WABC 7 - Sports Department

Professional Internship Summary Paper

Completed at WABC- TV

New York, NY

By Robert Gomulka

Communications Department

for COMM*4955*06 (58931) INT/WABC-TV 7 NEWS SPORTS DPT

Kean University

September-December 2017
Channel 7 WABC-TV is the flagship, local station of the ABC Television Network located near

Lincoln Square New York. The studio is home to many iconic shows like Eyewitness News,

Live with Kelly and Ryan, and World News Tonight that is syndicated nationally. The newsroom

is on the fourth floor while the studio is on the first floor, where the great people of NYC can see

the daily newscast right through the glass windows.

My sister suggested I try to get an internship with WABC because she saw that there

were internships available. She was already working in news at 20/20 and her job interesting to

me so I started applying to various news outlets. I’ve been sending my resume to many places

anyway so I gave it a go. I applied for the internship and was contacted by email after my resume

made it through the first round of the vetting process. I was then contacted again and asked to

come in for a in-person interview.

On interview day I arrived an hour early for the interview but, the line to get into the

cafeteria where the interviews were taking place, was around the block. After signing in for the

interview, I waited until I was called over. The process consisted of a group interview with three

applicants at a time for the sports department. There were only 12 candidates picked to come in

for the interviewed. We were interviewed by sports producer Joe Rupolo directly. Obviously the

interview went well due that I am writing this reflection paper of my internship experience at

WABC. We spoke about what the internship entails and any questions we had about the job we

could ask. I received the phone call from human resources within days of the interview and

began the on boarding process filling out paperwork such as I-9 forms and tax forms. The sports

department had hired 2 interns out of hundreds of applicants for the fall semester. The other

intern is from Montclair State University who worked on Wednesday, Friday, Sunday.
 I worked for their sports department throughout the fall semester on Tuesdays,

Thursdays and Saturdays. Weekdays my hours were from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. and on Saturday I

would work from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. My supervisor was producer Joe Rupolo who taught me all

aspects of production. On Tuesdays I would work with another producer, Mitch Fields. I also

worked very closely with on air reporters Ryan Field, Laura Behnke and Anthony Johnson. Ryan

Field would be in on weekdays while Anthony and Laura worked on the weekends. Laura would

occasionally fill in for Ryan while Anthony Johnson would fill in if Ryan and Laura were both

out either sick or out in the field. This happened a lot during the Yankees playoff run this year.

I was able to shadow the anchors and they would answer any questions I had about the

process on a daily basis. All three anchors are extremely nice and welcoming. There desk is

directly behind me in the small corner where the sports department resides. Sports news is on the

decline as there are big layoffs at ESPN and everyone can get the information straight to their

phone. I feel that sports is still an essential part of any newscast even though most people just

tune in for the weather forecast.

My commute to work involves taking New Jersey Transit from the Linden train station.

Traveling to New York City is a daunting task at first to a person who has only visited a few

times by way of car. After a couple weeks it became second nature and I became more

knowledgable about getting around New York and dealing with construction by the MTA.The

train ride takes around forty minutes to get to 34 St. Penn Station. From there I would have to

take a 1 uptown train four stops until I reached 66th Lincoln Square. The Subway is always

packed which took some getting used to. A round trip to ticket for New Jersey Transit costs $17

and the subway would cost $5.50 both ways. This adds up to $67.50 for the week. Buying

lunch/dinner in New York City is more expensive than New Jersey especially around Manhattan.
This was a paid internship which basically served as commute and food stipend. The goal of the

internship was the opportunity to learn not make money, but if there was no pay it would have

been difficult to commute .

As an intern I was responsible for coordinating video footage of sports highlights for

WABC-TV's Sports Department. Additionally, I gained knowledge in studio and post-production

techniques. I also had the opportunity to go out into the field with the Sports Eyewitness News

team which included the New York Giants training facility and Citi Field. The dress code for a

newsroom was business casual. For going into the field and anchoring I had to dress collared

shirts and a suit. This made the job feel like I was really a part of something professional.

On the first day of my internship, I learned how to properly log a game. I watched a New

York Yankee game and wrote down the times for any play that moved the game forward in

either direction. For example, in the Yankees game, any scoring play that happened would have

to be written down in military or real time for easier access for constructing the show later. It

allows the producers to pick and choose highlights from the evening both to write a script to and

to quickly find the video to be edited for the newscast. I would also need to find color shots of

the stadium and cutaways of fans or anything interesting to be used for the newscast as well. The

only restriction I had in the production process was cutting and editing the video. I was able to

see how it was done but, I can only look through the footage to find certain plays or catch up on

games in progress.

As time went on I would be given more games and responsibilities regarding games. I

started of the internship doing logging one game and by the end of the internship I am now able

to do 4 games at the same time which took a lot of pressure off my producers. The sports I

primarily worked on were Major League Baseball, the NBA, men’s and women’s college
basketball, college football and the NHL. The teams covered from these sports were around the

New York Metropolitan area. Sports had become more involved in my daily life because I had to

know every breaking story whether it be an injury or a trade. Week by week I was logging games

and became more and more familiar with the software.

