My Practicum (or How I learned to tolerate working for free)
Three days into my practicum at the PNG (that’s Pacific News Group for those of you not in the know. It’s also known as the Vancouver Sun/Province or the Canwest Global Media Behemoth) and I’m slowly coming to terms with the fact that I’m not being paid. It’s an adjustment. Of course, it’s not like I’m really doing a ton of work but I am doing things that require some effort, thought and skill, I’m showing up every day, and I’m hanging around all day too. That’s gotta be worth something.
So far I’ve learned how to search a couple of databases, use a couple of programs and done some digitizing of old photos and negatives. Nothing too earth-shatteringly hard and I’m glad that I’m at least handling material that’s interesting. Some of the old photos are great, the best so far being the unpublished shots of the Beatles concert at Empire Stadium. There are lots of screaming girls in these photos, as you would expect, and only a few shots of the Beatles themselves. Still, the crowd shots are kinda cool. And funny, I've seen the same Dad who looks absolutely bored stiff in at least 6 pictures.
Other photos are of local tunnels or bridges being built, old sports shots, and just random pictures of things that went on and were news items at one point.
I’ve also been archiving photos online and writing captions for them which is really tempting for a smart ass like myself. Who wouldn’t want to put your own spin on a picture?
I’ve also started to see a few of the reporters around that I recognize. That one guy, who comes on TV and does a report from the newsroom to tell everyone what’s going to be in the paper the next day? Yeah, I saw him in the bathroom today. OK, not such a big deal but there ya go. And there are a few other reporters whose names I know that I’ve either seen or have called for information. I definitely feel like I’m up on current events and I suppose I’m even a little ahead of things too because I know what stories they’re all working on. (Expect to see David Suzuki soon and more reports on Going Green)
One of the bonuses is that there are always free papers around to grab and read. Another bonus is the location of the building. Being down by the water means that there is always something to look at outside the large windows. Today there was a big cloud of black smoke coming from somewhere in the port, and yesterday we heard an explosion of some sort and saw black smoke billowing from the smokestack of a container ship parked at the dock. It’s also the start of cruise ship season as one of the big buggers that goes to Alaska was parked there yesterday.
Why are you looking out the window instead of working, you ask?
Shaddup, I'm not getting paid. I'll daydream if I want.
Don't even get me started on the traffic downtown. I'll save that for a rant some other day.
So far I’ve learned how to search a couple of databases, use a couple of programs and done some digitizing of old photos and negatives. Nothing too earth-shatteringly hard and I’m glad that I’m at least handling material that’s interesting. Some of the old photos are great, the best so far being the unpublished shots of the Beatles concert at Empire Stadium. There are lots of screaming girls in these photos, as you would expect, and only a few shots of the Beatles themselves. Still, the crowd shots are kinda cool. And funny, I've seen the same Dad who looks absolutely bored stiff in at least 6 pictures.
Other photos are of local tunnels or bridges being built, old sports shots, and just random pictures of things that went on and were news items at one point.
I’ve also been archiving photos online and writing captions for them which is really tempting for a smart ass like myself. Who wouldn’t want to put your own spin on a picture?
I’ve also started to see a few of the reporters around that I recognize. That one guy, who comes on TV and does a report from the newsroom to tell everyone what’s going to be in the paper the next day? Yeah, I saw him in the bathroom today. OK, not such a big deal but there ya go. And there are a few other reporters whose names I know that I’ve either seen or have called for information. I definitely feel like I’m up on current events and I suppose I’m even a little ahead of things too because I know what stories they’re all working on. (Expect to see David Suzuki soon and more reports on Going Green)
One of the bonuses is that there are always free papers around to grab and read. Another bonus is the location of the building. Being down by the water means that there is always something to look at outside the large windows. Today there was a big cloud of black smoke coming from somewhere in the port, and yesterday we heard an explosion of some sort and saw black smoke billowing from the smokestack of a container ship parked at the dock. It’s also the start of cruise ship season as one of the big buggers that goes to Alaska was parked there yesterday.
Why are you looking out the window instead of working, you ask?
Shaddup, I'm not getting paid. I'll daydream if I want.
Don't even get me started on the traffic downtown. I'll save that for a rant some other day.
posted by Biggles at 10:12 PM
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