SRL Spotlight: Gabriel Gamiño

Gabriel Gamiño, a member of the inaugural SRL All-Stars Class, will be documenting his internship experience at Arizona PBS. Follow his journey here.

Week 5:

This week is my second to last week at PBS. All I can hope for is that my final week at Eight goes by as slow as possible. I’ve enjoyed every single moment of it, and I have learned a lot of new things.

I’m currently working on editing my news package about conflict minerals. I’m also making final edits to a previous package I produced about common core. My deadline is basically next Thursday since we are off for the Fourth of July.

After that, I’ll have about a month before flying out to our nation’s capital. I’m excited about going, but I’m also just a tad bit nervous about going on a plane for the first time. I’ve heard the bad parts are takeoff and landing. Some say it’s like a roller coaster. I don’t know what to expect. Next week I’ll also have my two final interviews in regards to the packages. One with a consumer of electronics to ask how they feel or if they even know what conflict minerals are and the other one with a student and their views on common core.

I leave you all for now. Five weeks down, one to go.

Week 4:

As this week came to a close, I realized that my internship is ending in two weeks. I’m trying to make each day count as much as possible.

The weeks before were full of fun and exciting new opportunities and this week were no different. I conducted two interviews to learn more about conflict minerals. My first interview was with Arizona State University professor Dr. Donald Burt. We spoke about the formation and sourcing of minerals. The other interview was with Intel’s Director of Corporate Responsibility Gary Niekerk to learn how Intel is handling the issue. In my opinion, the issue of conflict minerals is important, but not a lot of people actually know about it. You’ll learn more about it once my news package is done.

With only two weeks left,  it’s time to get editing and I hope these days go as slow as possible. I’ll miss walking into the station every morning and working on something new every day, but for these next two weeks, I’ll work my hardest and try to make the best of them. ”

Week 3:

What can I say?

This week has been by far one of my most productive and rewarding weeks so far. I was able to try many different things, including coordinating a show for Arizona Horizon. I got to work hands-on and learn what it takes to produce a live show, including working on the script and welcoming guests.

Another opportunity I really enjoyed was talking to high school students from Arizona and around the country via a Q&A session led by the ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications High School Summer Journalism Institute. The institute is a two-week program where students learn about what it’s like to be a journalist. As an alum, I was able to share a little about of my own experience at SJI and about my journalism experience in general.

The students were just as passionate about journalism as I am.

I was also given the opportunity to speak about Student Reporting Labs, my experience as a producer for Bruin Television, along with diversity in the newsroom and how being Latino has both helped and made it harder for me in the field. I reminded them that there are good opportunities everywhere.

Being an Intern at Eight, Arizona PBS has given me the chance to not only pay it forward to these students but to learn a little more about myself and the field. I can’t wait to see what other new experiences come in the next four weeks.

Week 2:

This past week has shown me how tricky it can be to be a journalist. Everything you do can cause another thing to change — sort of like the domino effect. A perfect example of this would be sitting in the control room hoping that all the programming gets out on time. Twenty seconds make a huge difference on live television.

Another example of this is making phone calls and sending emails for a story. If your contacts don’t reply on time, then you get set back. Time does not wait. It just keeps running and deadline gets closer.

This week I’ve also had the opportunity to shadow an Arizona Horizon reporter and videographer. I spent the day with them as they covered a story. I learned some more skills such as shooting b-roll, lighting and even how to conduct interviews. This has helped me prepare for the story I’ve started working on.

Eight, Arizona PBS has taught me a lot in just two weeks. I can’t wait to see what other new experiences come in the next four weeks.

Week 1:

I was nervous the minute I walked in, but I knew it’s where I belonged. I got a sense of home, and it reminded me of walking into the Bruin Television studio. I arrived early to make sure nothing would go wrong. On the outside, I think I seemed like a confident recent high school grad, but on the inside, I was clueless about what was to come.

Being at Arizona PBS as an intern for a week has opened my eyes. I have learned a lot more about journalism from working behind the scenes to the production aspect of what goes into a show.

Being at Arizona PBS can’t be compared to Bruin Television. They are at two different levels. When you hear the countdown it’s real and you are about to broadcast into the homes of people across the city. So far It’s been a great experience, and I look forward to the next five weeks to come.