Tag: mmj

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Fabulous living

Why I Chose My Career

Hey guys, a little bit of a different post for today. 

I use my blog as a fun creative, outlet outside of my work and family life. 

But, my work is a big part of my life. I sometimes spend more time at work than I do at home, which I love, but it shows that it’s a big part of who I am.

Today, I’m sharing a little bit about why I chose the field I am in now. If you know me, you know I am a very organized, structure and routine loving girl, so why would someone like that dive into a job and career that is the complete opposite?!

Getting behind the desk has become a new adventure that I’m loving

One of my favorite things about my job is that every day is different. No two days are ever the same. Some days, I am talking to local businesses, other days it’s about Covid-19 vaccines, on a Monday I could be in another town 45 minutes away and on Wednesday, all my interviews could be on Zoom. You never know what you are going to get.

Speaking of Zoom, one of my latest stories was about how much Zoom has changed our lives this past year.

I love that I’m constantly learning every day. If I wasn’t in news, I would probably be a teacher. I have always loved school, from the schedule to learning new things and advancing in what I’m learning. I also tend to ask a lot of questions in my life. Clarifying questions were always my favorite in school. If you gave me a group project with all the directions in front of me, I would still ask a few follow-up questions, just to be safe. Those traits are just part of the reason why I am a journalist. 

I love that very day takes me someplace different for a story.

I also love stories. I love to read and write. Getting lost in a different world through a story is one of my favorite things. As much as I love reading stories, I love telling them just as much. Telling people’s stories, every day, no matter big or small brings me so much joy! You never know how much of an impact a story can have on someone until you tell it. 

I enjoy working and learning from my co-workers every day.

I get asked a lot why I chose this field and profession. I am a fairly quiet girl, I like structure and routine and I’m a homebody, so why would I ever want to be in a field that encourages me to use my voice, have a constant changing schedule with lots of uncertainity? Because, I care about others and their stories and I like answers. But most importantly, I want to make sure people’s voices and stories are heard. That’s why I love what I do every day. 

What brings you joy in your career? What makes you smile every day?

Categories
Fabulous living

One Year in News

Hello all! Happy Wednesday!

I hope your week and year is off to a great start! Now, that the holidays have calmed down, I wanted to reflect on my first year as a reporter. I did a recap in the summer about what I have learned 6 months in. You can read all about it here. In the past 6 months, I have learned even more. Every day I continue to grow and learn and get stronger in my skills as a reporter. I try to learn something new, I know not every day will be a slam dunk story, but I always try to take something away from it, whether it is a new editing skill, a better way to write something, or different way to be creative with my storytelling.

It’s always fun getting to share stories that are important to me

I have loved to tell people’s stories in my own hometown. From big to small stories, whether it was an event going on, like a toy distribution for Christmas, talking to local businesses about struggles of the past year, covering historic events like the first Covid-19 vaccines arriving in Erie, following the election, and everything in between. I have travelled to other states, neighboring counties or even just down the street to talk to people about their lives.

I also have got more opportunities at work too.  I have been able to fill in and anchor some of our shows. It’s something I have dream about doing for a long time and the fact I am anchoring them and producing them on my own is a huge accomplishment for me. I have covered for different shifts during the holidays, helped out to make sure things go smoothly and worked more on my craft through the year. I also love getting to work on our digital team and learn more about the art of producing and stacking shows, both skills that are helpful for anchoring.

Working the anchor desk on Christmas

When looking back on these past 12 months, I have learned a lot about the job, but some of my best memories are of conversations with co-workers or laughs when I was preparing for a story, from early more shifts, to late nights, working weekends or holidays when no one is there or when it’s all hands on deck. It has been a year of change and excitement. I have truly learned that it’s the people that make any job worthwhile. I am so lucky that I have such great and supportive co-workers and mentors to learn from every day. Especially working long days and hours, it helps to have co-workers that make the days go by fast.

In the middle of a live interview

I have worked long days and shifts, but I covered winter weather, tornado damage, breaking news, things reopening, things shutting down, back to school, new events and opportunities for the community, exciting and happy stories, and ones that break your heart. In the end, I love what I do. I love that I get to find stories and tell them, meet people and get their message out. It’s so special and surreal that I get the chance to give people the news.

Covering the presidential election

It’s also been too fun to have my family and friends watch me and send me pictures of it and supporting me. It’s such a humbling experience that I don’t take for granted.

