This week, unfortunately, was an uneventful one. 

Because my boss was on vacation this week, I didn’t go into the office at all. Despite this, I still had my regular weekly workload. I still completed short list entries and attended an art/entertainment event for the Evelyone is a Critic assignment. 

The event I went to was thus Charlie Chaplin Silent Picture Show, which I found to be pretty cool and interesting. This show took place at City of Asylum’s Alphabet City, a cool book store/restaurant/venue for readings, screenings and performances. At this event two musicians played live music paired with old silent films made by Charlie Chaplin. The movies contained timeless slapstick comedy that was only made more interesting and compelling due to the lack of words. The audience was very engaged, and quite crowded for that matter. The woman I interviewed for the assignment was eloquent and friendly. 

My week was actually dominated by my standard job back home – I ended up working 40 hours. So while this was a light week in terms of my internship, squeezing it in was still a challenge. 

This week was one of my most joyful at the internship thus far, as I got to do a lot of writing. Thursday morning, I turned in 1600 words worth of writing. It felt good. 

On Tuesday, after going into the office I went to the National Aviary in the North Side (for the first time) to do some research for a story. Because my internship is awesome, research entailed a trip on Birdly, a virtual reality experience that simulates the experience of flying as a bird around New York City. It was fun and scary and a technological marvel. VR has become rather prominent, and this was my first time trying it. 

While I only had 400 words to work with on this story, I became very proud of the writing. This excerpt is something I particularly like: 

Elizabeth Pacanovsky, 26, and Angela Guy, 34, friends from Cleveland decided to travel to Pittsburgh, and the Aviary was one of their stops. Guy had never been to Pittsburgh before. Neither of them had ever been a bird. 

The bulk of my time spent writing was on the 800 word profile of a comedian I’m working on. Hours upon hours of observation and interviews went into the piece, and the actual process of writing it was lovely. I have what I think are a strong lead, a compelling through-line that characterizes the man in an accurate and interesting way, and some great quotes. 

After turning all of the writing in, I got to sit down with my boss and go over it all, which was really great. Bill O’Driscoll has an impeccable eye for detail and is always able to provide loads of constructive criticism. 

This week, I had to cram a lot of work into less days than usual, because I left Friday for a weekend vacation. Thankfully, my boss was very accommodating to my schedule and pushed some work to the following week for me. 

Tuesday was the very busy and exciting day. I went into the offices around noon, got to Phipps Conservatory for an interview with someone for the Critic assignment around 3, did an interview on the phone in the Phipps cafe with someone else for an additional story, and then at 8 pm I went with a buddy of mine to a comedy show as part of research for a comedian profile I’m working on. 

If there was just one day in my life I felt like an actual reporter, it was that day. 

The phone interview was with Marta Mazzoni, the creator and host of a prominent Pittsburgh podcast called “Marta on the Move.” I had a lovely conversation with her for a feature on her and her show, which is coming up on a 3 year anniversary. I had to turn the story around quickly, so the following days saw me writing it and turning it in for publication by Thursday. 

The comedy show was a lot of fun. There were probably around a dozen comics and I did a lot of laughing. I am starting to see a lot of familiar faces the more I cover comedy, which is satisfying. Pittsburgh comedy is a beat I hope I can focus on going forward. 

It’s hard to believe how quickly time flies during this internship. 

This week, I was a fly on the wall at a meeting at the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. I am working on a story about their Art Residencies program, in which four artists get to know four respective immigrant groups in Pittsburgh to create art that represents their cultures in a two year time frame. At the meeting I got to learn more about how the project is going to work, and got to learn the stories of two immigrants, one from Somali and the other from Bhutan. 

The story is daunting, as there are a lot of moving pieces, and about something I won’t be present as a reporter for the vast majority of. It’s a challenge I am enjoying tackling, though, and one that will be very resonate if done correctly, I think. 

On Saturday, for my weekly Critic assignment, I went to Smoke and Mirrors Penn Out Loud. This art crawl in Bloomfield the weekend of pride appeared to me to be a non-corporate alternative to that weekend’s mainstream pride events. There was a warm, independent feel to the even that I thought was comendable and cool.  

My weeks are getting busier, but I am not complaining. 

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. 

This week, I really started to realize how much I’m learning during this internship. 

