(Editor's Note: This is the fifth in a series of stories about College of Communications students completing summer internships.)
Nashville is the home of country music. This summer, it is also the home of College of Communications student Gabrielle Chappel, who had never been to the city prior to moving there on May 22, her 21st birthday.
A country music fan herself, Chappel is interning with WZTV (Channel 17), a FOX affiliate. The station produces local news shows in the morning, afternoon and night. In her role, the Penn State senior broadcast journalism major serves as an assistant to reporters in both the news and sports departments, usually spending two days on news and three days on sports each week.
Chappel applied for the internship after finding out one of her connections on LinkedIn was a reporter at FOX 17, as well as a Penn State and “Centre County Report” alumna. “Centre County Report” is a weekly newscast produced by Penn State students, and Chappel will be the executive producer of the program beginning in the fall.
“The whole idea was for me to get exposure to a different area than central Pennsylvania or even the East Coast,” said Chappel. “I wanted to kind of branch out and be with different kinds of people, see the differences and, in turn, make myself more marketable because I know different areas. I knew that it was a city more up and coming and it is a place I could potentially see myself moving after graduation. Especially now that I’ve been here, I definitely think that. It’s a really, really cool place.”
Chappel, a Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, native, has a different daily schedule depending on if she is in the news or sports department. For news, she usually works from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., while a sports day runs from 2 to 10 p.m.
In addition to meeting about story ideas, Chappel spends much of her time in the field with reporters gathering content for stories. After the reporters shoot their segments, Chappel steps in and does her own standups to have them as samples for her personal reel. While the footage may not be used, Chappel gains valuable on-camera experience and is able to write her own scripts.
The sports side is different, as much of the time is spent in a press conference or locker room setting, including interviews with members of the NFL's Tennessee Titans. For most assignments, the station's on-air talent and producers go in with a plan of athletes or coaches they would like to talk to and collects the sound. Upon returning the studio, Chappel helps with scripts and pulls archived video.
In addition to her standup experience, Chappel also has completed plenty of social media work, live tweeting Vanderbilt University games and posting videos from her reporters’ pages.
The senior has learned a lot already, including different interview techniques and camera-related tips.
“I’ve had to go out and look for a mom who just had her 15-year-old shot, and then how to go about talking to a parent who lost their child,” said Chappel. “I’ve learned to knock on doors and ask people things, which is a process in itself. You can’t assume people know what you’re talking about. Then, how to prepare for a live shot, even if you don’t have a lot to go off of. Like, different steps for a live shot: where you are, what happened and what’s going on there right now, and what happened earlier.”
While Chappel has already added some skills to her broadcast toolbox in Nashville, her previous experience with “Centre County Report” certainly helped ease the transition.
“I would be very lost if I wasn’t in ‘Centre County Report’ before this,” said Chappel. “That gave me a really good foundation in terms of knowing how shows are structured, knowing what should go where and even just technical terms. I feel like now I’m just polishing that, which is a really good feeling. I’m just taking what I learned there and building on it. I feel very comfortable. I have yet to feel overwhelmed by any task I’ve been given.”