This newfound confidence just made that process easier. I never lost my love for writing about people. Welk does research for a story he is writing for the Baker City Herald. I talked to two sleep-deprived medics who worked the night shift and were more than happy to see someone from the outside world. They had accepted me. The same was true for the firefighters. Instead of shying away like I might have 10 weeks ago, I was a full participant in a conversation that was full of life and jest. (For the record, there’s nothing wrong with writing out a few questions to cover your bases.) But more important, I wasn’t clinging to a list of questions. Amid the supply trucks and scrambling workers, a football team was practicing for the upcoming season. And there I was the middle of the huddle. My last assignment involved visiting the Rail Fire camp in Unity, Oregon. The firefighters were sharing a school campus with high schoolers. My stories included talking to a Buddhist priest, shadowing a demolition derby driver and meeting a family whose baby almost choked to death. By the end of my internship, I looked forward to meeting new faces. Instead of punishing me with judgmental wrath like I expected, most of my interviewees shrugged off obvious questions and gladly explained things to me. What turned things around was the people I talked to. The conversations didn’t flow naturally, no matter how hard I tried to stray from my prepared list. I knew what I wanted to ask - every J-student is drilled on the four W’s, after all. But something was lacking. Others love talking to people, but maybe they’re less skilled with a pen. I was one of the former.Īt the beginning of my internship, my interviews were rehearsed. Some go into it as introverted writers looking to make it a career. Admittedly, I responded to that comment with inward skepticism.įorrest Welk shares a laugh with his co-worker, Baker City Herald reporter Chris Collins.įrom what I've seen, there are at least two types of people in journalism. This town of under 10,000 people gave me the outlet I needed to engage with a community at a meaningful level. My new landlord told me Baker City offered more than I might expect. But I couldn’t get to that next level without actual newsroom experience.īeginning in June, I’ve worked as a Snowden reporter intern at the Herald. Sure, that’s been my goal ever since I applied to the UO School of Journalism and Communication. The Baker City Herald taught me to escape my bubble. Read the first post in the series, "Developing my T-shaped skills at OPB" by Shirley Chan. Story by Forrest Welk, photos by John CollinsĮditor's note: This is the second in a five-part series of posts written by Charles Snowden Excellence in Journalism interns.
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