 21 1/5/14 8:17 PM
24. JULY 20, 2012
Journal #8
Hours this week: 16
Total Hours: 131
This week was a typical workweek in terms of assignments. Mon-
day another intern and I covered a bike race and took some pho-
tos. We got some good shots of the cyclists at the starting line /
tents. They were thankful for the media coverage, even if it was
just the two of us taking a couple of photos.
Tuesday I was scheduled to be on-call, so I contacted Ed from the
Art Department. I met him last week during Skylights Media Day
and told me I could come in to shadow him. I spent the morning
observing him and then he introduced me to others in the depart-
ment.
I mostly worked with Kristen, who is in charge of creating graphics
for the news. She gave me some tips on how to use the computer
software, and even showed me how to work their Deko system
(it is very similar to Q30’s). I didn’t get a chance to actually work
with the software. Most of the day was observing everyone creat-
ing graphics and asking questions about the software. Still, I was
thankful that they kept me the entire day.
I’m still deciding what I think will be the best department in a
news station to work in. Working in web/entertainment means
covering a lot of fun events and writing about them, which I enjoy.
Creative Services does a lot of studio production work, which I
also enjoy. And the art department mostly works with still graph-
ics the entire day, which is interesting but I can sense that it can
get tedious at times. I’m really not sure what departments I’ll
apply to when I’m looking for jobs.
Thursday I went downtown to the Mayor’s office for a “Dark
Knight Rises” proclamation. I was initially excited about this as-
signment, because one of the executive producers of the film was
supposed to accept the proclamation. He didn’t show up. Luckily,
someone was still there to accept the proclamation. The winner of
the City of Pittsburgh’s Facebook contest for “Batman’s Biggest
Fan” was there. She won tickets to the advance screening of the
film, so I talked with her and her family about the movie. I got
good photos that ended up making it to the front page of WPXI’s
website.
I only have one more full week at WPXI, as I finish at the end of
this month. It’s hard to believe that 2 months has gone by so
fast. I know that I will miss everyone I have met at the station and
it will be bittersweet leaving.
WPXI Journal.indd 24 1/5/14 8:17 PM
25. Steelers Training Camp
Posted: 2:45 p.m. Monday, July 30, 2012
On Friday, I made the trek over to St. Vincent’s college in Latrobe,
home of the Fred Rogers Center, where his show archives are
kept. But I didn’t come to reminisce about Mister Rogers. I came
to watch the Steelers practice at their training camp.
Like several other events I attended, I watched as the hordes of
Steelers fans got out of the cars and made their way up the hill to
the football field.
When I arrived, people were crowded around the autograph sign-
ing area shouting, “Ryan! Ryan! Over here!” I assumed someone
important named Ryan was around. It was Ryan Clark, and he
was signing autographs as he made his way down to the field.
Interns Jemel and Denny arrived shortly afterwards, and we got
plenty of good pictures of fans watching the scrimmage. I think
the three of us, with the exception of the random nun we saw
walking around campus, were the only ones not decked out in full
sports attire, which may had been a good thing since Jemel is a
Washington Redskins fan and probably would have been thrown
out of the field had he shown up wearing a Redskins jersey.
I’m not a football fanatic, but I am mesmerized by all of the fan-
dom. It’s wonderful to see everyone come and support their local
football team, just for the chance to get autographs and see their
favorite player on the practice field. Where I’m from, you either
root for the Patriots, the Giants or the Jets. There’s no collec-
tive fandom, just heated rivalries. Here, everyone agrees that the
Steelers are number one, and no one likes the Cleveland Browns.
End of discussion.
As practice was coming to a close, the three of us found a good
vantage point to get shots of the players walking up the steps.
We saw a lot of players, many of which I didn’t recognize. How-
ever, I did see Charlie Batch. The last time I saw Charlie Batch
was at Ben Roethlisberger’s summer camp, where he handed
intern Alyssa his phone and asked her to get a photo of him and
Ben. Charlie didn’t hand anyone his phone this time; he quietly
made his way up the steps, much to the dismay of fans hoping for
a signature.
Also missing was a kid offering Mean Joe Greene a Coke, but I
think I’m 30 years late on that one.
We were standing next to fans that brought friends from Greece,
and boy did they use that to get the players attention. “WE’RE
FROM GREECE!” they shouted at the top of their lungs, as they
passed a number of terrible towels, hats, and pennants for the
players to sign.
