Ch Ch Changes

So to catch you up on things...I did meet Andy Phillips at Ridgeway Church a few weeks ago. He has a very touching story about how his wife became pregnant, then was diagnosed with a type of uterine cancer, and lost the baby. His wife spoke at the church also. As of June, she is in remission. The church provided cards for you to fill out your information and a message to Andy, he would read all the cards, and sign them while he's on the team's road trip (which is right now). I put my info on the card and explained that I want to interview him for broadcasting school. Unfortunately, Andy was placed on the disabled list last week so I don't know if that effects his chances of returning to New York but it's all in God's hands.









The week before last, I went to a Yankees game with the other girl from class. I was surprised when we drove to Yankee Stadium how close it is to where I live. It's only about 20 minutes. We had a lot of fun even though the Yankees lost :(









This past Sunday I went into Manhattan to scope out a field near Chelsea Piers for my news story. Manhattan is an amazing place...when I walked out of Grand Central I could hear a lot of noise. It sounded like a protest but it turned out to be an East Indian pride parade. I walked a block over and they were doing a photo shoot for what I think is an ad campaign.









Things are wrapping up quickly at school. I have one week left. This past week we had to do our sports and news finals. The instructors said I did really well on both finals. I also went to Randall's/Ward's Island to interview the NY Women's rugby team. Randall's/Ward's Island is a tiny plot of land in the East River on the north end of Manhattan. This is a picture from the island toward Long Island.









This upcoming week I have a radio show final with a group of 3 guys (which I've done most all the work), and our TV final where the entire class is creating a news program. A guy named Chris and myself have been chosen by our instructors to be the producers. This just means that we are in charge and responsible for everything. Actually, I take it as a pretty big compliment that I was chosen and I hope it means my instructors see potential in me. It feels a lot like The Apprentice lately. Everyone is working on a huge project, Chris and I are the leaders and the other students are either very cooperative and easy to work with or total slackers. Some listen to you because they know you're the leader and others just don't care. I guess in the end it will be like The Apprentice when some of us actually get jobs and the rest are left scratching their head about what went wrong. We took a class picture, so when I get a copy of one, I'll post it on here.

On September 7, we are going on a field trip to a taping of the Montell William's show. And we are planning a field trip to ESPN studios.

Please be praying for God to lead me in the right direction. I have no idea what I'll be doing after September 7! I'm waiting on God to provide a job that will allow me to pay my bills, I'll need to find a place to live, and this all should be figured out by September 7. I feel like there's not enough time between now and then to get things figured out. I need to trust God and realize it's His timing, not mine. I don't know if God wants me to stay here in NY (I'd like to stay here and pursue some of the networks I've made). Maybe He wants me back in Cali or somewhere else entirely, in which case, I'd still need to find a job and affordable living.

The Ugly Side of Broadcasting

The whole point of going to the Connecticut School of Broadcasting (CSB) is to learn by doing. This means that we learn how to use all the equipment in staged situations inside the classroom. However, this also means that since CSB is well known in the community we get calls regarding news tips and the teachers send students out to get raw footage of the event as it occurs. Today, one such event unfolded while we were in class working on our final projects. We received a call that someone had jumped off a bridge less than a mile from the school. The teachers asked for at least 2 people to go and tape some footage of the scene. I did not want to go but I also did not want it to look bad that I was unwilling to go. Would it jeopardize me being recommended for a job because I hesitated to go? I didn't go...I just couldn't handle a scene like that. I mean, my stomach just dropped at the words that someone jumped. I don't know if I was more surprised that hardly anyone volunteered or that 2 people actually did volunteer. So, the 2 volunteers grabbed a camera and headed down the road. When they returned they shared their stories and then we had to watch the footage of the scene. I didn't want to. It was pretty graphic and it was real. It wasn't a movie, it happened less than a mile away. The way the teacher was talking about the camera work, how he should have gotten a different angle on this shot or the lighting was wrong on that shot, like it was all staged. The teacher has been a camera man for a long time and I'm sure as a reporter or camera man you have to have a thick skin to handle situations like that. I just don't think I want to be that thick-skinned. I mean, a man was so hopeless that he felt he had no other choice but to end his life. I can't imagine that. And now his family has to hurt and grieve. I don't know the reasons why the other students didn't volunteer to go. I'm just wondering if my instructors will tell me I'm too sensitive for this business. I think if I ever lose my sensitivity, that's the time to get out. Just give me the stories about the kitten being rescued from a tree.


*Side note: Some of you have asked about the Andy Phillips interview and other things. I will update you on that in my next blog.*

This Week's Updates & Info

A lot has been going on in the past couple weeks. I have been super busy with all my assignments and classwork. So here's a rundown of things I'm filling my time with in case you're interested.

In the last 2 weeks I have learned about radio programming, copywriting, linear editing, digital editing, RCS, and automation. I did a morning show with another student (not real, just practice), wrote and created a commercial, filmed a news report, rewrote copy, and created a news log. Also, our class managed to get a teacher fired. I have been putting in studio time every week too so I can practice what I've learned outside of class. So, I know most of that probably didn't make a lot of sense but at least you see what I've been filling my time with. We have 3 weeks left in the program which means it's crunch time to get our final assignments completed. I have to do a TV commercial on Monday. I have a sports final coming up where I have to rewrite newspaper stories to air on ESPN and prepare to interview athletes from those stories (of course the interview is pretend), News final where I have to do a 90 second segment. I'm currently trying to arrange a meeting Andy Phillips from the Yankees to interview him for my demo package. He'll be at a church on Sunday and I'm trying to work up the nerve to talk to him. My final will be a news story on a local landmark. I have to rewrite a news story to air on the radio. And my group has to produce a radio show for the final project. Yes, it's a lot of work but most of the time it's a lot of fun too. Next Wednesday I'm going to a Yankees game with the other girl in my class. She has season tickets. It should be fun. This weekend I'm planning to visit Central Park. I've heard that there are a lot of movies being filmed right now so perhaps I'll get a cameo :)