I completed an internship at CNN (Turner Broadcasting), working partly in the
business side and partly in the newsroom. It was an incredible
experience. I met smart people, sat in on fascinating meetings that gave me a
real insight into the way the media business works, and was able to
actively contribute.
I’ve had
my blog for three years and have constantly asked myself questions about how to
build an audience, what content resonates with people and what strategies work
best for engagement. It was fascinating to find that
CNN/Turner Broadcasting, an organisation that reaches billions of people
each and every week, routinely ask themselves virtually the same
questions. Of course the scale is much grander and the stakes higher, as
they are a business and need to generate income, but much of the discussion was
around content and audience engagement. It was thrilling to gain insights
into how it all works.
I’m
pleased to say that the team put me to work while I was there.
One
highlight was researching and curating my millennial thoughts on CNN's new
internal startup, Great Big Story. It creates such good content, and tells
fascinating and powerful stories, so I highly recommend checking it out. Below
is one of my favourite videos they've created.
I spent a
day (and one very early morning) working in the newsroom. One of the
highlights was producing a piece on Brexit for the
breakfast news show. I was asked to track down two under-24 year
olds with opposing views – one who voted to leave the EU and one who voted to
remain for an on-air debate. I managed to find them, pre-interview them,
and then booked them to go on air the next morning. I volunteered to go
to the studio just off Oxford Street at 6:30am to watch from
the control room as the piece went out. It also meant I could make
sure that the two guys turned up and on time! It was
a very rewarding feeling, seeing something
you organised go out on live TV. It was a great
piece, see a screenshot below.
I went to
a conference by Westminster eForum, and heard insights on the future of
monetising digital content from people from CNN, Deloitte, News UK, Featured
Artists Coalition, The Lad Bible and more. During the panel discussion I
asked the marketing director of The Lad Bible, Mimi Turner, a question on
misogyny. You can see the transcript of below. I was engaged throughout the
whole conference, especially as digital content is something I invest a lot of
time in.
One of my more lightweight, but very enjoyable, tasks was to screen cartoons
for airlines for sensitive content (Turner Broadcasting owns Cartoon Network).
I am well versed in the Power Puff Girls relaunch and We Bare Bears, which has
honestly become one of my favourite shows.
It was a
wonderful experience for which I am enormously grateful.
Thanks to Greg, Natalie, Owen and the rest of the team for being so welcoming
and generous. Thanks, too, for asking for and listening to my views; for
giving me real insights into such an extraordinary business; and for the
opportunity to contribute.
This looks like such a great work experience gig, I'm so jealous!
ReplyDeletexx Alyssa
VISIONS OF NYC // @alyszsa
It really was fantastic!
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