I have completed my summer internship at NBC News in Washington, D.C.
As an investigative intern, my responsibilities included researching stories and observing the NBC News investigative unit in the Washington Bureau, as well as, absorbing all aspects of the network news environment. From sitting in the studio for MSNBC broadcasts to standing outside the Supreme Court when the healthcare decision was announced, I tried to take advantage of my time at NBC News by talking to people who worked in the bureau, and experiencing as much as possible in Washington, D.C. I outlined many of these accomplishments in my Midpoint post.
I am especially proud of a particular research assignment that will hopefully be aired on NBC Nightly News in the next few weeks. It was a great opportunity to be involved in an important and timely topic. I was given the task of researching a lead on a story, and after digging into the subject matter, I was convinced there was a possibility for a spot. I pitched the idea to the Senior Investigative Correspondent for NBC News and her investigative producer, who agreed there was something there. They pitched the idea to Nightly. I then compiled a list of prospective interviews, including experts on the subject matter, victims, and the people responsible. I assisted interviewing those people in preliminary phone interviews, helping to decide who might be a good candidate for an on-camera appearance. I also found out about an event that NBC News decided to cover because of its potential for producing strong sound bites in the spot.
Being involved in a piece that will hopefully make TV was exciting and a great learning experience which built upon all different aspects of what I had been learning throughout the summer. I wish my internship had been longer so I could have seen the story through all the stages of its production. Now that my internship is complete, I feel that I have gained valuable knowledge of in-depth reporting and producing.
I want to build off this experience at Brandeis by continuing to learn as much as possible about politics, economics, and international studies through my liberal arts education. As an aspiring reporter/producer, a broad liberal arts education is valuable because I need to know about a variety of subject matters, how governments, institutions, and people work, and, overall, to be able to think about and understand the news.
Outside Brandeis, I think the most helpful way to gain an understanding of how this industry works is to be immersed in it, and I hope I have more opportunities to work in a news environment in the future. I would advise another student interested in an internship at NBC News or another organization in the industry to be proactive and enthusiastic. If you really want to learn about the field and find it inspiring, most people, many of whom also started out as interns, are happy to teach.
– Abigail Kagan ’13
Your internship sounds so amazing. Being able to work at a news stating during a summer with the Olympics must have been a great experience. I really like your comment about being immersed in the industry that you really want to be in. Because without the full immersion you will never be able to fully adapt and understand it.
Interning at NBC sounds like an amazing experience! It’s cool that you were able to take the lead on pitching and researching a story. It sounds like you learned a lot about news reporting, and I like your comment about how a liberal arts education is valuable in that it gives you a background on a variety of subjects.