Officially Working Press at the State of the Union Address

Talk Radio News Service Interns (Left to Right) : Parul, Nanar, Evan Segerman [TWC Intern], Lyle, ME!, and Matt

I stared eagerly at the laptop which was strategically placed on the Talk Radio News Service chair. The room was humming with the low buzz of a hundred voices speaking quietly as a strange echo of the television monitor reverberated around the room. The President of the United States was giving the State of the Union Address in a room directly down the hallway from Statuary Hall, which was where I was standing with other members of the Press. I kept bouncing up and down on my toes, and I glanced frequently down at my Marantz voice recorder that was hanging from my left shoulder. Soon, members of Congress would flood through the velvet ropes and the press... including me... would be stepping forward with our mics thrust forward in their faces. I was uncertain what I was feeling right then. Terror? Exhilaration? Complete blank? I was nervous I wasn't going to recognize one single member of Congress.

But, the first person to pop out was Democratic Senator John Kerry from Massachusetts. I actually didn't realize it was him, and neither did most, as he took the Gauntlet in full stride. The Gauntlet is what the nickname of that path between the ropes; Congress walks down the path, the press squeezes up and sticks their arms out. So, by the time someone realized that Kerry had run through the room, he was already out the door. Bummer.

All the biggies had scheduled interviews, such as us (Talk Radio News Service), NBC, CNN, ABC... you get my drift. They, of course, all had television cameras (we do too, as video is put up on our website). As for me? Well, I would spot a clump of reporters chewing on someone and would push my way through, thinking about how fortunate I am to be five foot eleven. I could reach right over people's heads to poke my mic right in their face :)

Actually, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Congress WANTED to talk to us. They would walk up to a group of us and patiently let us ask a question one at a time. It wasn't that yelling jumbling mess you see on TV when someone is coming out of a doorway somewhere. The Capitol Building was surprisingly not nerve wracking because of that. It was SO FUN. It was bizarre and completely surreal to me, that as an official member of Talk Radio News Service complete with Congressional Press Pass, I was standing in the middle of all the other newsies interviewing members of the United States Congress.

But before that part, I was actually doodling around somewhere else, which was utterly fascinating because I wasn't aware of where I was until about twenty minutes in. I had volunteered to help carry the big pile of bags that TRNS was bringing in, and I ended up following one of my supervisors, Meredith, into a room full of people where we would meet the Queen Bee of TRNS, Ellen Ratner. Ellen is frequently around, but since it was my first official day I hadn't met her yet. At some point I realized I was in something that was practically a party, complete with cheese cube platters and grapes heaps. I was chatting with people... and then I realized I was actually chatting with Congressmen. Oh. Well, I didn't see that coming. Ellen took my picture with Senator Lincoln from Arkansas. That's me on the left in red, and Meredith is on the right. The Senator, of course, is beaming happily at the camera from the middle of that group.

So, that's most likely the reason I wasn't a bundle of nerves last night. People are people, period. Some of them just have more clout than others! I'd say that I loved all my interviews, because it was so FUN TO DO THIS. I spoke with eight Congressmen, but I only ended up posting sound bites from five of them. A "sound bite" is when you take an iiiiiiittty bitty munch bite from a very long statement. They get posted to our website, talkradionews.com. Those are the voice quotes you'll hear on the radio, you know- "so and so said: [insert recording] last night at the speech." And I got to do it!! As interns, it is amazing the opportunities that are given to us. My particular internship is amazing because we're given press passes and tossed out the door. "Go get stuff and bring it back." Welcome to the real world of the working press! It's incredible. Along the way, of course, I'm working with Kathleen Regan from The Washington Center. I hand in all my work to her, and of course, there are my classes. I have two classes. I'm looking forward to seeing what they're about.

It was a madhouse in there Monday night though, but amazing!! So, the people I actually uploaded sound clips from were Senator Claire McCaskill, Indy Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Robert Anderson, Senator Lindsey Graham, and Representative Shelley Berkley. The last one, Berkley, I was photographed off of someone's cellphone, so, there I am intently having a conversation with her. She was really funny. The first thing she said to me was that she'd just been riding on an F-16 Fighter Jet (apparently the base is being added to her Nevada District, so she got to have a ride), and didn't barf or anything. When she got off the plane all the Generals and such at the end of the tarmac were passing money back and forth because apparently, they were betting on barf. I cracked up. Then, of course, I asked actual questions but that was after telling her I wanted to steal her clothes because I liked her suit. You know, it's like I said, people are people... and that totally proved it.

Welcome to Washington, feel free to get lost....

For future reference, the steps up the Art Gallery are not "the Rocky Steps," and the Washington Monument is not really called "that pointy thing." However, they are descriptive enough that locals know which way to point when you ask where it is!

Move in day for me was really hectic. I got lost, of course, trying to find my way driving from the New York area all the way down into Virginia where I am in an apartment with three other women. There were freeway delays, construction, numerous wrong turns, and a late start, but that wasn’t my biggest stomach twister. No, see, I had to meet with my Intern Supervisor where I am working, because guess what- I’m special!

