Job & Internship

March 2008 Internship Spotlight

Name: Dathan Brown
Major: Jl MC
Emphasis: Electronic Media Studies
Company: 89.9 WORT, Madison, Wisconsin

WORT is a volunteer-based community radio station, and like all other volunteer-driven organizations, WORT always has something that needs to be done. Most of the stations needs are met from within, from acquiring on-air talent to acquiring air conditioning repair.

Almost 80 percent of WORT’s funding comes from listener-sponsors. The impact of those donations greatly changes how the news is covered and what music is programmed on the station. Without any significant corporate sponsors, the station is able to set its own agenda without worry of upsetting advertisers.

The result is a series of informative, relevant and controversial news shows and eclectic, culturally enriching music programming. WORT reported on the case of six black students in Jena, Louisiana, who were being charged with attempted murder for a school yard fight (collectively known as “The Jena 6”) in June. This was more than two months before I saw CNN coverage of the story.

Stories that the mainstream media ignored were often the leading stories on our evening news. Some of my favorite stories included coverage of a new gay magazine in Madison, coverage of a socialist convention in Chicago, Miss Wheelchair America, and coverage of a local food cooperative being sold.

Duties: At WORT, my main responsibility was writing and reporting news stories for the evening news. I would arrive at work in the morning, read about three or four news papers to see what they were reporting, check around thirty to forty press releases, and go through emails and voicemails about what was happening around town. Then I took whatever story I thought was the most important story that was underreported, and I ran with it. I also worked in production, overseeing the promotions committee each week. I helped new volunteers use the studios, was a disc jockey, and helped the staff in any way I could.

Most Memorable Experience: The disc jockey that was supposed to follow me didn’t come in, so I was on the air from 10pm Saturday until 6am Sunday! It ended up being really fun, because people kept calling in feeling sorry for me, but I was having a blast.

Advice to Future Interns: When you get to your internship, be rested, be prepared, and do not be scared to take responsibility. If you act like you can’t do anything because you are an intern, or your work lacks quality because you are an intern, your main responsibility will be making coffee. If you work to produce quality material, you’ll find yourself in the middle of some amazing opportunities.

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