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Agricultural Communication & Journalism Internships

Category: Video

Broadcasting Ag on Campus – Brityne Rucker

Posted on by kjburke

What do you want to do for a living? Do you have an internship lined out? Where do you want to live? Where do you see yourself fitting in the communications world?

These were all questions I was getting (and dreading to answer) my sophomore year at K-State. Frankly, I had no idea where I exactly fit in the big wide world of communications… but little did I know I would stumble across an internship that would change my path forever.

Broadcast Intern: Agriculture Today

Going into my fall of my sophomore year at K-State, I had no idea what path I would take in communications. I had friends going into extension, graphic design and ag policy work. Whenever I was asked what I envisioned my future job holding, I would respond with “I’m not completely sure, but I want to be around and talk to people for a living”. Little did I know, I would soon be offered a job that would change my path forever.

That same semester I was sitting in ‘Video in Food and Agriculture’ (AGCOM 435) and was approached with an opportunity by my professor. K-State Research and Extension was searching for a broadcast intern for the radio program ‘Agriculture Today’ and the video production team with K-State Research and Extension. The internship would run from Spring of 19′ to Spring of 20′.

Being that this was a broadcast and radio internship, the application and the interview process was different than I have experienced before. I had to first go through an audio audition tape process and then go in for a live interview. Along with my video submissions, I received the position as the broadcast intern with K-State Research and Extension.

The position involves audio content creation for the radio program ‘Agriculture Today’. Including; researching relevant subject matter and getting in contact with the correct individuals to get the most accurate information out to the public. I also work on any video production needed for K-State Research and Extension. My daily duties include editing video and audio tracks, researching interview topics, interviewing professionals in the agricultural field, voicing over and creating announcements such as daily news, ag stories, PSA, etc.

If you’re interested in this opportunity, you should reach out to K-State Research and Extension. I personally would recommend this internship to anyone who truly enjoys talking to people and relaying their information and stories. If you’re interested in media production, this is a fantastic learning opportunity and creates connections within the agricultural field.

Where the Grain Commodities Align – Tarra Rotstein

Posted on by kjburke

Pasta, leavened and unleavened bread, meat, soy milk, tofu, and ethanol may appear to have nothing in common but all of these products can be produced from four main commodities: wheat, corn, sorghum and soybeans. In summer 2018, I served as the communications intern for the IGP Institute. The IGP Institute is an entity of the Kansas State University Department of Grain Science and Industry. At the Institute they educate professionals in the industry about grains and their different processes to help those professionals run their facilities more efficiently. Through this opportunity I was able to learn about the grain industry and the impact that U.S. grains has world-wide. I was able to work closely with the communications team: Lisa Moser, marketing and communications coordinator, who served as my supervisor; Pat Hackenberg, educational media coordinator; and Kelly Boswell, events coordinator. The IGP Institute is located in Manhattan, Kansas. This allowed me to have extra learning time, because I started the Monday after finals and had my last day the Friday before school started.

I found out about this internship through a friend who had the internship the previous summer and enjoyed it so much. I knew I had to apply for the opportunity.

Each day of my internship gave me the opportunity to learn more. My tasks day-to-day differed, but I had the same tasks each time a course was taking place. Every time a course took place, it meant that I was in charge of capturing the photography and videography for the course, writing a news release, creating a video recap of what happened during the course and interviewing a few participants on camera. This involved planning out my entire week, the Friday or Monday of to ensure I took pictures and videos at the most optimal times, along with coordinating with the course instructor times for interviews and who to interview. I also scheduled a time with the course instructor to record their portion of the video recap for the course.

One of my biggest projects over the summer was redesigning the Department of Grain Science and Industry website. I felt a huge honor in being the one to come up with the plan for redesigning it and when it was approved by the Department Head it felt awesome. I was not interested in web design before entering this internship, and now I am. I have been exposed to web design and have lots of hands-on experience that I can take with me throughout my career.

During my internship I knew there were opportunities to work on video projects and I let my supervisor know I was interested in those. She assigned more projects to me where I worked in videography which was beneficial to my interest and has made me want to continue to pursue those interests.

If there was one thing I learned this summer more than anything, it was that I learned how to learn. In the communications world everything is always changing from social media platform algorithms to updates on Adobe software to working on a new type of computer; there will always be changes that are challenging. I learned how to overcome those changes by learning from others and the internet. If you are ready to learn and want to experience what a ‘real’ job is like, apply! In this position I never felt like just the intern, I was doing projects that needed to be done for the organization and was making a difference.