Turn The Page

It was the perfect ending to the perfect story of my summer.

After multiple triple-digit days accompanying Wichita's finest reporters and photographers around south-central Kansas, it is time for me to return to school in Lawrence.

From crime to crops, and from the aviation industry to tornado victims, this summer has been quite an adventure. I've gone to all corners of the city on stories, including many of the small suburb towns. But, as far as 'long-distance' travel goes, I went to stories in:

• McPherson
• Hutchinson
• Newton
• Augusta/Towanda
• Wellington
• Sun City
• Lucas

This summer has been memorable for multiple reasons, but the days I spent at KAKE were always exciting and educational. It will be hard, I think, to leave it and go back to school. But, if I didn't go back, how would I ever use the knowledge I accumulated this summer?

And today's adventure in storytelling was no different... In fact, it was probably the best day so far.

Today was last day interning at KAKE-TV, and I got another great opportunity to work alongside Larry Hatteberg as he filmed his latest "Hatteberg's People" story.

As we left Wichita this morning, the clouds seemed to follow us all the way up I-135 to Concordia and Cloud County. There was a notable difference in the landscape between the two counties: Sedgwick was brown and dry; Cloud, green and lush. The stalks of corn and milo waved in the gentle wind as we drove by on the blacktop to St. Joseph, Kansas.

This small community of 15 or so residents (not to be confused with St. Joe's Ost in Sedgwick County), resides a few miles outside of Clyde, near Concordia.

Even as we were still a few miles away from the town, we could already see the towering church steeples. As the town was a French community, it appeared that they had modeled their church, St. Joseph Parish, after Notre Dame Cathedral.

And, like many older, farming communities, the town was centered around the church, which was no longer being used by the diocese.

The other main attraction was our story: The St. Joseph Store, owned by the Girard family. Originally built in 1888, the Girard family took over the store a few years ago after it had been closed for nearly 20 years. They opened it up as a part-time restaurant in May, and said they enjoy seeing the community come together at the store -- just like it used to before it closed down.

The whole time we were working on the story, I couldn't help but think of the fact that it was my last day. But, as I talked to Larry on our way to and from Cloud County, I became more reassured -- about the future and about the past.

Of all the things I contemplated about or had the opportunity to do this summer, I am satisfied in my choice to intern at KAKE-TV. As I go back to school, my classmates will tell me about their internship experiences -- some at local TV stations or newspapers; others, at national affiliates like USA Today or ESPN.

But, KAKE will always be my home. I watched it as a child, fascinated with the stories they told, the people they encountered, and the community they effected. I wouldn't have wanted to intern anywhere else this summer.

It was an amazing experience, but it's time to turn the page in my story. This chapter has already been written.

Did I learn a lot? Yes, as I hope you readers have witnessed first-hand.

Did I have fun? Yes, as much as you can have when you cover both inspiring, indifferent, and depressing news stories.

As I said my goodbyes to the reporters, photographers, producers, anchors, directors, and editors, I felt relief and satisfaction -- relief in knowing that the summer (and the heat) was mostly over; satisfaction in knowing that I had done my best and absorbed all the knowledge that I could.

I also take pride in the fact that I worked with some of the best in the business, and I hope that my own work demonstrates all of the great lessons that they have taught me.

As I go forward in my journalism and story-telling career, all I can do is persevere through all obstacles and always do what I think is right.

At least, that's what my teachers taught me this summer at KAKE-TV.

Things Fall Apart & Things Come Together

During the last few weeks, my days interning at KAKE-TV have not been as frequent as before.

Nevertheless, they have still been interesting and worthwhile.

One day, I followed a story about high energy bills because of the scorching heat and what Westar was doing to help people make payments. That day, though, the reporter-photographer team had been following different story leads. All three or four story ideas had fallen through, and energy bills were the only viable option for the day.

On another occasion, Larry Hatteberg was also having trouble finding a "Hatteberg's People" story. He had called multiple people, but wasn't able to get a hold of anyone. He was almost to deadline, and was tempted to cancel the segment for the week, when he finally got a call back.

A different evening, a photographer and I were going on a string of stories to shoot. Each of them were close enough and at different time intervals, we figured we'd be able to make it to all three. As we were driving to the first assignment, our assignment editor called: there was a change of plans.

We had to scratch our first assignment (which probably wasn't that important anyway), and went down to Derby, where a tree had fallen onto a house. It was a much better story, but it ended up changing our scheduled stops, and we had to ad lib.

Clearly, journalists don't like their stories like they like their eggs: scrambled.

And, I agree. Sometimes stories need momentum, research, and depth to really be successful. Something that just happens on the fly could work, but it's certainly not ideal.

But, in the news industry, those long-term, well-researched stories almost never happen. Everyday, there's a new story, and most of the time you don't know about them in advance.

On the other hand, sometimes stories that come together last minute can actually turn out quite well.

Last week, as a photographer and I were en-route to a routine bus inspection, we got a call that a woman's roof had been partially peeled off from the previous night's storm.

Even though she was not especially welcoming to us, I think she got some reassurance and comfort in knowing that her story would be shared with the city. It was depressing to see the damage that had been done to her home, but both of us were very sensitive and grateful for her willingness to talk to us.

And, today, one of our reporters was having difficulty finding a worthwhile story. As he was calling possible sources, the police scanners rang out: "Bank Robbery. Sunflower Bank. 2073 Webb Road."

From that time on, my ears were glued to the radios, to hear any developments or updates in the story. We got a detailed description of the robbery suspect (a much better description than any of our competitors). The police found the get-away abandoned in a nearby neighborhood.

But, in a Batman-type move, the bank had put a tracking device on the money, and officers were able to locate the three suspects in an Northeast Wichita home. No one was injured in the robbery or the search afterward.

So, in a seemingly fortunate twist of fate, our reporter had a story--and a good one at that.

Ultimately, as one of our anchors wisely said: "Every day is different."

Sometimes your stories fall apart; sometimes your stories come together; and sometimes, both of those things happen on the same day.

If I've learned anything about journalism, it's that this business is unpredictable. Plans and outlines can last five minutes before they get changed. I can't imagine how many times a news director calls a reporter or photographer and vice versa -- simply because a story didn't work out... or because it worked out better than expected.

I know that it's cliche to say "predict the unpredictable," but I would rather say, "Don't predict the unpredictable. Predict that things will fall apart and that things will come together. And then, take your chances on which it will be."