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Internship Diary by Jo Beth Bender, IU Bloomington AlumnaWednesday, May 11, 2005 During this internship, I will be learning about the numerous aspects of home video production. I will be assisting in all levels of pre-and post-production. I take my classroom knowledge and apply it to a real-world work situation. I hope to learn more about the difficulty and creativity that goes into video production. I also hope to learn about the educational and production values that make the Sesame Workshop a wonderful and enduring organization. I hope that my internship with IRTS will help me find employment or at least assist in my job search process. This program will be a great place for networking, and I hope to meet professionals in the industry who can offer suggestions regarding future employment. Regardless, my main goal during this fellowship is to work hard at my internship and enjoy my time in New York. After my internship, if I am having trouble finding work, I would like to take time to travel around the world and take time for myself. In the near future, I hope to use my media skills to attain a position with an educational or non-profit organization doing media or public relations. I want to use my skills and knowledge to promote ideas or concepts, and use my resources to help those in need. Tuesday, June 7, 2005 New York City  I arrived on Sunday, and I have been completely bombarded with conferences, meetings, and workshops. The first week of the fellowship is entitled “O” or Orientation Week. All of the summer fellows are bustled and hustled to the top media companies in the Manhattan area to listen to guest speakers. On Monday, I had the opportunity to visit Nielsen Media Research and Court TV. I sat in on a number of interesting guest speakers, who included:
Joyce Tudryn, President, IRTS Foundation
Jim Rosenthal, President, New Line Television
Susan Whiting, President and CEO, Nielsen Media Research
Robert Luff, Executive Vice President/Chief Technology Officer Nielsen Media Research
Henry Scheiff, Chairman and CEO, Court TV ®
Today (Tuesday) was our “slow day.” We woke up early and traveled to Rockefeller Plaza for a seminar entitled “Diversity in Radio.” The fellows had the opportunity to go through extreme security to travel to a meeting room with industry professionals and IRTS board members. After the panel discussion, I had the opportunity to hear about “Upfronts and Ad Sales” for ABC. I had the opportunity to shake hands and meet with: Mike Shaw, president, sales and marketing, ABC Television Network. We heard about marketing and sales strategies for all ABC programming. And since ABC swept the Upfront market recently, it was exciting to hear from Mr. Shaw and his staff about how intricate it is to sell “time.” After our time at Rockefeller Center, we split into small groups to tour and speak with professionals in media rep firms. I had the opportunity to visit Petry Media Corporation, which represents select TV stations to leading national ad agencies and their advertiser clients. It was great because I had the opportunity to speak with Philip B. Kirk, senior vice president of Blair Television. He actually knew where my hometown of Evansville, Indiana, was because he has clients there! The city is great but intense! I am meeting the most powerful people in the industry, and I could not be more thrilled. I never realized how prestigious this program was until I got here. The IRTS fellowship program is like a golden ticket into the media world. Many media companies recognize the IRTS name because they are involved in the organization. Regardless, each person still has to work hard to make a name for himself or herself in the competitive media atmosphere. I will keep you posted as the week continues. I am on the go from 6 in the morning until 9 at night, so I am constantly busy. Tomorrow will be very exciting because the fellows get to go on a tour of the NBC Studio! In addition, we get to meet and listen to Brian Williams from NBC Nightly News as a guest speaker. Thursday, June 9, 2005 New York City  This week has been extremely fast-paced and exhausting. Yesterday, the fellows had the opportunity to visit NBC Universal and tour the facilities. We learned about how to break into NBC Universal through the Page Program, which is a post-graduate, entry-level program where aspiring young professionals can work on NBC programs as well as administrative and business offices and programs.
