1. A Taste of TV News
By Matt Marcinick
On this date a year ago I was undergoing an experience that would change my
life. I did not survive a dastardly assailant. I was not forced to pull off some incredible
feat. I was, in fact, peering through a window at my possible future. I even got involved
and made some contacts that agreed to help me in the future. Yours truly was an intern at
WEWS News Channel 5.
I know, it’s not the most glamorous internship that one could get, but I knew that
once I stepped foot in that newsroom, my outlook on television would never be the same.
In July of 2009 I was looking for an internship at any of the four major television
stations in town. I was particularly hoping for Channel 8, because I was the most familiar
with the on air personalities. Weeks passed and I was beginning to lose hope. Then three
weeks before the start of the fall semester I got a letter that sealed my fate.
The letter asked me to come in for an interview at the station. I was thrilled to say
the least. On the day of the interview I was completely dressed up as if I were going to a
wedding. I had to make a good impression. I met with a woman named Maureen and I
had a great feeling about how she perceived me. My suspicions were right and I got a
letter the next week telling me to report to WEWS on the first day of school.
Everyone was thrilled for me, but getting the internship to count for class credit
was a messy situation. Dr. Perloff was the adviser of internships that semester and he
informed me that due to my GPA I would need two letters of recommendation from
faculty. The first professor I asked turned me down. It stung a little, but I recovered and
found two great professors to vouch for me. Finally, the table was set for me to intern.

2. The first day that I reported to Channel 5 came off as being nothing more than a
dream. I could not believe that I was in an actual news station. I looked left and right and
all I saw were people that I had seen before, but on a 42 inch TV screen.
I was completely star struck until a voice to my left snapped me out of it. “Excuse
me. Are you Matt?” said the friendly voice. I turned to find my internship supervisor and
at that moment it was on. I was fully immersed into the world to television news.
I was a news desk intern, but they told me that if I wanted to get off the desk and
actually work on shoots, it was up to me. Of course, I was there because I was intrigued
by the news gathering and not the desk job. I took them up on the offer and I was treated
to some amazing experiences.
The first event that I was able to go cover was how police set up DUI checkpoints
around the city. It wasn’t the most ground breaking news story, but for me it was a
definite start.
From there I was able to move on to bigger and better stories. I worked on two
live shots. Both, oddly enough, were on separate days, but about the same incident. A
mailman was gunned down in a quiet Maple Heights neighborhood for no apparent
reason. The two shots were from the place of the murder, and the police station when
there was a press conference.
The detail that I got to do more than once was also my favorite. When the sports
intern wasn’t in, I got to go with the sports photographer to Cavaliers post games in the
locker room and due interviews with Browns players in at the practice facility in Berea.
Being a Cleveland sports fan, I got starry eyed to see the likes of LeBron James, Shaq,
Brady Quinn and Jamal Lewis.

3. Being an intern is an experience that most schools request that you take part in. I
could not agree with that more. My experience allowed me to gain valuable real-life
experience that no classroom could have offered, along with being able to meet some
people that I otherwise would have never seen up close. It was the opportunity of a
lifetime and I am truly grateful to have been able to be a part of the News Channel 5
crew.