Aspiring reporter pays his dues

by chelsea davis
staff writer

Tyran Hines works early hours for a chance at an entry-level postion

Tyran Hines’s alarm clock goes off at 2 a.m., just as it has twice a week for the last three weeks.
He throws on a buttoned-down collared shirt, zips up his black Dickies and tightens his striped necktie.
Before arriving at his destination, he pulls into the am/pm gas station on Home Ave. He pours a large cup of coffee and grabs a Red Bull for later.
Just before 3 a.m., he walks into a large room where three people are furiously typing. One of them is blaring obscenities into the phone.
“Good morning; how are you?” Hines asks, trying to sound energetic.
“Can’t complain,” one answers without looking up from his computer monitor.
“I’m doing all right,” the other replies.
Hines makes his way to his assigned workspace.
“This is where that horrific accident happened last night between five teenagers and the dad with his three kids,” he envisions himself saying in front of a camera. “You can still see the debris in the road. Neighbors around here say people are just driving too fast.”
Loud screeches from the police scanners snap him back to reality. Several television sets align the newsroom, each on a different channel. The volume is up on all of them, making it sound like one big news blob. Telephones are ringing, printers are printing and the anchors and reporters are starting to trickle in one by one.
“Intern! Write story 408, will ya!” someone yells from across the room.
Hines gets to work.
When Hines graduates from PLNU in May, he can look forward to a whopping $19,000 a year for his first career job.
“It’s more than what I’m making now, interning at Channel 10 for free,” says Hines, laughing.
According to Intern Bridge, a college recruit consulting and research firm, unpaid internships are quite common for today’s college students, and many organizations offer them.
Despite the lack of compensation, The Christian Science Monitor reports that internships are steadily becoming an institutionalized part of the college experience and a requisite for entry-level work.
Even entry-level employees have to take a vow of poverty in this field, says Ashley Blanco, a writer for 10News.
“People don’t get in this business for the money, and people definitely don’t stay in it for the money either,” says Blanco.
In 2011, 24/7 Wall St. examined wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify the occupations that pay the least with a college degree. Reporters topped the list at No. 1 with a bottom-tier income of $19,970.
“I’ve always dreamed big,” Hines admits. “I may be making peanuts in the beginning, but I know it won’t be long before I make it to the top.”
As a student at San Pasqual High School, Hines dreamed of playing basketball in the NBA.
“I know it seems a little far-fetched, but I wanted to play with Kobe.”
Although Hines’s basketball dreams have faded, his drive and determination remain the same.
“I would love to do sports reporting for SportsCenter in the mornings and entertainment news at night,” he says. “I definitely see myself in one of the top three markets in the country.”
Back in the 10News newsroom, it is now 4:20 a.m. Like clockwork, the executive producer prints the 4:30 a.m. show, and Hines heads to the print room. He works quickly as he organizes each anchor’s script.
At 4:29 a.m., he heads to the set.
Bill Griffith is dusting off the lint from his lapel, and Kaushal Patel is applying lip gloss.
“Ten seconds!” the floor director shouts.
Patel puts her mirror down. Griffith opens his laptop.
Hines slips in between the two anchors, hands them their scripts and slips behind the cameras right before the “on-air” light turns on.
Then it’s time to get ready for the 5 a.m. show.
The rest of his morning consists of writing stories and running scripts.
Richard Bottner, founder and president of Intern Bridge, says, “The bottom line is this— effective internship programs are an incredible recruiting tool for organizations, an important developmental tool for students and a critical support tool for local economies.”
Hines says his experience at 10News these past three weeks has been incredible.
For the 6 a.m. show, he is allowed to sit in the master control room next to morning producer Jeff Farley. The director and graphics operator sit at the opposite end of the room. The room is about the size of a big walk-in closet.
An entire wall is dedicated to 26 LCD monitors, showing pictures from all the cameras around the station. The top row shows the newscasts from the other stations in town. The program monitor is the biggest, showing what is on air. The bottom row shows two reporters live in the field.
Hines plugs in his headset.
The director shouts, “Five seconds!” into his microphone. A camera on the floor director shows him holding up five fingers.
“Breaking News” pops up on-screen after a single click by the graphics operator.
At 6:57 a.m., Farley starts logging off his computer.
“Great show, everyone,” he says, doing a full-body stretch.
“That’s great that you want to go far,” Patel tells Hines in the 10News break room. “But you have to be ready to start from the bottom.”
Before making it as an anchor, Patel began her reporting career in Yuma, Ariz.
“Some days it got up to 120 degrees!” she says. “And I had to do a live shot!”
Intense weather temperatures and small-town living do not scare Hines, who already has made connections in Grand Junction, Colo., and Victoria, Texas.
“I’m not thrilled on the fact that I might have to live in Butte, Montana,” Hines says, taking a sip of his coffee. “But you have to pay your dues in this business.”
“Plus, people are much more forgiving in Mobile, Alabama, than they are in New York City,” Patel jokes.
On top of his internship, Hines works three jobs to help pay off student loans and pay for rent, food and other essentials. As a salesman for Lids, a vendor at SeaWorld and an umpire for little league baseball, he cannot wait to settle down in his career, wherever that may be. He knows that being an intern at 10News is a big advantage to helping him get there.
“It’s all about your credentials,” says Dr. Clark Greer, a communications professor at PLNU. “Being an intern at a TV station gives you a good reference, which is very important in this business.”
PLNU requires broadcast journalism majors to take 17 courses in the field, 11 of which are upper-division classes. Students are taught how to operate a camera their freshman year, and they are producing their own packages as sophomores.
“Our classes are helpful, but an internship gives you a real-world experience,” Greer says. “It forces you into certain situations and gives you the tools to get you thinking like a reporter.”
Every two weeks, students put together an evening newscast called Coastline News. They cover stories happening on campus, around San Diego, nationally and internationally. Greer says they are required to shoot, edit, write and produce everything themselves.
“It makes students versed in a lot of different areas,” he says. “And that is what news directors are looking for.”
Hines says he believes he is well equipped for a first-time job. He is in the process of getting his demo reel together to send to potential employers.
“In school I was taught how to report, produce, anchor, shoot video and edit,” he says. “This internship is just the icing on the cake.”
At 10 a.m., Hines’s work at 10News is over. He walks out of the building into the parking lot that was dark when he first got there. He jumps in his car and looks for the Red Bull he bought earlier, knowing it would come in handy.