The Davis Enterprise: Davis, CA
My internship at The Davis Enterprise was pinnacle in my shift towards news reporting as a life career. After my mishap at The California Aggie, I thought that I would never be a journalist. I submitted some of my clips from The California Aggie, but I also submitted my Web News articles. I got an e-mail from Linda DuBois saying "You're in..." and I became a summer intern for The Davis Enterprise. I started on the Features desk but I gradually had more opportunities to write for the front page news section by covering local events in the area...and gaining the trust of my editors through accuracy and good writing.
Overall, the Davis Enterprise validated my love for journalism. Through this internship, I found a career that I looked forward to pursuing. I loved entering the office early in the morning with a fresh cup of coffee in hand. But the best part of working at The Davis Enterprise was being able to tell the stories of a community. And that's what draws me to journalism.
October 12, 2004: Up, Up and...Away
(Soft local feature) This is officially my last published article for The Davis Enterprise. The newspaper received a press release that a local author was going to write a kids book about San Francisco. I read the book on the train visiting my family in San Francisco. I love the photo for this story because I personally pitched the idea. I wanted to place the author and the original version of this story next to each other.
BALLOON Photo
October 1, 2004: Teachers are at Tops of Challenge
(Hard news story) My final story assignment from the Davis Enterprise was a front-page event story. The Explorit Corporate Science challenge was fun to cover and watch. I wrote the story that evening on my Palm Pilot keyboard and filed it the very next morning before clearing my desk. Ultimately, this story was symbolic of my journey from soft features to hard news.
September 29, 2004: Bike Safety is a Priority
(Special feature story) This story was the side story for the bike story. I learned a lot of things about bikes and how to ride my own bike more safely. The city treats bikes like cars and even gives B.U.I.s (Biking Under the Influence)! And yes, the incident in the hook has happened to me before. Asphalt does not taste good.
BIKE SAFETY Page 2
September 29, 2004: Motorcades of Bicycles Can Be Seen All Over Davis
(Special feature story) Traditionally, the annual transportation story goes to one of the interns. There is no better way to get around Davis than by bicycle. Writing this story helped me understand the history behind the reason for the bike's popularity. I also learned about the concept of the "bedroom community" which means that Davis is a place where San Francisco and Sacramento employees live. Tim Bustos was my main source in this story. I am still amazed that he bikes to work everyday from Sacramento. Writing this article made me proud of being one of the thousands of bike owners in this community.
September 24, 2004: 'Pillars of the Community Emerge this Time of Year
(Hard news story) The salt marsh caterpillars crawling in north Davis is an annual natural phenomenon in the community. But I was too scared to actually see the caterpillars themselves. This story punished me for not facing my own lepidophobia. I interviewed the entymology expert over the phone and hoped that it would be enough. But Debbie Davis told me, on the day the story was going to run, that she needed a student angle. Uh-oh. I immediately called the school and asked to interview several students over the phone about the caterpillars. Next time, I will be more bold about writing a bug story.
EMERGE Page 2
September 24, 2004: Flying Like An Eagle
(Feature story) I received this story idea from an e-mail from a reader. This story also had sentimental value for me because I used to be a Cub Scout. Young Andrew Hartman was very reluctant to talk to me at first. He told me that there were many other Eagle projects going on and he feared that the story would make the other Eagle scouts jealous. It surprised me because I thought that younger adults would be excited to be interviewed by the newspaper. After many phone calls and coaxing, we finally met up on a weekend afternoon in the newsroom office. Hartman brought his father along. The story transformed not just a story about an Eagle Scout project but the bonding between father and son that this project has caused. With his dad by his side, Andy opened up and talked about the project. Because of Hartman's reluctancy, this was the hardest feature story I ever did. And I'm proud of it. This was one of the original stories that would be part of my portfolio before my experiences in Visalia.
EAGLE Photo
September 10, 2004: Iraq War Dead are Remembered at Vigil
(News story) I received this story idea from a fax machine. The organization faxed an event announcement and I asked the editor if they wanted to do a story on the event. She initially said no. Then, I offered to cover the event that night. It was my first major news story and it hit A1 the very next day. I also got to meet then-unknown activist Cindy Sheehan.
August 23, 2004: Bookish Battles
(Entertainment feature story) This is my first entertainment story from editor Derrick Bang. He gave me a press release about a new game that is Monopoly but it involves books. I met Keneller at her favorite restaurant and she brought the game and showed me how the game worked. This was also the first time I developed a photo idea for a story. Rather than just show the game, I thought a better photo would be of people playing the game and having a good time. This article is also running on Booktastic's official Web site.
August 20, 2004: Saddles, Songs Reign
(Hard News story) This story was my first big break into the realm of personal journalism. Typically, stories such as this are assigned to the staff writers and the interns write feature stories. It just happened that the reporters who would cover this story were on vacation. Debbie Davis had tickets to the annual county fair in Woodland...but I had no transportation to getting there. Fortunately, my friend and co-worker Donna Gutierrez offered me a ride to the fair since she lived in Woodland. While she attended the fair with her family, I ran around with my notebook. Before I went to the fair, I called the spokespersons in advance to let them know I was going to cover the story and what aspecst I should focus on. In the evening, Donna dropped me off at home and I wrote this story in the computer. I woke up early to go to work and file it in the office. This story would be my first front page piece for The Davis Enterprise, but would not be my last.
August 20, 2004: Life Begins at 90
(Soft feature story) This story was my first assignment from The Davis Enterprise, as they tested the waters of my skills. Linda DuBois gave me a post-it with a phone number and the words "oldest woman in Davis." I gave Ms. Bitzer a call and biked to her house to interview her. She was great to talk to. She even ran out to give me a pen that I left behind. Women like Ms. Bitzer are revolutionizing the way that people are aging and I hope I can be as athletic as her if I ever get to that age too.