After learning about this program, we toured the facilities of NBC and had the pleasure of visiting the sets of Saturday Night Live, Dateline NBC, and Nightly News. After the amazing tour through the corridors of NBC, the fellows were thrilled and privileged to meet Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News. Mr. Williams is the most eloquent and deserving talent in the news industry. He is the epitome of the American dream, following his passions through his entire life. He has a passion for American history, especially past U.S. presidents. His most wonderful attribute is his passion for real, hard news stories. His integrity and openness about the future of news was a real eye opener for all of the fellows. I will never watch another news broadcast, because I know his attention to detail in terms of news accuracy and integrity can never be truly matched by another individual. The rest of the afternoon was filled with guest speakers:
Andy Meyer is a talented producer whose credits range from Blind Date to American Idol. He is an amazing and gifted man who told us about his upcoming project for America Online. I would reveal it, but for right now it is top secret…..don’t worry, you will see the marketing and advertising for it soon enough. On Wednesday evening, all of the fellows attended a welcome reception. I had the opportunity to meet professionals from The Ad Council, MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, and many other smaller media companies in the New York area. Sunday, June 12, 2005 After the board meeting we traveled to Avenue of the Americas to listen to the ins and outs of Clear Channel Radio from Andrew Rosen, regional vice president of Clear Channel Communications. While Mr. Rosen was informative and humorous (in addition to hooking the fellows up with free tickets), he disappointed me in the fact that he totally avoided any questions about Clear Channel policies and the real deal behind consolidation of media properties. Once the Clear Channel meeting concluded, the fellows traveled to Coltrin and Associates to hear about the wonderful world of public relations. This particular firm represented the International Olympic Committee during the Salt Lake City scandal. [Editor’s Note: Seven years ago, Salt Lake City won the right to host the Olympic Games by allegedly showering lavish gifts on International Olympic Committee (IOC) members and their families. An IOC investigation accused 13 Olympic officials of accepting bribes from Salt Lake City organizers. At least four IOC members were forced to resign, and the IOC said it would change the way it selected host cities.] Clear Channel also developed the Subservient Chicken idea for Burger King, one of their biggest clients. And last but not least, the fellows took the subway and walked to ABC to hear about “Research, Marketing, and Branding” from ESPN’s Vice President of Audience Research Glenn Enoch (former fellow). It was amazing to see how intricate and substantial the system to obtain ratings can be. I have much more respect for these people now that I have seen the statistics firsthand. Friday was the last day of orientation for the fellows. We started the morning with a bang by having mock interviews at HBO. Did anyone know that HBO has secret doors in the walls? Anyway, I had the opportunity to “fake” interview with a number of top executives in the media industry. My favorite mock interview was with Barry Blyn, VP of research at Comedy Central. After the tension from the mock interviews, the fellows traveled to Chelsea Market to visit the Food Network which was beyond amazing! The atmosphere and decor of the building was so retro and yet hip. We sat in the Food Network boardroom and spoke with the president of the Food Network, senior vice president prime time programming, and vice president of marketing. They also showered us with gifts such as T-shirts and hats. The best part of the trip was when we took a tour through the facilities. We got to see the studios and prep rooms for all programming. And, talk about luck….we got to sneak into the studio to see Rachel Ray taping her show Thirty Minute Meals. I was blown away and ecstatic since she only tapes six weeks out of the year. The finale of orientation week was at NY1 News, a Time Warner local cable news station. Anyone addicted to technology would adore this facility. The building is filled with intense producers and techno addicts. In addition, there are no human bodies running equipment in the studio. Everything is automated! I have never seen anything like it. When we entered NY1 News, the office was in shambles because Law & Order was using the office for a future episode of the show. I am purely exhausted from so much stimulation! Wednesday, June 15, 2005 I am working directly under a production assistant. The work I am doing varies daily, but I get to watch a great deal of video, which I personally enjoy. The entire production process for Sesame Street and the home video department is intricate and detailed. Even the scripts that I have read are enormous! I am really excited because I had the opportunity to go into Elmo’s office while he was gone. Elmo is really the only character who has an office here since they tape the actual shows in Astoria/Queens. This summer I will be assisting with the first potty training video for Sesame Street. Hopefully, I will have more details as the job continues. I am only on my third day right now, so we will see what happens. Last night, the IRTS fellows had our first weekly meeting. We met a writer and two producers of The Daily Show. It was a fun-filled conversation filled with an interesting debate between entertainment and actual news. Just so everyone is clear, The Daily Show is designed for entertainment purposes, and Jon Stewart is deeply involved with the writing and production process. Saturday, June 25, 2005
These videos are spectacular. I also got a sneak peek into the extras for the Friends to the Rescue DVD, which were really wonderful. The production process for a Sesame video involves a great deal of time and organization. I get the opportunity to work on numerous tasks that are creative or even more business ended. Occasionally, I will also run errands in Manhattan for my department. I am now very skilled at hailing a cab and navigating through the city. The other day, I had the opportunity to visit Sony and see the basement studios when I was delivering scripts. On a more relaxing and social note, I took my first trip to Coney Island today. My roommates and I also went to the New York Aquarium. Coney Island is such a fun place, and it was so surreal to walk on the famous boardwalk. Tuesday, June 28, 2005 After the museum, I went downtown to Herald Square and the famous Macy’s department store. After spending way too much time and money, we traveled even more downtown to Ground Zero. We took the E Subway that goes directly to the site. It was very moving and profound to see Ground Zero up close—it was almost surreal. New York is wall-to-wall buildings and developments, but the site of the World Trade Center is a huge empty space with random crosses built right after the towers were attacked. While this truly affected me as an American, it is truly hard to look at this site from the eyes of a non-New Yorker. I wish I could have seen the city with the towers before this disastrous attack to get the full impact of the tragedy. Nevertheless, the pictures explain it all. On Monday, it was back to work at Sesame! My work environment is truly unique, and I have a great deal of respect from my supervisors. I feel like they are friends as much as colleagues. The exciting part about Monday is that Buena Vista donated tickets for the fellows to the premiere of Dark Water starring Jennifer Connelly. It was a red carpet event, which was very thrilling. The security was crazy! I had to give them my cell phone and ID, and I also had to be scanned twice by a metal detector. I actually had the opportunity to see Jennifer Connelly walk into the small theatre with her very gorgeous husband, Paul Bettany. I also saw up close Ariel Gade, John C. Reilly, and Tim Roth. The movie was extremely scary, but I was trying to keep my cool since there were industry executives and stars all around me. At the end, I was walking into the lobby with some of my friends and Jennifer Connelly stepped out in front of me with her husband! I was only centimeters away from her….it was so exciting! I almost fainted. As we were walking behind them, one of the other fellows had the guts to go directly up to Jennifer and start up a normal and fun conversation. She appears to be very down-to-earth and appreciative of her fans. What can I say, just another day in New York! Monday, July 4, 2005
I also learned a great deal of information about what the United Nations accomplishes on a daily basis. For example, did you know the United Nations is responsible for expiration dates on milk cartons? Wednesday, July 13, 2005 The production meetings are very interesting because the everyday person does not realize what it truly takes to put a production of any kind together. The process of production is a complex level of little details. Unfortunately, my internship ends before they start filming at Astoria, so I am trying to take in everything I can before I end my work in New York. July 14, 2005
July 16, 2005 July 23, 2005
The video also focuses on how accidents happen and that potty training is a process that takes time. I have also been working on a project entitled “Sesame Beginnings.” The home video department is in post production for the first episode of this series that features Elmo, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, and Prairie Dawn as babies. The first episodes also feature celebrities with their children.
