Last week Friday was the first day of my third internship in sports journalism (!). For those that don’t know, this summer I am interning at WTMJ 4 (an NBC affiliate) here in Milwaukee. After my first internship being in radio, this is my second in television (I prefer television over radio, but would like to do both together for my career). So yeah, a week has gone by and I’m already off to a roadrunner (fast) start, and things are going really well. Before I started my internship this summer, I wrote down some goals I had for myself:
-Learn how to shoot video independently -Create at least five packages -Go out on a non-sports related story -Get more involved in writing for broadcasts (quality, speed) -Improve interviewing skills -Edit more clips for broadcasts -Get familiar with production and web aspects (working the prompter, web content, social media) My first week has just gone by and I’ve already been able to cross off two and a half of my goals. Tonight I learned how to shoot video while outside a historic day at the Milwaukee County courthouse as gay couples obtained their marriage licenses (killing two birds with one stone). Being able to be in the courthouse tonight witnessing so many people become incredibly happy really helped give me a different perspective on broadcasting outside of sports. In news, you deal with a lot of live/raw emotions and real life situations with people – and I’m not saying athletes don’t go through this either – but people have their lives changed right there in front of you more frequently and we as journalists get to tell that story. It’s really cool and I’m glad I asked to go out on this (the sports department had a slow night, too). The half thing was that I’ve already done two packages: one on a Milwaukee Bucks pre-draft workout (although I will like to re-do this one soon), and the other while up in Green Bay during Packers organized team activities. I didn’t get to interview players in Green Bay, but being able to put together my first NFL package was awesome. Football is my true passion, and I’m a bit surprised it took me this long to put something together that related to it. Overall, I’m enjoying things so far and even though the opportunities that I wanted this summer at different locations weren’t offered to me (I use this as motivation), today really helped me understand that internships are what YOU make out of them. You don’t only need a top-tier station to get better and get reps. Most of the time, they give you the opportunities a bigger network wouldn’t dare.
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Well last night was pretty awesome to say the least. Yesterday I took my parents to a baseball game for the first time in their lives. The Milwaukee Brewers took on the Baltimore Orioles in game two of a three-game series Tuesday evening. To summarize, the Brewers jumped out to a five nothing lead, but collapsed and gave up six runs by the end of the seventh inning. Jonathan Lucroy tied the game after he singled in the bottom of the ninth, scoring Elian Herrera for the tying run. In extra innings, Yovani Gallardo (yes) pinch-hit and drove home the winning run in the bottom of the tenth. You don’t see pitchers who are going to be on the mound the very next day pinch-hit the night before and hit a walk-off.
Growing up in Eritrea, my folks never grew up watching American sports and never really took them all that serious. Soccer is the only sport that people in the country pay attention too. My mother had been to Miller Park before, but only when it first opened back in 2001 for a tour, and then in 2003 for my sisters high school graduation from Riverside High School. Seriously, how lucky was my sister to have her high school graduation at Miller freaking Park, though? My father has only been at the ballpark for the graduation. Besides this event, as far as sporting events, my parents only attended a Green Bay Packers preseason game in August 2012 when they played the Cleveland Browns. Still, that was a preseason game, and that was the Cleveland Browns. The game experience itself was fantastic. Arguably the most exciting part about baseball games are home runs, and that happened three times courtesy of Carlos Gomez, Mark Reynolds, and Khris Davis (the good home runs, of course.) Even though my parents don’t fully understand the rules of the game, they get the general consensus: hit the ball, don’t get three outs, and don’t make errors. Also, thanks to my good friend and current Brewers camera intern, Justin Helm, all three of us were on the jumbotron twice during the game. Crazy how fast we became instant celebs when it was over. Even though the tickets were originally just a gift for Mother’s Day, it turned out to be a historic gift for my parents. We didn’t get home until about 11:30 in the evening, but oh well (sleep is for the weak hearted anyway.) Over-priced food was purchased, but that only made the game more realistic. All in all, this gift fulfilled its purpose: give my parents something they’ve never experienced before. I accomplished that. AND OF COURSE WE TOOK A SELFIE. Today was a historic day in the sport of football for the National Football League. The first openly-gay player— Michael Sam – was drafted in the seventh-round of the 2014 NFL Draft Saturday afternoon. But another iconic moment happened today, and it related directly to my natural roots. On Saturday, I randomly glanced at my Twitter timeline only to discover that for the first time, an Eritrean football player was drafted.