Oh, the number of terrible towels fans brought with them! I think
there were enough towels present to make Myron Cope cry tears
of happiness.
God bless Myron. God bless America. And God bless the Steelers
for another Super Bowl victory.
WPXI Journal.indd 25 1/5/14 8:17 PM
26. AUGUST 1, 2012
My final journal for my internship!
Hours this week: 23
Total Hours: 154 (Final)
UPDATE: On July 21st, I went to
cover a massive water balloon fight
at Point State Park. I was in charge
of shooting video of the event.
Basically there were thousands of
people divided into four teams hurl-
ing water balloons at each other
for charity. Carly told me to stand
as far back as possible with the
camera, but I wanted good shots
of the fight, so I shot video while
cautiously looking for rouge water
balloons.
On Monday, the 23rd of July, I
covered another concert at Stage
AE. With the exception of finding a
good place to park, the night went
smoothly, as I was able to get good
photos from the camera. Stage AE
is an outdoor venue, so it’s a lot
easier to get crowd shots. Since it
was also my second time at Stage
AE, I knew about the 3 song limit
for taking photos, so I wasn’t con-
fronted by anyone.
Last Friday was Steelers Train-
ing Camp day, the one event Carly
promised I would be able to go to
at the start of the internship. She
made good on her promise and
sent myself and two other interns
to St. Vincent’s college, where the
camp is held. St. Vincent’s is like a
Catholic version of Quinnipiac. It’s
right next to the Laurel Highlands
mountain range and is very scenic.
There was some confusion with
media access when we arrived. We
thought we had access to the field
to get good photos of the players.
We didn’t. Just as I was about
to call Carly explaining the situa-
tion, she called me and told us that
we were there as fans, and that
she couldn’t get us passes for the
event. She told us to get photos
of the fans watching the practice
game (it’s open to the public), and
get player photos as they walked
off the field signing autographs.
Like I mentioned before, our zoom
lens on the cameras is not the
greatest for getting close up shots
from far away. Luckily, we secured
a spot and stayed there for about
an hour until practice ended. By
then, fans crowded around us,
hoping to get their merchandise
signed. Those photos turned out a
lot better.
Sunday I met another intern at a
softball field nearby. There was a
fundraiser tournament going on to
benefit a family that went through
an unthinkable tragedy. Their
son and daughter were both killed
as a result of gun violence just
16 months apart in two separate
incidents. To raise awareness of
domestic / gun violence, the family
held a softball tournament. They
were hoping for 16 teams to show
up and play. Over 32 teams came
out to support them, so there were
many chances to get team photos.
I enjoy going out to these types of
events, because it shows a whole
community getting together and
participating in something for a
good cause. With all of the nega-
tive news out there, it’s nice to
cover positive news events outside
of the entertainment and sports
world.
Yesterday (Tuesday) was my last
day at WPXI. :( I wasn’t sched-
uled to come in until about 8 in the
evening, but I came in the after-
noon to say good-bye to everyone.
I wanted to do one more weather
shadow, so after saying good-bye
to Rob and Carly, I headed back to
the weather center. Both Stephen
and Scott (whom I met at Idlewild
park a few weeks ago) were there,
so it was perfect that I was able to
see them both one last time.
There was some severe weather,
so I was able to observe more of
what meteorologists do when there
is bad weather. Most of it involves
looking at the radar and calling the
news producer to get the weather
warnings on-air. Because Olympic
coverage ran late, the newscast
was delayed and there was more
time to watch them prepare the
forecast. Weather is a fun depart-
ment, but I could never ad-lib a
forecast like they do on-air. The
station has strict guidelines on how
they are supposed to present the
weather—they cannot just read
numbers and facts. Coming up
with a story would be even more
challenging.
Carly promised that my last day
would be fun. It definitely was!
After shadowing weather, (and
watching one last newscast from
the studio), I made my way to
downtown Pittsburgh, where the
station was filming a weather
promo. They wanted me and a few
other interns to be extras! It was
also another chance for me to say
good-bye to everyone there, as I
worked with the same production
crew from Studio 11 I helped out
just 2 weeks ago. They couldn’t
have picked a better day to film an-
other promo! Basically we dressed
up in rain gear and walked down
a street they blocked off. We did
about 20 takes, which took a little
more than 2 hours to complete.
