Brittney Liddy ‘17 was in the field this summer gathering footage and stories for Utica’s News Channel 2 WKTV as a multimedia journalism intern.
Multimedia journalists go into the field to shoot footage and conduct interviews. They are responsible for cutting and editing their own videos for broadcast. “I was drawn to this career because it put a lot of things that I love together,” says Liddy. “I get to use filming and editing software, but also engage with so many different people— that, to me, is something very exciting to look forward to every day.”
Liddy, a communications major, applied for this internship after taking Professor Glenn Coin’s “Reporting and Writing” class in the spring. Wanting to apply skills she learned in her video production class, Liddy was interested in an internship that would allow her to both shoot film and write.
Since she is from the Utica/Rome area, Liddy shot video and wrote about places and events that are familiar to her. “It’s exciting to get to see things from a media perspective rather than an audience perspective,” she says. “As a media member, I get to speak with people I wouldn’t otherwise be able to speak with.” She covered stories on a memorial service for area veterans, the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame, sporting events, and a press conference for Direct Care Providers, where she met Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi. “When I would go home and watch the 5:00 o’clock news, I already knew everything that is going to be on it—it was an exciting feeling,” says Liddy. “Because many news anchors and multimedia journalists are well known around the area, it was fun to go on scene with them and watch people approach them. I enjoyed the opportunity to attend so many events and meet a lot of people. I liked working for a local news station because I feel more connected to my hometown.”
Some of the best lessons she learned though came from being in the station with veteran journalists. “The people at the station are so kind and welcoming. They took time out of their busy schedules to help me if I had any questions— no matter how small they were,” says Liddy. “I am so thankful I had the opportunity to work with them, as they are all brilliant and so talented. They told me to choose a job because I love it, not for the money. I loved getting to watch them work every day because they are truly excited to produce something they know that they can be proud of.”
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