My desk was right next to produce so I could observe everything they do. In front of us is

a big wall garnished with eight televisions which have certain games being played as well as a

big digital clock. My internship entails logging games, meaning writing down important

moments that happen during game and statistics. I was also the person who tries to receive sound

after the game or practice by holding a recorder on the professional athletes. The recordings and

information will be used by Ryan Field during the live broadcast of nightly news and the

ABC7NY website/APP. Along with working in the field for games covered, I was also able to

assist with the live broadcast and operations in the studio. I can even pitch stories about local

athletes for a segment entitled "Future Stars" to reporters Ryan Field and Laura Behnke. Interns

also have the opportunity to practice stand-ups and to learn within the field of reporting and

broadcasting. After I was comfortable I was given the opportunity to start writing scripts that

were checked by producers and checked before being used.

Being in the newsroom you must always be in the know. Even though I am in the sports

department I started to become more interested in news and needed to know all current events. I

started receiving information of the day through wire services directly to my phone. I never used

to try to access this information before this internship. I would occasionally get my news from

Twitter or word of mouth. It has also got me more interested in sports that I do not usually

watch. Baseball and Hockey were the to sports that were not a part of my television routine. Now
I am big fan of the New York Yankees and Mets as well the New Jersey Devils, the New York

Rangers and Islanders

One of the stories I remember writing was for the Philly Phanatic who is the official

mascot of the Philadelphia Phillies. The story was about how he had a pregame date with a Los

Angeles Dodger’s reporter and proceeded to spill his drink all over her. The funny story was

used a kicker in the newscast which is generally a funny or heartwarming story to end the night.

Other stories I wrote scripts for was MLB netting, injuries for the Jets and protests in NFL

football.

The newsroom is very fast paced environment especially when it when everyone is trying

to upload last minute content into the system. The program used for the newscast is called Dalet

Galaxy. Dalet contains everything needed to produce a newscast. The rundown can be found in

the program as well as all recordings across the board available to everyone in the newsroom.

Sports is located in the D-block and is usually given only a three minute chunk in the 1 hour

newscast. It is also the first thing to get cut out if there is breaking news or if programming runs

over time delaying the show. This happened multiple times where a full show would be produced

and it would be cut. Dalet gives everyone the ability to write edit and produce right from a

computer feeding everything into one place.

I was able to go into the control room on multiple occasions and see how the show comes

to life. A voice would echo a countdown with a British accent before going live on air. There are

3 people in the control room talking to reporters in ear pieces as the go through the rundown

story by story. It is very high stress and pressure in the control room because it is their job to

make sure things run smoothly and on time. Anchors and reporters are told directly whether if

they should speed up slow down, if a story had been taken out, if there is something wrong or if
there is breaking news. One memory I had was how great Laura Behnke was when she was in

Houston covering the series between the Yankees and the Astros. She was doing a live shot right

after the game where fans were walking out. Hecklers were present and the way they got around

it in the control room and how she got the people to leave during commercial was an amazing

thing to see.

My first experience going into the field was when I went to New York Giant’s Training

facility in East Rutherford. On arrival I received my media credentials and awaited the staff

letting us into the locker room after a practice. The New York Giants were struggling this season

and our main goal was to receive quotes also known as sound from Eli Manning, Davis Webb

and Janoris Jenkins. Upon walking in we received packets with a lot of information about the

team provided by the PR team of the Giants.

I was able to prepare questions to ask the players if need be. Once in the locker room

player were still changing after practice and the group of reporters flocked to Eli Manning first.

My job was to hold the ABC 7 microphone up to the players as they answered questions. I also

helped out NBC sports holding there microphone as well. Eli was a stand up guy answering

questions with class. The group then moved on to Davis Webb who at the time was thought to

get some playing time for the struggling Giants at quarterback. After interviewing him we waited

to interview Janoris Jenkins who had recently been suspended for violating team rules. He kept

us waiting for a long time and then finally refused to talk to the media. We sent the footage of

what we had by sending a video feed to the newsroom who then would record the video. The

device used to do all this was called Dejero which was all contained in a small back pack.The

camera man Roger and I then left and went back to the studio where I continued to log games for

the night.
 Another time I had the opportunity to go into the field was to cover the 2018 Bridgestone

Winter Classic at Citi Field. The ice plant arrived in Queens which is a 53 foot 300 ton trailer is

the world’s largest refrigeration unit that houses a state-of-the-art ice-making and monitoring

equipment that helps create an NHL ready ice for a hockey rink for outdoors. This annual game

is one of the Marquee events for the NHL and I was able to get sound from Mike Craig who is

the NHL Senior Manager, Facilities Operations and Hockey Operations. The game will take

place on New Years day between the New York Rangers and the Buffalo Sabres.

