WABC-TV NEW YORK - TELEVISION INTERNSHIP - SUMMER 2016
WABC-TV Internship
Click on the file at the left to view my anchor reel that I made at the end of my (sophomore) internship. I created it using the actual news material that came into the station on that Sunday evening. I designed it, wrote the script, edited the footage, and narrated the entire sportscast. I was given the opportunity to broadcast it immediately following the late news, while the crew was still on the set.
My stint at the station was at an ideal time in the Big Apple, when some sports were in mid-season stride, while others were in the midst of playoffs, and some just beginning pre-season activities. I covered the Mets, Yankees, Giants, Jets, Nets, Knicks, Rangers, Islanders, the Red Bulls, as well as tennis, golf and boxing.
The Olympics, broadcast live by a competing TV network, took place then as well, and I was able to see their effects on our operations - we couldn't use video of any events only photos, until Olympic coverage ended for the day at the competing station. The national political conventions also disrupted our schedule - we sent a crew with anchors to cover each week-long series of events, but because most convention nights ran long, our 11pm newscast aired late. The passing of Muhammad Ali on another night caused different concerns. We stood by with the news bulletin and accompanying stories ready to go, but held back because we hadn't received confirmation from his family. It wasn't announced on our 11pm news, even though most of the public already knew.
On one assignment I went up to Sleepy Hollow Country Club, in Westchester County to interview Joe Torre at a celebrity golf outing. The objective was to interview him and his wife about his "Safe At Home" organization. I got over five minutes of interview, with another three minutes of on-site footage. However, only about 40 seconds aired that night. As a young sophomore, I learned a lesson - news bites...even sports bites are just that, very brief recorded statements that sum up the essence of an issue.
Got to interview many of the ballplayers and got to know most of the broadcast equipment. WABC used the Aurora Editing System, while we at FSU utilized Adobe's Premiere Pro Editing Software...so I eventually became familiar with both.
Nielsen ratings are the lifeblood of a TV station. Even at an Owned & Operated (O&O) station like WABC everybody gets primed for the sweeps, and I experienced one that July. There are 210 TV markets in the U.S. - New York is number one - having the most TV households. But commercial time is bought and sold based on how many 18-49 or 25-54 adults watch a show (key demo).
Interesting to note that the NY TV market isn't just the 5 boroughs of New York City, but includes 21 counties stretching from PA to CT. Larger TV markets have two sets of ratings - the number of viewers who were watching for at least 5 minutes of a 1/4 hour ...and the actual minute-by-minute ratings. Our Sports Director, Rob Powers left the station in late summer to return to his home in Cleveland. As a going-away gift, I gave him this minute-by-minute ratings chart that showed a spike in audience one night for his sports segment in the 11pm news.
