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Hi, I’m Colleen Michalski, and I’m a second-year student at Johnson County Community College
interning through the Journalism Department here at Entercom Radio. My internship is important
to me because it’s making sure, it’s verifying that this is what I want to do. This is what
I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to pursue a career in this job, and so far
it’s been an awesome experience. So it’s letting me know that I’m on the right track.
I’ve learned that it’s definitely a lot harder than you would expect it to be. It
takes a lot of time and preparation and patience and you think, “Oh, just talking on the
radio,” but you don’t really think about all the background work that you have to put
into it, so I’ve learned a lot of that. We’re working on Rockfest right now. We’re
learning about all the promotions, like all the businesses that are going to be promoted,
all of the things that we have to have ready to go at Rockfest. We have to have tickets
ready to go, we have to make sure everything’s going to be set up perfectly like it should
be, so…
My favorite experience with this internship so far would probably have to be, I’ve been
such a big fan of both radio stations since I’ve been able to listen to radio, and so
being on that end, being a fan and being on that end is one thing, but when you’re the
one interacting with the fans and you’re getting to experience that different kind
of environment, that’s probably been my favorite experience is being able to be interacting
with the fans.
My Mass Media and my Public Relations classes benefited me because in a way it got me a
little bit more prepared. I got to learn exactly what needs to be put into making radio successful.
So I kind of had an idea going into this about what exactly I’d be doing and more along
the lines of just hearing people on the radio. They kind of prepared me for the hard parts
of working in the radio industry.
What has surprised me most about this internship, probably, would have to go back to how much
time and effort is really being put into it, because you don’t really think about that
when you’re just a fan and listening to it. But when you’re actually a part of it,
it kind of shocks you, because it’s not things that you would normally think about.
Like especially the hard work and the time that everyone here puts into making it successful.
You know, I’d really like to, for pursuing the career I’d like to do, is pretty much
the background stuff, kind of like what the producers here do. They do the promotions,
they’ll do charity events, I mean, any concerts or anything, and that background kind of work
I’d love to see myself doing.
I do think there’s a future in over-the-air radio, because it’s how businesses get a
lot of their promotions out. It’s any sales or any, even just promoting their business,
period. It’s a good opportunity to get that out, and not only that, but it keeps fans
interacting with the radio station. It keeps them coming back. We do things like prizes
or tickets, or even like the concerts we put on. It keeps our fans involved, and it keeps
them interested, and I think radio’s going to be around for a long time.