My Final Days

August 7, 2007
Stephanie Jacobs, Meredith Corporation in Des Moines, IA

As my last week slowly starts coming to an end, I'm reflecting on all the things I learned about Meredith Corporation and broadcasting. One of the biggest things I learned through this experience and through past internships is that every station, company, or group has their own way of running things. Even the jargon can be slightly different. It takes a little adjusting and by the end, you find yourself using their lingo to try and explain to friends and family what it is that you do.

Being on the corporate side of media, working for a company that employs thousands of people, I had many opportunities to step out of the broadcast sector and explore different outlets. A favorite memory of mine was a few weeks back when I was helping with a Country Home magazine photo shoot. The talent for the shoot was Trading Spaces alum, Leslie Segrete! The shoot took all day, but it was interesting to see, firsthand, how and where the video and pictures are shot for those coveted magazine covers and website how-tos.

My big project for the summer was to plan a 4-day marketing conference at the end of the month that would include all of the GMs (General Managers), GSMs (General Sales Managers), and other sales people from each of Meredith's 14 television stations. The majority of the days will be spent discussing ad sales and promotional projects with each station. The night activities were left to my discretion. With stations located in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Kansas City, the task of entertaining these guests was set pretty high. Even though I won't be there to indulge in the festivities with everyone, I hope I can leave them with a pleasant memory from Iowa!

Thinking about the future, I am still unsure about the path I want to take. The pressure and deadlines in the newsroom are hard, but it made me focus and churn out amazing work. On the other hand, Meredith allowed me to explore other fields and get my feet wet. And while hard news is important to write about, being able to research a topic of choice, whether it be food, fitness, health, environment, or pets is also a great opportunity to showcase the depth and extent of my writing abilities. Thinking positively, maybe it's a good thing that I'm not restricting myself to one thing and it can allow me to look at a variety of job opportunities after college.

For anyone who hasn't had a chance to intern, I would definitely recommend jumping on the bandwagon. Luckily, more and more stations and corporations are setting up intern programs to educate interested students on media life. Paid or unpaid, I've done both and came out with equal knowledge and experience, just a little more or less in my bank account ;)

See everyone in the fall!
*Steph*

Stephanie Jacobs is a senior, majoring in broadcasting at UNL. For the next ten weeks, she will be working in the broadcasting department for Meredith Corporation in Des Moines. During her senior year, she will be working with other CoJMC students on the ethanol documentary. Email Me, View All Stephanie's Entries