PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – My name is John Davis, and I am currently a student at Tidewater Community College. I have been fortunate enough to have gotten the opportunity to intern with the Sports department at WAVY, and it has been nothing short of a blast thus far. In my first three weeks at WAVY,I have done everything in my power to absorb as much knowledge as possible, and I feel as if I have done just that.
As many passionate (and somewhat delusional) sports fanatics are, I have wanted nothing more in my life than to be around sports as much as possible in any way, shape or form. Luckily, my internship gives me the opportunity to do just that. Since coming into the studio for the last few weeks I have been able to finally have a grasp on what it takes to run a highly informative sports show every evening. How much work, thought and overall effort it takes has been both insightful and enlightening.
I have been able to help the crew by splicing up footage for a voice over segment, editing and creating soundbites for the broadcast, and I have even received the opportunity to go on-sight to local sports games to film footage that will later be used in the show that very evening. The amount of work and collaboration it takes between everyone in our sports room has been eye-opening for someone who had never been behind the scenes of any television production.
Another experience I have severely enjoyed has been watching our sportscasters actually go live from the studio for the Sportswrap, watching them read the script off of the teleprompter that I have occasionally helped write up or have watched them write up. I have learned that, arguably, the most underrated aspect of speaking on live television is improvisation, as there have been a handful of times where the script may be a word or two too long or too short, yet the talented sportscasters here at WAVY have this natural ability to extend or shorten a segment with ease, as if it were the intention from the very beginning. Similar to actual sports, there are moments where a “clutch gene” is necessary in order to perform when in the most dire of situations. My peers in our sports room demonstrate just that everyday, and it has been fascinating to watch thus far.
I have so much more I am in store for over the course of my internship and I could not be more excited. My main takeaway from this internship thus far is that every day is entirely unique and a new challenge to embrace, and that is probably the aspect that makes it the most fun. I am incredibly excited to learn more about the entire station, and I can’t wait to share all about it!