The highlight this week was attending an Improv session at the Steel City Improv Theater. I had to do this for my weekly “Everyone is a Critic” assignment and decided to head down with my friend Eddie. Neither of us had been to Shadyside before. When we arrived, we were likely easily impressed, but still, we were amazed by the area. I think what amazed us the most was the fact that this was a sprawling, exciting part of Pittsburgh we have somehow managed not to visit. It made me realize how much I have to learn about Pittsburgh in the grand scheme of things. 

Improv was loads of fun; everyone actually participated. Neither of us have done Improv before, and we both had a blast. Here is a quick snap Eddie took of me improvising a bit about a confused Muslim (me) who found himself the subject of a baptism:

I also got to interview Marcus Stevens, a Point Park graduate with an impressive acting career. I did a small preview for his lead role as God in the comedy An Act of God. He was a fun, nice and eloquent guy and a pleasure to speak with and write about. 

Another good week, this one eye-opening and rewarding. 

At this point in the internship, I feel as though I’m settled in. 

I feel more comfortable doing my job and have stacked up four projects I’m working on independent of my regular, weekly obligations. I am still doing some work for my story about the Toonseum, have an interview set up to start getting to work on a profile of a local comedian, and have been in contact with PR folks for two other stories, on long-form and one short-form. It feels good to have cool, meaty projects like this in progress, alongside the regular work I have to do.

One of the short lists for this week is longer than usual, which means I get to do some original reporting. I am set up to be interviewing an actor in the area for the write-up, which I am excited to do. The Critic for this week was the most enjoyable for me, because I got to attend 3 Rivers Comicon, a really awesome comic book convetnion. I interviewed a rectruiter and father who is also a big daredevil fan, if I can make any assumptions based off of his costume. 

Another week, another round of good work. 

My second week at the City Paper added more responsibility, but also more fulfillment.

Because I already proved I understood how to write the Short List, I was given five to write. I find the events I am told to write about interesting. One of the events was a Comicon I had already planned to attend. Another was a lecture from a famous reporter I had already been aware of form following the news. This reporter is April Ryan, a black reporter who had some infamous run-ins with President Donald Trump and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. 

The Everyone’s a Critic art event I went to was an interesting lecture from Hip-Hop artist Hollyhood about sexism in hip-hop. She was very knowledgeable and eloquent, even though, unfortunately, the event was poorly attended. 

This week I also got to work on a traditional story. I did an interview about and did some research on upcoming efforts from the Toonseum to expand their educational resources for kids. 

That was the big development from this week: I began to add in traditional reporting to my regular schedule. 

My first week at the City Paper came with some pleasant surprises. 

First are the simple things. I get my own cubicle, which is great not just because of the actual cubicle but also because of the air of professionalism that comes with it. There’s a great view of the city in the newsroom, and a nice kitchen. 

Aside from those things, I was impressed with how rewarding I found the work. As was already explained in my original job interview, as the Arts and Entertainment intern, I am in charge of working on short blurbs about upcoming events every week as part of the paper’s “Short List” section. These small pieces of writing usually don’t require a lot of original reporting, but I enjoyed doing them nonetheless. There’s a certain art to putting together information as succinctly and clearly as I’m required to, I have to play close attention to stuff like word choice, phrasing and organization I ways I never quite had to before. 

I am also required to do the weekly “Everyone’s a Critic” feature, which requires one to attend an art event every week, find an attendee, and ask them about their thoughts on the event. Along with that, you also get a photo and some basic information about them. I was required to attend the opening of an art gallery at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, and there I was introduced to a kind of art I wasn’t aware of before. 

I had a good first week. 

VARYING ACCOMMODATIONS ARE MADE ACROSS CITY CAMPUSES

BY MATT PETRAS

On transgender student Cris Wildman’s emails, mail, and student ID at Duquesne University, the name on display is the female name assigned at birth. However, when trans student Heather Leasure signs up for a room at Point Park University, she can room with other women despite her state records identifying her as a male.

In 2016, a year filled with controversial legislation concerning trans rights, colleges in Pittsburgh are tasked with creating a welcoming atmosphere for transgender student.

“Overall, it’s a climate that is really rapidly improving,” said Peter Crouch, describing his own college, the University of Pittsburgh’s main campus. Crouch is transgender and the president of Pitt’s LGBT club, called the Rainbow Alliance.

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