The Life of a Student Reporter

Today was my second shift as a Wednesday anchor for WUFT News. It went so well and am very proud to say I did not make as many mistakes as I did the first night. While there is always room for improvement, tonight's show was packed with awesome stories and I think all of our reporters did a great job. Before I went live tonight, I was thinking about things I can start doing to implement in my Wednesday routines aside from just anchoring. And one thing I thought of was to utilize my social media accounts to engage viewers before and after the shows happens. Tonight I decided to give it a shot by posting a video to my Brand Facebook page to say hello and to remind everyone to tune in at 5 p.m. for the show. However, there are a few other things I'd like to test out moving forward. Below is a list of things I'd like to implement and plan on adding to my social media accounts during my time as an anchor for WUFT to engage viewers before, during and after our 5 p.m. s

As I mentioned in one of my more recent posts, I have officially taken a break from being a weekly reporter for WUFT News at the University of Florida. Although I am in my senior year and need as many stories I can get for my reel, I just needed a break (mentally) and just couldn't fit it into my hectic schedule. So instead, I am filling my time by being an anchor every other Wednesday for WUFT as well as taking an investigative reporting class. Sure, my investigative reporting class is something I need to take before I graduate as dictated by my degree audit, but it is also a class I have been wanting to take because it is an area of news I want to improve upon before entering the workforce. My investigative reporting class meets every Monday night and discusses topics like how to develop or even find an investigative story idea, how to nail interviews, how to piece together an investigative story once everything is shot as well as what it takes to get the information needed t

So, a major life update. This semester I will be taking off my reporting hat and have replaced it with an anchor's one. Yes, my blog is all about my time as a student and a reporter, however, I couldn't turn down the opportunity to become a night-time anchor for UF's on-campus news station, WUFT News. Unfortunately, this semester I just couldn't fit time to report on a weekly basis but instead, decided to dedicate my time crafting my talents as an anchor. What does this mean? Well, I will be rotating every other Wednesday as a co-anchor for our 5 p.m. newscast. WUFT mainly broadcasts to the 11 counties surrounding Alachua County or people can watch the show via a live stream link on the WUFT site. My first time stepping into this new role was tonight and it couldn't have gone any better. Sure there were a few bumps along the way and a few stumbles but that's part of the business. It seemed like within a blink of an eye, our 30-minute newscast was over.

Well, hello there! It's been a while since I've been on here and shared some of my weekly struggles and successes. But I'll just get right to the point like I've done before... this summer was a whirlwind! For the month of May, I participated in UF's College of Journalism and Communications Study Abroad Program in Italy. Then from June to August, I was an intern for News Channel 8 in Tampa, Florida. To say my summer was a lot of fun and jammed pack is an understatement. It was a time for personal growth, adventure and a time to truly absorb as much as I could. To kick things off, I'll start with my time studying abroad in Italy. I left with a group of over 100 UF students and went on a 28-day adventure. We all got to live and experience what it was like as a true Italian by living in the city in an apartment and had to go grocery shopping in the markets. It was a big adjustment at first due to the language barrier, currency differences and of course the time