Maybe a silhouette of me walking
down the street will make it to the
final promo that gets aired on TV.
Now that would be a nice bonus to
the internship.
I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it
again: WPXI is an excellent place
to work. Everyone has gone out
of his or her way to introduce his
or herself, show me around, and
accommodate me when I requested
to job shadow them. They made
me feel like a part of the team, and
not just an intern.
WPXI Journal.indd 26 1/5/14 8:17 PM
27. MeTV: My Memorable Entertain-
ment Television Internship
Posted: 5:26 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012
I’m watching the “Dick Van Dyke” show on MeTV,
WPXI’s digital sub-channel, right now. As it goes to
commercial break for a station ID, telling viewers they
are watching “Memorable Entertainment Television,”
I reminisce about my internship. Because MeTV is
a sub-channel of WPXI, and since I worked covering
entertainment events in Pittsburgh for WPXI, I have
appropriately chosen to title my experience as, “My
Memorable Entertainment Television Internship,” or
MMeTVi.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that I just had the best
experience of my life. Seriously. I’ve made so many
summer memories up at Summer Hill and beyond the
four walls of ‘PXI. There’s so much I did over the past
two months, it would be impossible to mention them
all. Here are some highlights:
I went to PNC Park more times than an annual season
ticket holder does (well, maybe not, but I did have a
chance to see the broadcast booth), cheered on future
Wheel of Fortune contestants as they played a mini-
version of the game on stage, and toured a fabulous
resort in West Virginia. I was a production assistant
for a week doing a promo shoot, a meteorologist for
approximately three hours, and an extra for an eve-
ning when I ran around in the rain for a weather promo
shoot. I even got separated from our producer Rob on
the North Shore Connector when the doors closed in
between us during my first week.
The only thing I didn’t get to do? Take a ride in Chop-
per 11. But that’s a different story.
It’s bittersweet leaving the station. In a month, I’ll be
back at school where I’ll sit at a desk, listen to a pro-
fessor’s lecture, and get graded on everything I turn in.
I’ve learned so much at WPXI in the two months here,
and I can’t wait to apply that to our school’s news
show. Everyone I have met here went out of his or her
way to introduce themselves, answer all of my ques-
tions, and accommodate my numerous requests to
shadow them. It was an experience that no classroom
could ever offer.
To Ed, Kristen, Jessica, Karen, Stephen, Shareef,
and everyone else I met: thank you for letting me run
around with you for the day. I enjoyed observing and
assisting with whatever you do in your respective
positions. I was hoping to leave with a favorite depart-
ment in mind. I honestly don’t have a favorite at this
point. Everyone exceeded my expectations and I had
fun getting to know what goes on behind the scenes at
a news station.
To Rob, thank you for getting the Skylights Media
Day theme song stuck in my head. I will be randomly
shouting, “Hey-ho! Let’s go! F-E-D-K-O!” in the
hallways at school and at home, with a big smile on
my face because no one else will know how much fun
Skylights Media Day was.
Finally, to Carly, thank you for calling me that one day
in March, offering me the opportunity of a lifetime. It
has been my dream to intern at a news station in Pitts-
burgh since high school, and all of this would not have
been possible without you.
As I wrote in my first blog post, Pittsburgh is my
second home, and I’m so thankful that I could be a
Pittsburgher for the summer. The city has so much to
offer and the entertainment events I got to cover rival
those that occur in other large cities. The next time I
fly into Pittsburgh, I’ll look out the window and see the
station as we approach the airport. And I’ll remember
all of the good times I had at 4145 Evergreen Road in
Summer Hill.
WPXI Journal.indd 27 1/5/14 8:17 PM
28. Stefan Aleo
August 1, 2012
Professor Levine
My Summer in Summer Hill at WPXI
This summer, I had the opportunity to complete an
internship at WPXI-TV, channel 11, in Pittsburgh.
Located in Pittsburgh’s Summer Hill neighborhood,
WPXI is an NBC affiliate owned by Cox Enterprises,
Inc. and serves much of western Pennsylvania, eastern
Ohio, the West Virginia panhandle, and Garrett Coun-
ty, Maryland. On-air since 1957, WPXI has two high-
definition studios and their own in-house commercial
production department, Studio 11.