After retrieving sound from Mike Craig, and filming some b-roll which was later used as

a vo/sot (voice-over.Sound on tape) in the newscast at 6 p.m. that day, I was able to record my

own stand up about the event. I had to come up with a short little piece and have the chance to

have it recorded as if I was an actual reporter. This was a great experience putting me in a

situation that reporters would have to do on a regular basis. I was also given the footage of the

standup later where I can make my own package and use it for my demo reel.

There was very little down time when at the job, but when there was I was able to walk

around and meet people around the newsroom and ask questions about what they do. Down the

hall from the sports department was the 7 On Your Side team so I became friends with the

interns there. Many of the other interns that I met worked on the 6th floor who were involved in

marketing and other areas of the business.

Being an WABC employee comes with a lot of perks. Under the Disney umbrella WABC

offered interns free tickets to the hit Broadway show Aladdin. The show was very cool having

special effects and the iconic songs from the Disney classic. Other than orientation here is where

I met most interns from other departments. Due to my hours working nights I do not see other

interns often so I was able to connect with them and ask them questions about their positions.
The interns and I who went to the Aladdin show were also featured in the Intertainment weekly

newsletter.

Another event where interns were allowed to go to was a taping of Good Morning

America in Times Square. The guests for the day included Mel Gibson and Ellen Pompeo of

Grey’s Anatomy. We were able to see the behind the scenes production of a national show which

was a great experience. All of the hosts were great and nice to us including Robin Roberts,

Michael Strahan and George Stephanopoulos. This was another opportunity to connect with

interns and meet new people. We also were given $100 dollar gift cards to Wal-Mart and blanket

for being a part of the studio audience. Watching how the cameras operated and the precision of

set changes during commercials really interested me when it came the the production of the live

show.

The final show I was given tickets for was to be an audience member for Live With Kelly

and Ryan. Andy Cohen took Ryan Seacrest’s spot for the day as he was on vacation. The live

interns showed me everything week’s earlier backstage and the inner workings of the live show.

The show I attended had guests Christoph Waltz and Kandi Burress. There were a lot of

similarities in how production was handled at Live and at Good Morning America. It was

interesting to be a part of a live studio audience and see how it all comes together. There are so

many people behind the scenes and it is a cool thing to see get done.

During my time at WABC I also was able to get many discounts around the city with the

use of my I.D. for places like the Disney store and many other places. With these discounts I

have found an appreciation for the great food of New York. We are also offered a free pass to

Disney World if used during our time of the internship. Unfortunately I had no time to utilize this

pass. I was unable to take a weekend off to be able to go to Florida.

 Many events were were optional for interns to volunteer for and I chose to work the

WABTV Children’s Holiday Party. The theme of the event was Beauty and The Beast. It was

held in the garage in the basement of the building. It was transformed into a the Disney theme

with games, a Bell bouncy castle and many more fun things for the kids. Me and other interns

had various jobs to do but, my primary role was to take photos of the families with Santa. Each

family would receive a printed photo as well as a BlueRay copy of the newest rendition of

Beauty and The Beast. The holiday party also boasted a talent show where the employees kids

would perform in the Live with Kelly and Ryan studio. Hosted by Bill Ritter the amazing kids of

WABC shared their talents from singing to magic tricks. Weather reporter Amy Freeze’s

daughter played Carol of the Bells on piano which one of the most memorable performances the

day. These events were unpaid but was a great experience where I met a lot of people and had a

lot of fun.

I had also volunteered for the internship recruitment night to help out the interview

process for the upcoming interns for the spring semester. It was surreal being on the other side

when not to long ago I was the nervous kid coming into Lincoln Square not knowing what to

expect. I was glad to see some classmates from Kean there and one of them was interviewing for

Sports so I was able to put in a good word and she eventually got the position. There was

hundreds of wide eyed kids giving it their best to try to get internships at the many departments

at WABC.

This internship has taught me many things about broadcast journalism giving me an

inside look into what its like to work in a newsroom, in the field and in a television studio. On

my final day of the internship I was given the opportunity to do everything on my own. I would

come in as if I was the anchor/ producer for the day. Wearing my Sunday best for my final day I
was responsible for writing the scripts for all the stories. At the end of the day I would go to the

studio and record demo reel for me to take home with me on a flash drive. This is an amazing

thing to have from WABC to show other employers what I am able to do in front of the camera.

The last day was a culmination of everything I had learned through my internship experience and

I was grateful for the opportunity to work in such a great work environment.

Having WABC on my resume will be very beneficial for the future. It shows that I had

the chance to work at the New York’s number one news channel and I can handle hectic

environments working under pressure. It was tough going in on my last day and turning in my id.

Internships are odd in that as soon as you get comfortable and know everyone around the office

it is time for you to leave. The time flew by for this semester and hope this internship will lead to

a job in media or broadcasting in the future.