New Year, New Start

Hey all,

I haven't written for a long time because my life has been so busy. From being heavily involved in CSUN's news station and working and trying to graduate on time, it's hard to catch a moment when I'm not supposed to be doing something. But I am trying to follow one of my own New Years' resolutions and make some more time for myself. I do a good job of continuously updating my Twitter feed...sometimes, it just feels a lot easier to limit what I have to say in 140 characters :)

So, what have I been up to? Well, I have officially started my last semester of college and let me just say, it's an amazing feeling. January flew by so fast, and now I just have four months until graduation. I'm so stoked for graduation and to start a new chapter in my life...yet, at the same time, entering the "unfamiliar" seems a bit daunting. But I know I'm ready for a change and I'm excited to open my door to new possibilities.

This semester, I'm taking two political science courses, Investigative Reporting, and On Point. On Point I'm most excited about because I get to produce and host two 30 minute talk shows. Other than that busy schedule, I'm also still involved at KCSN as a Morning Anchor/ Producer, in which I manage a small group of beginning broadcast students...and on top of that, I'm still working as a News Production Assistant at KABC. I love working at KABC...it just provides me with so much experience in the real world that school doesn't. Plus, it's great to go work at a job that you enjoy to do--even with the crazy morning hours! Boy, when I tell my friends that I have to work at midnight, they think I'm crazy! (which is a fact I am quite aware of already).

Well, there's my life in a nutshell...I promise I'll try to update more this semester.

Until next time,
-Brittany

I don't even know where to start!!

Hey everyone!

No, I have NOT fallen off the face of the earth, but as much as I wanted to keep up the blog, it just wasn't happening last semester. Come to think of it, when I think of last semester and how busy it was...especially with the radio station and interning two days a week, I don't even know how I managed to stay afloat and actually do WELL in my classes!

A couple weeks before summer break officially began, I never would have imagined that it would have unfolded like this. I thought I was going to intern there...but given some corporate issues that wouldn't allow me to come back a fourth time, I didn't think I was going to get anything. But low and behold, my internship bosses persuaded me to apply to become a News Assistant. I didn't think I was going to get it, but they thought that I had a great shot. The last day of my internship, I applied, had my interview, and had a really positive feeling about it. I went for a MUCH needed 8-day vacation to Hawaii and came back to a job offer. I honestly couldn't be more thrilled.

Right now, I'm still in "training" mode of the new job, but what I like about it is that I get to do a little bit of everything. My favorite thing so far has been teleprompting the newscasts (although it can get a little stressful, especially when there is breaking news and it's hard to follow where you are!). I can't wait to learn everything there is to learn and its great that I am *OFFICIALLY* part of the station (and I am getting paid, which is always a perk!). It's definitely a refreshing change that I'm still getting used to, but I'll make sure to blog more about my adventures when I come to them.

Anyways...it is time for this crazy chica to go to sleep. I've got to be at the station in the morning, and under-eye concealer can only work so much! haha.

-Brittany

Winding Down the Road

Hey everyone!

Well as much as I love blogging about my experiences, I sadly haven't had much time to indulge in that lately. School is already coming to an end this semester (just two weeks left!) but it still seems so far away. Junior year is almost over and it baffles me at this time next year that I'll already be sending out my reel and hoping to land a job in the industry! I can't wait because shortly after I get out, I'm going on a trip with my boyfriend to Oahu, Hawaii...so there will certainly be more pictures to follow!

KCSN has been great lately and I definitely feel like I am coming out of the class with such great experience. When I listen to how I sounded at the beginning of the semester versus more recent broadcasts, I definitely sound more confident (and FINALLY I can pronounce "Mayor Villaraigosa!" haha, just kidding). I am very proud of my 5 minute feature story that I made on the dangers of Texting While Driving and hopefully I'll be able to post that soon. I'll really miss KCSN next semester, but I hope that I can still be involved with it in some way.

Probably the largest amount of work came from my Reporting for TV News class. I had to make four packages and luckily one of them actually made it to our campus station "Valley View News" (which airs on Local LA Channel 36). Again, I love to see the improvement from my first video to my last videos, and it really makes me proud to see all my hard work paying off. Here is my favorite news package that I did this semester that aired on "Valley View News" about the overabundance of chihuahuas in California. Check it out at 1:55:


Anyways, it's time to work on some homework now that's due tomorrow morning. I'll definitely write a post about what's going on with my internship soon :) Can't wait until I have more time to blog more in the summer too!

-Brittany

Trying to sum up the last 4 months in a blog post!

Greetings bloggers!

I have been SO horrible at updating lately (looking at my last post reading in January) and throughout this semester, I keep telling myself "Yes, I will update" but frankly, I haven't had the time. School, my internship, and work have been eating me alive this semester, and while I am having a lot of fun, I barely have "me" time anymore. Although I've been missing being busier, it's nice to have this week of Spring break to relax, slow down, and maybe catch a few more hours of sleep. Already my classes start again tomorrow, bright and early at 8:30am :/

As far as school goes, this semester has been my busiest semester to date. One class, my Television News class, has really kept me the busiest because it requires me to write, edit, and shoot 4 packages. It's amazing, yet so time consuming at the same time. I love the fact that we have free reign with our stories, but our professor seems to like hard news packages. So far, I've done three and one has made it to air on Valley View News (only 2-4 of our stories are chosen each week)! This class has really helped me hone my skills as a journalist because it's teaching me the essential components I need to know in order to get a reporting job!

