Before being in journalism, I was always a shy person. I was the person that would keep to myself and wouldn’t like branching out of my comfort zone. When I produced West Virginia Today, I was shown a new world of communication between classmates. Being a transfer to the Reed College of Media, I knew no one coming into WVU minus my boyfriend Kyle, my roommate at the time, and two of my closest friends since being a little kid. As we know, the college of media is so tiny, so everyone knows almost everyone depending on what major you’re in. West Virginia Today taught me to step out of my comfort zone and use my voice. With now producing WVU News, I can be even more open since I know about the majority of our class at this point as well as know what to expect with producing.

The best part of this whole process is that I can do something I love to

do… create a show. I love working with this group of students already and watching them grow as reporters, anchors, directors, producers, etc. This group makes all the work worth it since everyone has a drive for TV in somehow someway. Not to mention, they put a good smile or laugh on my face. They all reach out to me when they need help, or even just a friend to talk to. I have been more social with the class via Slack and email; Making sure that all assignments are on time, when we meet for meetings, and then, of course, the show is.  

I think the hardest part of creating the show is the script. I remember the first script I ever wrote for WV Today took me 22 hours. I got two hours of sleep, pulled an all-nighter, and drank probably way too much caffeine for one person. I had stress hives under my eyes and was putting blood, sweat, and tears into this script. I ended up later that semester writing scripts faster and faster, so now I can write scripts in under half the time if not more from when I first started. This semester, especially with being on Winter Break, it only took 7 hours to write compared to almost one whole day being used to write. Professor Dahlia has been amazing and patient with me writing the script, and I can’t wait to get newscast two rolling!

My favorite experience of this all has been being in the control room and watching the show I’ve created on paper, taped, and on the monitors in the control room. There’s a rush when the shows are taped, and it’s something indescribable. You want your show to be the best it can be, and seeing takes with minimal to no errors makes all the work worth it. Not to mention, laughing and having a good time with these students from the class, as well as the Waterfront staff and Professor D. I have two of the best professors I could’ve asked for on this ride with me, and I couldn’t be happier to have this show as something a part of my college career.

I feel that in a short amount of time, I’ve definitely learned how WVU News works, and how it’s a lot different compared to public affairs shows. I feel a lot more comfortable with the show and everyone from the class. I know that in the coming weeks, this class will help me secure a position as a producer for a news market. One show down, four to go!