3 things I learned while interning at CalMatters that every journalism student should know

This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to work as an intern on CalMatters’ audience engagement team. As my time comes to an end and I prepare for my senior year of college, here are the lessons I learned that could help other journalism students or those starting out in their careers. 

1. Readers need to know how big news affects their lives 

Newsrooms need to find ways to break down how “big” news will affect their local audience. During my internship, I saw reporter Kristen Hwang break down how the federal government’s new budget made significant changes to Covered California, which experts and insurers both said would make health insurance cost more for consumers. The spending bill had thousands of repercussions to dissect and discuss, but zeroing in on how it would affect one crucial part of people’s lives helped CalMatters cut through the noise. I then “translated” Kristen’s story into an accessible, easy-to-digest Instagram post in order to reach even more Californians where they are, and focused on highlighting tangible details from the story, like how premiums are expected to increase by 66% or $101 per month starting next year. 

2. Influencers can be an advantage for newsrooms 

For my internship, I worked on the early development of a project to better use social media as a way to build deeper connections with a younger audience. For the project, I spent hours scrolling and researching the profiles of users on TikTok and Instagram. I focused on finding people based in California that had a platform related to the content of a news story, had news centered posts, or the perfect combination of both. From there, I debated whether the influencer would be a good fit within CalMatters and what it stands for, as well as if the influencers themselves would agree and benefit from a partnership. 

As I spent hours on social media platforms, I got a bigger glimpse of how useful social media and influencers today can be to news outlets. For example, I found profiles of young people who built their platforms on discussing news in a more relatable and digestible manner to a younger audience. I also found professionals that used their knowledge to dismantle misinformation on social media and provide the actual facts. Regardless of the actual content, those who had a following in the platform, made themselves a foundation to stand on and made sure to carve out an unique space for themselves within their content bubble. 

3. There’s room in journalism for a sense of humor

During my internship I had the opportunity to create a vertical video post for reporter Lynn La’s story about how California could enact a first-in-the-nation ban on plastic glitter in cosmetics.

As someone who watches beauty and style videos on TikTok regularly, I read her story and knew that it could translate really well in several different TikTok “trends.” With that in mind, I recorded and edited three ideas that could work within the TikTok platform: a “Get Ready With Me” video, the “Shock Horror” trending sound, and a simple educational skit. In the end, my editors published the less risky explainer skit (they are elder millennials, after all), but I still felt accomplished in being able to report the news with humor and a glitter face filter. This is something I would absolutely try again in future newsrooms, especially if I’m thinking about reaching and connecting with a younger audience.

Overall, I’ve grown and learned a lot this summer, both as a professional and as a journalist. I’m moving forward with a new comprehension of what journalism means today, and how I can be the best reporter for readers and any newsroom I work for in the future.