While I did shadow several departments at the sta-
tion, most of my time was spent in the web depart-
ment. I worked under the direction of Carly Noel, who
manages the web department, and Rob Johnston,
who assists Carly. Carly and Rob are in charge of the
entertainment division of the website. They produce
a segment called, “See and Be Seen,” which involves
any entertainment events happening in the Pittsburgh
area. Because there are several events scheduled
throughout the summer, Carly and Rob cannot cover
them all, so a couple of interns are hired to cover
them. Including myself, there were nine interns work-
ing for See and Be Seen. The majority of the intern-
ship was spent traveling to events, which consisted of
nearly everything from concerts, fundraisers, movies/
shows, and promotional events for the station. Pro-
motional events included Skylights Media Day, where
most of our staff members interviewed high school
football players and coaches in preparation for the fall.
With the exception of the promotional events, most of
the events we covered independently or with another
intern. We were responsible for making sure the event
was covered to Carly’s specifications and the material
we posted on the website met the station guidelines.
For most of the events, we took photos using the
department’s digital cameras and shot video, if nec-
essary, with the department’s Panasonic HD video
camera. I should add that WPXI’s web department is
non-union, meaning that we were allowed to use the
station’s equipment. Properly using and maintaining
their equipment was another critical responsibility.
Per Carly’s request, we made sure to get plenty of
group photos at whatever event we attended. After
the event, we edited the photos using Adobe Photo-
shop and uploaded them as a slideshow to the enter-
tainment section of WPXI.com. For video, we simply
handed the memory cards to Carly and Rob for them
to edit.
If there were no events scheduled on the days we were
supposed to work, we were on call to help out with
anything else the station needed. That involved any-
thing from setting up food for cookouts at the station
to running small errands to pick up and return items.
Carly promised us at the start of the internship that
there would be “minimal coffee runs.” She made good
on her promise. I did not have to get coffee for anyone
at all.
Because I am interested in working for a news station
in the future, I wanted to shadow other departments
as well. This was not part of the internship descrip-
tion; it was a personal goal of mine. While at WPXI,
I shadowed Meteorologist Stephen Cropper. I was
able to assist him with the forecast and even got the
chance to work with the weather graphic program on
the computer. I also observed the assignment desk,
the art department, and promotions. For promotions,
I became a production assistant for the week, where I
was a stand-in for the morning news talent. I also ran
errands for the crew and completed various tasks that
aided in the production. Every week, I blogged about
my experiences, which are available online to view.
The skills I obtained while at WPXI were most valuable
to my future career goals, which ranged from equip-
ment operation to observing the workplace environ-
ment. During orientation training, we were shown
how to take photos and upload them to the website.
The first week, there was an optional training ses-
sion on how to operate their video camera. They are
similar to Quinnipiac’s HD cameras, except that there
are a few extra steps involved to get the proper light-
ing and exposure. Their cameras have an iris wheel
where one can manually adjust the exposure, a manual
focus/zoom ring, and a ND (neutral density) filter. All
four components need to be adjusted correctly to get
broadcast quality video. While I did not have as much
of a learning curve to operate the video camera, work-
ing with ND filters and a manual iris setting was new
to me, and it took a few practice runs with the video
camera to see which settings worked best with the
shooting conditions.
In addition to technical skills, I learned a lot through
observing others working at the station. I expected
the work environment to resemble something like
controlled chaos. In the two months I spent at the sta-
tion, I did not find any chaos, even with; for example,
last minute changes in the 5:00 p.m. show rundown.
For a news station located in a top 25 media market, I
expected at the very least, frantic scurrying among the
staff and a few complaints about the intensity of news
deadlines. In every department I shadowed, I did not
hear one complaint from anyone. I sense that every-
WPXI Journal.indd 28 1/5/14 8:17 PM
29. one is well trained in his or her respective position. I
asked several individuals in various positions about the
work environment. Nearly all agreed that the majority
of the staff are friendly, down-to-earth individuals and
that Cox is an excellent media company that puts a lot
of resources into multimedia operations.
Personal communication skills are also vital to getting
effective photos and videos. When we are sent out to
events, we are representing the station and we must
make sure to respect anyone who does not consent
to being photographed. Overall, conflicts with the
public were not a major problem since we were cover-
ing positive entertainment events that we were invited
to. However, we did have some issues while shooting
video of a new subway connector into the city, as two
security officers challenged us while shooting video
inside the train station. Another intern and I were
with our producer Rob at the time. Rob explained that
carrying a variety of equipment in difficult situations
helps. Generally, the larger the camera one has, the
easier it is to shoot video because others assume it is
local media and will not cause any trouble. In some
cases, restrictions do apply. We were told we couldn’t
shoot video from inside the train. Rob wanted video of
him riding it anyway, so we improvised and shot video
from the much smaller digital still camera in an empty
train car. When working for a media organization, it’s
important to follow boundaries but sometimes one has
to improvise with a few creative solutions to complete
a report.