Natneal Berhe (mostly known as “Nat”) is a safety measured at 5-foot-10, 193 pounds from San Diego State University, and was drafted by the New York Giants in the sixth-round at pick 152. While playing for the Aztec’s, Berhe recorded 94 tackles as a junior, and 99 as a senior. He also was a team captain and played the team’s “Aztec” position (safety-hybrid). From the tape I’ve been able to watch of him, he’s flies around the ball and has good football instincts, along with leadership obviously. On the downside, he lacks the ideal frame for the position, being considered a cornerback in a safety's body. (Maybe he needs to eat more injera?) Berhe isn’t the only professional athlete to participate in the three major sports here in the U.S. (NBA, NFL, MLB). In 2009, Thomas Kelati signed a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. Kelati was cut, but now plays overseas in the Euroleague for Laboral Kutxa Vitoria. Nat Berhe is a trailblazer. This weekend he set a positive example to any habesha person (a person that is Eritrean or Ethiopian) by proving that you can succeed in a field your culture isn’t normally accustomed to, or prefers. Looking away from his on-field accolades, Berhe also performed well in the classroom by obtaining his bachelor's degree. Now his NFL journey begins, and many will pay close attention to his progress as he picks up many new "cousins" along the way. You probably won’t believe this, but I am transferring again! No, seriously, I actually think I will this time. Yes, I have decided to once again – for the third time – transfer universities. I previously attempted to transfer to the University of Southern Indiana and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee but was unsuccessful because of financial aid and classroom credit issues.
There are of course many things that will factor into my decision on where I will transfer to. Cost, credits, scholarships, class sizes and opportunities will play major roles in my decision. Why? Why would I transfer schools in the second semester of my junior year of college? Well, the answer is pretty simple: I don’t enjoy what I'm learning at my current university (University of Wisconsin-Parkside). Communication is an odd major and for me, it’s not really a subject I want to study. Academically, I’ve been fine while at Parkside. My grade point average is over a 3.0 and I’ve never received anything lower than a B in any of my communication courses here. So what do I want to learn? Well, if it isn’t already obvious on this website, I want to become a successful broadcaster. Learning about social justice, identity, and other things won’t help me improve and become a more effective broadcaster. I do take those things for granted, and appreciate the professors here who've helped me gain information in regards to those things. And lastly, this is where I tell you where I’ll be enrolling next fall, right? Eh, you won’t get that today. That’s mainly because I haven’t fully decided yet on that special university. Right now, Marquette University sits atop my list followed by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. For some, you might already be aware that I am a member of Marquette’s National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) chapter. Other universities will certainly come into consideration, but for now, those are the two schools. Once the decision is made, you'll find out from me via Twitter (like 99.9% of news that is broken today), so stay tuned. First off, my hair is typically never that long.
Not too long ago, I put together a post about being Eritrean and a sports journalist in the U.S. When looking at things specifically, there’s still only one other sports journalist in America that’s Eritrean. In general, there aren’t many Eritrean or Ethiopian journalists here in our country. There are only three that I currently know of: Master Tesfatsion, Rahiel Tesfamariam, and Semhar Aria. Despite the small number, I consider all of us trail blazers, in my honest opinion. This past weekend in Urbana, IL at #nabjs14, I actually met a fellow Eritrean journalist in person for the first time in my life. On the gorgeous and hotter-than-hell-inside-the-classrooms campus at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, I met Senait Gebregiorgis during an icebreaker session on the first day of the summit. Funny thing is, I already kind of took note and wondered if she was habesha (“habesha” is a person that is Eritrean and/or Ethiopian) just by how she looked. Of course, when she stated her name was Senait, it made clear sense. The same thing ran through her mind when I introduced myself. Anyways, I totally didn’t expect to meet another Eritrean college journalist at a summit in the worst state in the whole country (sue me if you feel I’m wrong). Of course, everyone thought we looked just like, which is absolutely nothing new to us. It was great to finally talk in person with somebody around my age that is going through the same things at home just like me. When Senait told me she has to explain her career to her parents, I acted like a frantic teenage white girl and said, “me too!” No shame. And just like Master reached out to me a few months ago, I did the same to Senait and gave her my contact information. Even though I am still learning in college myself, I want to pass down what I know to other habesha journalists since we’re so limited. To summarize, there are a total of seven habesha journalists that I know of in the U.S. today. That includes three other students and myself, followed by three professionals. Maybe it’s just a weird itch, but I have a feeling this number will keep growing in the coming months. |
Behind the BroadcasterThis blog displays topics that interest me -- including culture, entertainment, music, and life experiences.
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