By Clara Lincolnhol

Clara Lincolnhol

My Knight Center summer internship with PBS/NPR-affiliate WKAR in East Lansing recently came to an end. It’s safe to say the expectations I had going into the job were exceeded. I walked away feeling like I had grown significantly, both as a person and a reporter.

Throughout this internship, I worked as an environmental news and radio reporting intern. I had the opportunity to localize my favorite beat to the community I live in. It was incredibly fulfilling covering my own and other nearby communities in Mid-Michigan and being a part of both local journalism and public media.

Having the opportunity to go on-site and interview people who were directly involved in or affected by issues was an immensely valuable experience.

A challenge I faced was adjusting to writing for radio and then voicing it. As someone used to print, it was difficult at times to effectively cut back what I was trying to say into verbiage better suited for a spoken, minute time slot. Thankfully my mentors at WKAR gave me great guidance. I felt that towards the end of my internship, I better understood how to write engaging copy + record a voiceover–and found it fun too!

An aspect of WKAR I appreciate is the level of trust it places in its interns. I felt as though once I was taught how to use certain equipment or write copy, the newsroom didn’t hesitate to send me into the field.

The expectations they had of me were comparable, if not identical, to the other reporters in the newsroom. I feel that the responsibilities given to me and this encouraging workplace attitude greatly fueled my self-confidence and professional growth.

I looked forward to coming to work each day and tackling whatever story I pitched or was assigned, and enjoyed working with my coworkers. My appreciation for local journalism grew, and the importance of public media was made apparent to me during my time at WKAR. I am proud to say I am a part of public media. Each of my stories can be viewed here.