In addition to that...my duties as the Tuesday anchor of KCSN have been keeping me on my toes. I am required to write 6 wrap-arounds (aka stories with soundbites) per shift, and then I go live at 6pm on Tuesdays. As another requirement of the class, we have to make a 4-5 minute radio feature story and I'm 90% percent done with my "Texting While Driving" story, which just has to be put on the air. I love anchoring...it really has taught me that the voice is an instrument that guides the audience along, and the clearer and more intuitive your voice is, the more it connects with your audience.


My internship though has been the epitome of awesome. George Pennacchio is such a sweet guy--as I mentioned before, he is probably one of the most genuine reporters that I've ever met. He is nice, but a quality I admire in him is that is that he is a perfectionist, which I think really helps me a lot with my own writing and encourages me to write the best I can. I really like entertainment stories, and quite a few times I've been able to go out on some amazing shoots and meet celebrities, and learn what questions are the best to ask (although I'm always astounded by the insightful questions he comes up with). This has been probably the best learning experience for me this semester!



Anyways, I better finish editing my piece that is due tomorrow morning. Talk to you sooner, rather than later!

-Me

New Year, New Possibilities :)

Hello everyone,
Time to start thinking about New Years' Resolutions and well...making them happen. My semester started this week, and not only was it a crazy hectic week with the storms in California (referred to in the news business as STORMWATCH 2010, haha), but also it was hectic because I started classes and had my internship interview with George.

With classes alone, this will be a busy semester. I'm taking mostly journalism classes- Broadcast News Practicum (the class that allows me to work at KCSN for 6 hours a week), Writing/Producing/Editing TV News, and Reporting for Broadcast (where I get to learn how to create my OWN packages). I'm really excited for all of them this semester...especially Broadcast News Practicum, because I'm trying out to be the Monday/ Tuesday Evening News anchor. I also can't wait to start creating my own packages! I'm also taking a Film as Literature class, which seems to be pretty interesting, as well as Political Globalization.

So...about the interview. In December, I asked George if I could be one of his entertainment interns, so after I came back from my Grandma's funeral, we had the date scheduled for Tuesday. I was a little nervous because I knew he was going to ask entertainment-specific questions from all over the place. Luckily I did pretty well and yes...I was hired. I will be interning for him on Thursdays and Fridays. I am so excited for this opportunity, and I really feel that my skills will sharpen from being his intern!

Yesterday was actually my first day there and already I got to go out on a story with him. We stood outside CBS studios (aka the place Clooney was holding the Haiti telethon). Although the other intern and I were guarding the truck, the fact that Gerard Butler, Samuel L. Jackson, and the rest of the stars were pretty close was pretty exciting. Plus, I love watching George report- he has this incredible energy when he's speaking, and overall is one of the most genuine reporters I have ever met.

Until next week..with new adventures. I can tell 2010 will already be a great year :)

-Brittany

New Years Resolutions

I always like to start my new year off fresh by seeing what I've accomplished. Unlike a lot of other people, I try to make resolutions that I can keep and I use them as goals. Here is what I said last year:

2009 Resolutions
1. To do well in my first semester at CSUN :)- I've kept my grades up remarkably well despite how busy I am. I'm quite proud of myself for that :)
2. To update my livejournal more. Although I do like Twitter and use that all the time, I miss writing in a journal.- Well, I've stopped writing in a LiveJournal because I felt like it had no purpose. I am happy I started this blog because it's a great way to reflect on my journalism experiences.
3. To keep doing well with my driving. No accidents, please! *knock on wood*- It's funny how I'm a "late bloomer" when it comes to driving, yet with my commute to CSUN and my internship, I drive more than everyone I know. I attribute my good driving skills from KABC-TV...I've gotten a LOT better with directions :) Sadly, I did get into an accident on the freeway, but it wasn't my fault.
4. To get an internship at a news organization this summer...I am really crossing my fingers for ABC!- Check ;)
5. More of a personal goal, but to learn not to be afraid to say what I really think and be proud of my opinions.- I'm still working on this one, but I feel like I have become more opinionated.
6. To get more politically active and pay more attention to politics. I don't want to be associated with the "apathetic young people" demographic!- Definitely! I voted in this past presidential election and I decided to sharpen my journalism skills by minoring in Political Science at CSUN. I definitely feel I have a more worldly view with the classes I have taken.
7. Have a great year :)- Overall, this year has been interesting--it's had amazing highs that I never would have imagined, yet I did have my share of misfortunes. I lost two people in my family that were very close to me and I keep them in mind everyday. The thought that keeps me going is that I know they would want me to be happy and move on with my life. RIP Grandma and Liz...theres not a day that goes by when I don't think of you both. I hope I'm making you proud.

2010 Resolutions
1. Continue to expand my journalism experience by keeping up my internships and working on my demo reel. After last year, I can't wait to see where this year will take me!
2. Try to give myself more "me" time...despite how busy I am!
3. Plan for Oahu...Brad and I are going this summer!
4. Learn how to cook new things...I realized over this past year that I like to cook :)
5. Continue to keep my grades up at CSUN
5. Again...have a great year!

Internship Photos from KABC-TV

Here are some pics that me and the other interns took on our last few weeks there. Man, did it feel cool to sit at that desk!