Tuesday, August 9, 2005 I have recently returned to Indiana after my wonderful internship and fellowship in New York. While I am glad to be at home relaxing, I miss my daily work at Sesame Workshop and the people in the home video department. But most importantly, I miss the friends I made during my time living at New York University. I made exceptional friendships with the most talented people I have ever met. It is hard leaving behind such a family environment. Nonetheless, my experience was life changing. I now know that my future career must involve some level of public service or development. My passion involves helping others through creativity. Hopefully, my talents, work experience, and personality will lead me to future employment in the media industry. |
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I learned about the
On Thursday (June 9), the IRTS fellows had the opportunity to attend an official board meeting in which each of us had to individually introduce ourselves to the most significant people in the industry. This meeting took place at the ritzy Waldorf-Astoria and was very intimidating. Of course, this would be the day that my metro/subway card would decide not to work anymore. My program coordinator, Amy Peloso, had to actually purchase a new card for me.
As always, things are extremely crazy in New York. On Monday, I started as a full-time intern with the Sesame Workshop in the Sesame Home Video Department. The Sesame Workshop is an amazing place. When I walked into the reception area on Monday, I felt like I was stepping into a magical Candy Land. The carpets are made of a blocked rainbow pattern and the couches are rainbow colored and very plush. The doors and offices are vibrant colors and Sesame Street merchandise is everywhere to be seen. I knew when I walked in that I was definitely a lucky person.
NYC is truly nonstop for me. I am working full-time while attending functions for my fellowship. I really have very little time for myself—but believe me, the time is already flying by so fast. My internship is wonderful. In the Sesame Street Home Video department, I am given numerous tasks that vary on a daily basis. I have already had the opportunity to view and assist with minor tasks with some of the latest home videos that will be released this year:
Sunday was a day filled with sightseeing and heat in the city. I traveled with my roommates to 
New York around the Fourth of July is intense. Almost everyone in New York takes some sort of vacation around this holiday. I had the opportunity to see the Macy’s fireworks from Seaport as well as tour the United Nations. Out of everything I have seen in New York, this tour was the most fulfilling. I had the opportunity to view all three chambers of the United Nations and that was very moving in all respects. 
Yesterday at my internship, I had the opportunity to attend the home video production meeting for the Sesame Street potty video. Producers, directors, and even Elmo himself occupied the room. I was in charge of assisting with setup, cleanup, and the catering for lunch and dinner. In between, I had a script in my hand and took notes on the ideas thrown out on the table. 
Today is my 22nd birthday in the Big Apple. My roommates are taking me to dinner, rather dessert palooza, at the famous Serendipity restaurant. This dining facility was made even more famous by the movie with the same title, which starred John Cusack! The desserts they serve are delicious and are truly as large as your head. The Home Video department at Sesame also threw me a mini party with delicious cupcakes and a musical candle! 
Last night, I enjoyed a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. This ferry is excellent because it is completely free and goes right past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We decided to go in the early evening to enjoy the sunset over the statue. Today was incredibly exciting because I went through my first Broadway lottery experience. My friend Stefani and I have been dying to see the smash hit musical Wicked. This particular show is very difficult to get tickets for because it is sold out until January. We decided to go three hours early and put our names in a lottery to see if we could get front row seats for $25 a piece. They only select 14 people for 28 seats out of the hundreds that show up. To our extreme luck and amazement, we had the opportunity to see one of the greatest Broadway shows up close and personal by getting tickets. The show was so amazing. I truly wanted to cry throughout the whole performance. You find yourself rooting for the Wicked Witch during the entire performance.
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