Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Work Placement

So I’ve been writing for the Winnipeg Sun for the last couple of weeks as part of my school's work placement program.

Working there has been a pretty incredible experience, not only have I met some awesome people, I also got to be a “pretend journalist.” (There is nothing more vindicating and exciting than introducing yourself: “Shelley Cook, Winnipeg Sun” when you’re interviewing somebody...For the last three weeks I have had some pretty serious local media cred, and I have enjoyed it to its full advantage.)

When I started my placement, I figured I knew what I was getting myself into, especially since I spent last Christmas as an intern, writing for the Winnipeg Free Press. However, I quickly discovered that the two publications are extremely different. (This is the point where people say: “Oh, which one did you like better,” and to that I reply (in all honesty) “I can’t even compare the two because they are both just different. But, I learned a lot working for both of them.” – Yeah, I know that sounds like diplomatic rhetoric, but it’s true. I feel extremely lucky to have seen both sides of the Winnipeg daily newspaper scene.

During my internship, the editors at the Winnipeg Sun assigned a lot of different types of stories to me, which means I’ve collected quite a few more bylines for the ol’ portfolio. (This is also a good thing for my mom, who started a scrapbook of all my published work last year. Cute.)

I’m sad to leave the Sun and go back to real life, but I am thankful for the entire experience as a whole. Right now it feels kinda like one of those bittersweet breakups that you see in the movies: You’re still in love, but you need to break up because it's the time to do so. Sigh.


Photo by: C.Procaylo

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