Go Out and Write: My Inquirer Internship Tale

Summer internship is beyond a student's desire to be in a cozy, airconditioned office 9 hours a day, shuffling through piles of documents, where the noises that disturb the atmosphere are friction of pens and coffee mugs and the clanking heels on tiled floors.

My internship ID. 

There's one thing that the Philippine Daily Inquirer internship introduced to me as I clock in my first 9 hours on April 25: If you want to be a real journalist, you have to go out, and you have to follow where the news takes you.

Our internship covers beat reporting and election coverage. Inquirer Metro Editor Volt Contreras assigned Jhesset and I to Eastern Police District (EPD) beat, which covers Marikina, Pasig, Mandaluyong, and San Juan. The beat assignments are based on one's residence, so it's an awesome news to know I'll report from familiar grounds. The word “familiarity” seems to extend its meaning when I found out that our mentor would be former UP Journalism instructor Kristine Felisse Mangunay.

During Thursdays, Ma'am Peps serves as reliever for the Northern Police District (CAMANAVA) reporter. Since we had two districts to cover, we had to disperse. Her first assignment for us is to go the nearest police station and produce two stories within the day by 3 pm. Jhesset went to Marikina Police while I went to Pasig.

Though our newsroom simulation exercises in class have taught us the basic skills in data gathering and writing, the hardest part is still the hunt for newsworthy stories.

In Pasig Police, the blotter had only a few entries of petty crimes, so I decided to go straight to the Station Investigation Unit. Obtaining documents and interviews was a lot easier when you have an identification card from a legitimate news agency. So after spending a few minutes, inside the office, I was able to acquire a story, get interviews, and establish contacts. By 11:30 a.m., I was able to submit my first police story.

Portion of a police blotter entry for the day.

After lunch, I went to the Eastern Police District (EPD) station to acquire relevant statistical reports or recent developments. The Media Relations Desk handed me a copy of gun ban violations report for Marikina, Pasig, Mandaluyong and San Juan. Since nothing big happened that day, I went for the statistical report story.

I had only 30 minutes to write. I knew I had to finish on time. Thank heavens I was able to e-mail the story by 3 p.m.

This long and tiring hunt for news has definitely elevated the respect I hold for daily metro reporters.