The highlight of my internship for this week was having the opportunity to actually be at a scene, taking notes and conducting an interview. 

I am working on a long-form profile on a comedian in Pittsburgh. I attended a comedy show that he hosts, which was an interesting an different experience for me. I have never really attended a comedy show before, and it was very funny. The bar atmosphere is also something I don’t often experience, so there was a degree of leaving my comfort zone. Ultimately, though, the kind of reporting I love doing most is exactly this: hanging out in an environment and simply observing. 

Conducting interviews as a reporter for a well-circulated newspaper like the City Paper is also a different experience than reporting for a school newspaper or a blog, I’m learning. Subjects are often excited to be interviewed because they are looking forward to the exposure they know the City Paper can give them. Because of this, actually conducting the interviews feels more rewarding, because the social good of the reporting is pronounced. 

I also got to pick up this week’s paper, which is the first that included a piece of writing from me longer than just a 100 words or so. Still just a 325-word story, an extended “Short List” preview, but it was great to see in print with my byline.