Makayla Boswell and Jeremiah Graham, two U of M journalism students, interned at The Commercial Appeal for 10 weeks over the summer. Both interns gained practical experience while working alongside the CA staff.
People tell me all the time that I should find a new career path because journalism is dead.
Obviously, if you’re reading this, that isn’t the case.
This summer, I got the opportunity to intern at The Commercial Appeal, Memphis’ daily source of news and information   and a branch of the USA TODAY Network — Tennessee.
I worked in a newsroom comprised of 40 people. While this number has declined in past years, it has given me the ability to really get to know my fellow journalists.
These are the people who taught and encouraged me in the 10 weeks I was there — the ones who took me to lunch to talk about my future and favorite parts of journalism. They asked me what I wanted to achieve and then made it happen. Being surrounded by professional journalists every day pushed me to become the best journalist I could be. Â
This internship helped broaden my horizons when it comes to covering news in Memphis. I wrote about city committee meetings, child support policies, naturalization ceremonies and daily police briefs. I interviewed city council members, state representatives, lawyers, passionate Memphians and grieving parents.
I wrote stories that made me glad to be a journalist and some that made me question my future. I explored social justice through chamber music and safety precautions through gun violence picnics and pedestrian safety panels. I wrote an obituary for a Holocaust survivor and a story of growth and healing through a community art garden. Many of these stories forced me out of my comfort zone. While I still get nervous to interview important, intimidating people, I know I can accomplish it because my internship prepared me for this.
There are very few things that make you feel as good as when someone tells you “great job.†Receiving that feedback from members of the community and the story sources themselves gives me peace of mind knowing that people care about our coverage. I read comments on our stories, and while not everything is positive, many people share our stories and comment positive thoughts.
When I hear people say journalism is dead, I think of the hard-working reporters at The Commercial Appeal and how passionate they are about what they write. I think of their dedication to the readers and how they strive to deliver only the facts in their efforts to serve up honest, unbiased news. Then I think of myself in their position five, 10 or 15 years from now, still informing the public because journalism will never die.
There will always be a hunger for news—for the knowledge of what is going on in our world. My internship helped me realize how important journalism is in our city. After spending the summer writing, I am excited to come back to The Daily Helmsman to cover campus news with another group of novice journalists who are enthusiastic about the future of journalism. Here’s to a semester of factual, opinionated, entertaining and overall passionate writing from The Daily Helmsman staff.
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