Ah. I am one of the three interns with The Washington Center that is actually credentialed Working Press. My internship is with Talk Radio News Service, and the only main difference between myself and the reporters that work there, is that I’m an unpaid intern. Not much difference! So, I had to take off in a dead run to make my appointment so that I could get my credentials.

This was uber important because Monday is rather special. Anyone familiar with the State of the Union Address? Yeah! The one where the President comes out and talks to all the Congressmen? That would be the one! Working with TRNS gives me the unique opportunity as an intern to be up in the press box with all the rest of the sweaty smelly press people. On my very first official day of WORK, I’ll be covering one of the biggest events in the nation. Awesome.

My roommates are Cassie, Vicki, and Natalie. Vicki and I both go to Stockton in New Jersey, and all four of us are seniors. Cassie is my actual "bunkie"- the one I am sharing a room with. I’m in a two bedroom apartment, and it’s completely gorgeous in here. I am now happy as a clam, because it’s got a gym and everything. Of course, running on a treadmill isn’t quite the best place to be when you are so shocked at the news you stop in mid-stride....

I nearly fell off and mangled myself because I was watching CNN on Saturday night while halfway through a three mile jog on said treadmill. Being in the middle of Washington, D.C. makes me more aware of politics than I was before, especially because everyone and their momma is talking about it. To be able to walk down the street and just have a random conversation with someone about American Policy completely blows my mind. And so, because of the heightened awareness around here, when Senator Obama took South Carolina, the whole gym exploded into a frenzy of conversation. Me? I just listened to everyone else :) It’s what I do because I’m a reporter, LOL!!

My roommates and I decided that Monday is going to be crazy for us. My roomies work at different places than I do, but, Monday is our first day and so we’re all a bit nervous. My first day is a big fat doozy, no doubt! We figured the best thing for us to do was to dork around for this weekend because we’ll be so busy. Washington never stops!

Cassie and I decided we’d act like tourists and wander around D.C. I personally abhor the thought of someone thinking I was a tourist for some reason; I have no photographs of New York City although I have been there a multitude of times. But I decided I’d get over the "I’m not a tourist!!!" urge and take some pics for you.

For one thing, we were thrilled to leave the apartment because of the "stinky lightbulb disaster." Some dummy at the health food store sold me a bottle of chamomile oil, telling me that putting a drop of it on a lightbulb would make my room smell great and relax me. I guess the theory is that it warms up the oil and the lovely odor wafts through my olfactory glands, relaxing the related nerve centers in my brain. What actually happened was that the stench went up my nostrils and sledgehammered my eyeballs. We ended up throwing out the "tainted by Satan" lightbulb, right after we sprayed Lysol in the air and Febreeze on the carpet to try and get rid of the smell. So, we pretty much took off in a run for the Capitol building.

It’s a really huge impressive looking building, that’s for sure. It’s surreal... nothing looks quite real because I’ve seen it on television so many times. It’s as if nothing on television is actually made of substance, and so when I see it in real life, it’s a bit of a shock. Of course, vision is also sort of tweaked, because I walked right by Jay Leno and realized I had actually walked by Senator John Kerry. He looks just like Jay in profile, and I nearly laughed. I have this feeling I’m going to be doing a lot of double takes around here... I was having a conversation on the Metro with Senator Corker about the weather... sometimes I feel like this isn’t real, but it is, and I’m absolutely thrilled.

The first place I took a photo of, was the Art Gallery West building. I showed my roomie Cassie the infamous "rule of thirds" when taking photos and the one she took of me in front of those columns came out great!




We met up with three other people and proceeded to "that pointy thing." Yeah, it’s an obilisk, whatever that is. It’s a great big pointy thing. A really REALLY big pointy thing. I’ve seen it in pictures a zillion times but when I walked right up to it, I felt a bit dizzy when I turned my face upwards and looked at the point. My photo doesn’t even have the pointy part in it, but I thought that the sun glare looked totally cool and so that’s the one you get to have a look at.


I also walked through the World War II Monument and it’s an amazing circle of pillars that reminded me a whole lot of the Vatican in Rome. I love taking photos of curvy things. There is an "Atlantic" side, and a "Pacific" side. This one is of the Atlantic half.




I’d say that the picture I liked taking the most, was the one of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial. It was smaller than I envisioned, but I guess that is sort of a good thing, since it has the names of soldiers that were killed in the conflict, or listed as MIA. It was absolutely riveting to see the reflections of people in that black granite, and although there were tons of people wandering by, you could see the contemplations of people staring at that wall. It is a literal depiction of the futility of war, where everyone seems to die and nobody ever seems to win.



War is a big subject around here, and everywhere I guess. I hear people discussing it, and all the other issues the candidates are bringing up. Health Care Reform, Education, the Budget.... ah.... this election season is going to be incredible to watch. I’m going to be riveted to see what history is going to unfold this year in the United States. The news mediums are exploding with daily happenings, and I’m so excited I think I’m going to pop. I’ll try really hard NOT to pop though, because I need all my gizzards intact! It’s going to take a lot of guts to run through this town, and I’m going for it with all I’ve got.