Getting pictures from friends and family that watch me never gets old.

Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a better first year in news, it truly was a monumental time to get, I can’t wait to learn more and grow and see where I am a year from now.

It’s been an incredible first year, let’s bring on year two!!!

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Fabulous living

A Day in the Work Life

Hi everyone, last week I gave you a look into my work life, so this week I thought it was time I give you a look into my daily work life. 

No two days are the same, every day is different and things can change hour to hour, here’s a little look into what a day in the life looks like for me.

Let’s begin…

Here is what a wake up time looks for me, 7:25 to start the day.
Gym time at 8:00 am
After the gym, I had to make a stop to Target to buy a new fit bit since mine bite the dust after 3.5 years, new fit bit review coming soon.
Doing some reading and journaling after I hit the gym.
Doing some blog work, checking emails and getting ideas for stories before I go to work
Lunch time…leftovers from the night before, chicken, lettuce, tomato, salsa, cheese and rice, homemade taco bowl

The next few hours were very busy so I don’t have any photos, but here’s what it looks like…

After lunch comes getting ready for work, most of the time, how I look when I live the house is how I look for the 11:00 news. Once I get to work, we have a meeting about story ideas and who’s covering what, on this day, I went to a news conference about grants and a tax give back program for the city. I got interviews and video for my story following the news conference, I came back to the station to listen to the interviews and get ready for live shots in the early show.

I had two live hits, one at 5:00 and one at 7:00, so I was prepping lines before I went live.
Following both live hits, around 7:30, I got called to check in on a boating accident, which turned out to be nothing, but it shows no day is ever quiet…haha
Back at work around 8:15 I spent time cutting sound and listening to interviews for my news package and putting it all together.
After I finished my writing my story, I go to track it.

Around 9:00, I finish putting the final touches on my story before putting it up on the web. Around 10:00, I get ready to work on live hit for 11:00.

Here’s a look at my piece, at 11:00, once I wrap doing it, I cut video for my story and close up shop for the day. I leave at 11:45 and typically head to bed by 12:30…and that’s a day in the life.

Every day is different and no two days are ever the same, but it’s all part of the excitement and fun.

Categories
Fabulous living

My Dream First Job

Hi everyone!! Happy Wednesday! I hope you are all having a great week! Today, I thought I would give you a look into my work life. In college, I brought you into my daily school life, with work, classes, meetings, friends, and things to do. Well, now that college is over, and I’ve been working full time for the past six months, I thought it was time I introduce you to my work life. 

Following graduation, I accepted a job back home as Multimedia journalist at my local news station. For people following for a while, this is the same place where I interned at a few years back. You can read about my summer internship here. So, what does that mean? I’m a reporter, but I do everything. I pitch stories, set up interviews, do the interview, shoot the video, edit it together for a story and then front it on the news at the end of the day. I’ve also helped out doing digital and producing on the weekends as well as trying out some anchoring. It’s a lot, but I love it. I have gotten so much experience in these past six months that I never could have imagined. I have also learned about all the moving parts that go into bringing a newscast to life from start to finish.

On the job

These past six months have been nothing short of exciting. Let’s begin back in December, I started two days before Christmas, worked 12 days straight, we then went straight into winter weather news and coverage, then with spring came the Coronavirus pandemic, so during that time we adapted to a new normal, and with summer came many protests and riots. It has been a whirlwind but I have loved every moment. I have been able to cover stories about schools handling harsh weather, businesses taking on the pandemic whether it’s about closing or reopening, I’ve covered different events, highlighted different families going through their best and worst moments. It has been so rewarding to tell these stories. 

Working on the anchor desk

I have met some incredible people both on stories and in the newsroom. It’s been so rewarding to cover stories in my hometown. I’ve been given the opportunity to learn and work with people that I grew up watching. One of my close friends sent me this side by side comparison which is crazy of how far I have come. 

Crazy how much time can change when you work hard to achieve your dreams

A few months back, my college highlighted different young alumni and they asked to feature me which was an extreme honor. You can see the video highlighting a day in the life here. 

Part of my day in the life video

I have loved every minute of my job, yes, not every day is easy or fun but I have learned so much about myself and this job and my hometown through this job. I can’t wait to see what the next few years bring! 

Covering the morning after riots

Thank you to everyone who has watched and supported me through these first few months. If you are still interested or want to follow along more, you can like or follow my Facebook page for all my stories. 

Have a beautiful week and a wonderful Fourth of July!