Chester native completes internship at KSDK Channel 5
<span>CHESTER -- Broadcast journalism is about more than a pretty face.</span>
<span>Taylor Crum, a 21-year-old Murray State University senior and Chester native, recently completed an internship at KSDK Channel 5 in St. Louis.</span>
<span>She was one of 10 interns at the station this summer.</span>
<span>"We got to rotate through each department of the station, so we got to see all aspects of news," Crum said.</span>
<span>Her first week was spent with the multi-media journalists, who are reporters who shoot and edit their own photos and videos.</span>
<span>The next week was spent with the photographers themselves and from there, it was becoming a part of the "two-man crew."</span>
<span>"Those are the higher-up reporters who get to have a (photographer) with them," Crum said. "Then I did the assignment desk, which was the worst.</span>
<span>"It takes a very strong, courageous person to take all those phone calls from viewers and listen to the complaints that they have."</span>
<span>Finally, Crum was shown the graphics and marketing side of journalism.</span>
<span>"I got to do a lot of the promotion side and they have this segment called 'A Place to Call Home,' where they feature a foster child who needs a home," Crum said. "That was cool to be able to do something that was more heartwarming and not hard news all the time."</span>
<span>Crum said the internship also taught her what kind of reporter she doesn't want to be, which is "The Ron Burgundy."</span>
<span>"People who hear 'reporter' sometimes have this negative connotation with it," Crum said. "I've never wanted to be that and through this internship, I've met a lot of reporters.</span>
<span>"A lot of (multi-media journalists) are genuine, good people and they do want to get the story, but more importantly, they want to make sure they tell it the right way."</span>
<span>Crum said she "grew up a lot" during the experience, which included covering a story about a missing boy who drowned in a local creek.</span>
<span>"When they told the family they found him and he wasn't alive, we had to hear the crying, we had to hear the screaming," Crum said. "It was not fun and it almost brought tears to my eyes and the reporter I was with, Elizabeth Matthews, turned to me and said 'If this is what you want to do, you're going to have to deal with this.'"</span>
<span>She also got to see the different reporting styles as St. Louis is home to four different TV news stations - KDSK, KPLR Channel 11, KMOV Channel 4 and KTVI Channel 2.</span>
<span>"Being in reporting, especially TV reporting, is super-competitive," Crum said. "You have to be willing to go anywhere at any time.</span>
<span>"A lot of people think 'Oh, you're a TV reporter, all you do is look pretty and sit there and smile.' It's hard work and seeing some of the things these reporters do I thought 'Am I cut out for this? Can I do this?"</span>
<span>Crum said overall, her internship was rewarding and also a reality check.</span>
<span>"You're not going to get somewhere with just a pretty face," she said. "Be willing to do the hard work, the dirty work, to be educated and tell the story the right way.</span>
"It's not about looking good on camera, you have to know your facts."