Internship at Hindustan Times – Sampada from USMC, GGSIPU

Dreams don’t work unless you do. Sampada is pursuing Media & Communications and shares her wonderful experience of internship days.

HT CITY CALLING – Since the beginning, I was very much sure about my forte and field of interest. Bollywood and Television run in my veins. I have been a part of a very dramatic and filmy family. Our conversations and outings are purely dedicated to movies and drama. Be it the news of an upcoming release or a celebrity breakup, nothing gives me an adrenaline rush just like Bollywood does.

So I always knew where my heart belonged. Each morning people woke up to tea or coffee, but my dose of caffeine was incomplete without grabbing a copy of HT City. It always fascinated me how does a media organization function. With many preconceived notions built about the strict and serious environment about a newspaper organization, I was surely nervous. But all my apprehensions were put to rest when I joined HT City. I was appointed as a Reporter and Content writer for the Entertainment Section of the HT City supplement and from then started a whole new memorable journey.

HT CITY– Entertainment and Lifestyle Supplement: A full dose of lifestyle and fashion that is high on entertainment and fun – this is what HT City brings to it’s readers. With fresh news stories be it from the Bollywood or Television industry, updates about the latest trends, places and events to be explored in your city and what not, HT City is a full on package that quenches your thirst.

The edition is headed by it’s Editor Ms. Sonal Kalra who also takes care of the Mumbai Edition ( HT Café). The Newspaper is split into various sections like-

• Entertainment
• Page 3
• Fashion and Lifestyle
• My City

WORKING OF A NEWSPAPER – Every story we read, every picture we see, we don’t tend to value and realize the copious amount of sheer hard work and dedication behind it until we actually become a part of it. Therefore, I realized it’s not a cake walk to run a media organization and specially a newspaper where each story has several other competitors around, you have pressures of deadlines, fear of the story losing its shelf life.

So as I joined, I realized how each job has been distributed so systematically amongst each member. Each copy was designed 2 days in advance to avoid pressures. A day before the final printing, the front page and recent updates were worked upon and most of the inside stories remained the same. Thus to ensure smooth functioning, the work was divided evenly amongst the reporters , the content writers, the editors , the photographers and the designers. The order followed sequentially.

With the hustling bustling atmosphere when the the copy is getting ready for the final print, to the cool and casual way of presentations and sharing ideas, I witnessed them all.

RESPONSIBILITIES HANDLED:

• Content Writing – Even though being a learner, I was given full freedom to explore and come up with my own ideas and stories. I worked mostly on Bollywood packages by noticing the ongoing trends.

• Interviews – I was fortunate enough to get a chance to interview many Television celebrities like actors Sophie Choudry, Nandish sandhu etc. and Bollywood actors Sidharth Malhotra and Shraddha Kapoor for their film. It was my fan-girl momemt where I also learnt a lot.

• Editing – Certain news stories that were provided by various news agencies required editing. I was also given a chance to edit those stories and kept in mind my basic principles of report writing. 5 W’s and 1 H was the key for all.

LEARNINGS – Working at HT City has not only improved my writing abilities but has taught me things that are not just limited to a classroom.

• First and foremost, it made realize the value of time. I experienced the amount of pressures the writers and reporters face when they have to meet deadlines.
• It made me practice all the leanings of my course into the real world. The skills of Reporting, Interviewing, Editing were actually put into practice.
• It realized the value of each piece of story that we read and at times don’t even acknowledge the presence of. I could now appreciate the toil and labour one puts together to write those 500 words and experienced the amount of happiness when that hardwork gets published and recognized.

PARTING NOTE – Working in a media organization is far more enriching and different from what we learn in college. All our lessons and learnings are put into practice when it comes to actually working in such environment.

As a learner I faced various short comings at a personal level which I feel could be improved in near future. I learnt that attaching myself with any story emotionally and writing about it with an already formed opinion would not let me look at things from a reporter’s point of view.

A wide spectrum of opportunities were provided to me. Right from the grass root level, my mentor maximized my capabilities. Therefore, I feel that I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. The area was totally of my interest and was surely my cup of tea. It was a fruitful experience where I learnt new things, ways to cope up with pressures and deadlines and of course looking at things from a broader perspective. This journey was surely an experience worth remembering forever.

If Sampada’s experience motivates you, you can check the latest internships in Delhi, Media internships and content writing internships.

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