Overall, every task I completed while at WPXI went far
beyond any experience one receives in a classroom.
Everyone exceeded my expectations and were very
accommodating when I requested to shadow other
departments. While I did a fair amount of observ-
ing, the majority of my internship was not learning by
watching. I was learning by doing by communicating
with others in public, and through constructive criti-
cism with the quality of the photos and videos I put on
the website. When I shadowed, I had the opportunity
to work with their equipment, whether it was looking
through a rundown at the assignment desk, to typ-
ing in the weather forecast in the headline ticker that
crawls at the bottom of the screen during a newscast.
Most employees, including some of the station’s top
personalities, introduced themselves to me and asked
about my interests and school. I sat alongside anchor
David Johnson during a promotion photo shoot, ate
lunch with reporters and the Studio 11 production crew,
and sat in on meetings. In all of these cases, I was not
treated as just “an intern.”
Looking through the internship description posted
on their website, I was able to do nearly everything
stated. The description reads:
“Interns will learn all about the multimedia world.
They’ll learn how to write, shoot video, take photos
and edit for WPXI.com. They’ll post news, sports,
high school and entertainment content on the website.
A big part of the internship will be helping cover enter-
tainment events for See & Be Seen by taking photos
and helping the web team with event and celebrity
inter-views. Depending on the semester, interns could
help plan the station’s Skylights Media Day event, take
photos at high school football games, help take pho-
tos and shoot video at high school musicals and help
with high school contests. Interns will also help with
WPXI’s social media efforts.”
In regard to my career goals, which at this point
involve anything to do with promotions or creative
services, only a few items were missed. I would have
liked transitioning to more video work as the intern-
ship progressed. I was promised that I wouldn’t be
stuck doing photo slideshows for very long. Two
months later, I was still doing them. I would have liked
to sit down at an edit bay and observe/assist with edit-
ing a package for the website. WPXI uses Avid editing
systems, which is software I have not worked with
before. While I did sit down with Carly once while she
gave basic editing tips, I was not able to work directly
with the editing system. Other than knowing a few
basic keyboard shortcuts and managing clips in Avid, I
can’t say I had enough experience with the software to
edit something on my own. This is no one’s fault. If I
were able to stay for another month or two, I’m sure I
would have had the time to learn more in Avid. Sum-
mer means there are plenty of events to attend, and if
the station needs that coverage, I am more than willing
to do so. Other than that, I can proudly say that I did
not miss out on any opportunities at the station. I
came to Pittsburgh to do “anything and everything,”
and that is what I did.
If I had to give a grade evaluating my internship ex-
perience, I would give it a 97 out of 100. It was just a
hair short of the perfect internship I envisioned it to
be. However, considering everything I did this sum-
mer, it completely trumps over anything I did not get a
chance to take part of. I will genuinely miss everyone I
met this summer, including all of the interns I worked
with. I would not hesitate to apply for a position with
WPXI and based on my skill level, I feel confident
in starting a career in the television news business.
Based on the opinions of employees about Cox Broad-
casting, I would look at job positions at their other TV
stations across the country if I could not find work in
the Pittsburgh area.
WPXI Journal.indd 29 1/5/14 8:17 PM
![[The following are journal entries from my intern-
ship at WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh, PA in the sum-
mer of 2012, which lasted from May 17 to July 31.
These entries were copied off of e-mails I
sent each week to my internship supervi-
sor. Only minor formatting, grammatical, and
factual errors are corrected. Links are active
as of this writing, but are subject to change.
In addition to writing weekly journal entries, the rest
of the interns and I wrote blogs for the website’s
“Summer Section.” My entries are included after
the group of journal entries for that time frame.]
©2013 Stefan Aleo
First printing: March 2013
Second printing: January 2014
Photos: Stefan Aleo, except where noted (such as
the image above, which I did not create)
Front Cover Photo: Rob Johnston
WPXI Journal.indd 2 1/5/14 8:16 PM](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)