Me and a guide on the CBS lot during the infamous Emmys interviewFor four years I have been staying up to date on current events, reading a mass amount of textbooks, conducting interviews, shooting packages, and editing video. But when do you make that transfer from a student to a "real" journalist? For me, it was this past September at the Emmys. I flew to L.A. as a reporter for my school news station, WEBN, to cover all the action. My second day there I was at an interview when my producer called me: My Producer: "Maria, I've made an executive decision and cut _(name omitted)_ from the show. You need to be at the CBS lot in 2 hours to interview "X". Hurry up this interview so you can get there in time." Me: "Ok. I'll try my best. Who is "X"? My Producer: "I don't know. I'm stressed out. figure it out." With no time to go back to my hotel and google "X" and no Internet on my cell phone (first purchase as a "real" journalist- a blackberry, or Iphone, I don't discriminate!) I rolled into the CBS lot literally knowing nothing about my interviewee. I pulled off the interview without "X" knowing a thing. Having a successful interview without any preparation isn't something you can learn in class or through a text book. You just have to go through it and if you succeed that makes you a "real" journalist.
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