I have finished/survived/loved the first 6 days of my internship with the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era.

It is quite amazing the amount of lessons I have learned just this week. I posted a status on Facebook after my first day with a few lessons (airing on the comical side…)

But, in all seriousness, I have been absorbing information right and left. If I’ve gleaned this much after only 6 days, I can barely fathom what I will have by the end of the summer.

One of the most amazing things that I have experienced thus far is being immersed in the news room. It truly is difficult to describe unless you are standing in one, absorbing it. It is a constant hub of activity. Police scanners buzz and chatter rhythmically. Phones ring, sometimes one at a time and others many at once. Editors and reporters call across the room to each other, giving advice and discussing stories.

I do not have a specific desk. At first, I wanted one. But now I’ve come to realize that is it better that I have to migrate each day because I get to be surrounded by the whole spectrum of reporters.

Highlights from my first week:

• Being thrown into writing stories on literally my first day (no lengthy orientation here!)
• Meeting so many kind and professional individuals
• Receiving my photo ID badge – and using it gleefully in the parking garage
• Covering my first few ‘on location’ stories
• Using my lblest@lnpnews.com email… just because it exists

This is going to be quite the extraordinary summer.

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