INTERN AT THE WELL NEWS
Stories from my summer internship at The Well News in Washington, D.C., through The Fund for American Studies. The Well News is a small publication centered in Washington focused on bipartisan government issues and remaining neutral in coverage.
STORIES
BIPARTISAN ACT WOULD ENSURE NATIONAL COLLEGE ATHLETIC PROTECTIONS
Congress Article | Thursday, July 20, 2023 | Published on Web
The College Athletes Protection and Compensation Act discussion draft released on Thursday would establish national name, image and likeness standards, cover athletic injury expenses and increase transparency in college athletics.
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I love sports and am grateful I got the opportunity to cover this story. The Well News' philosophy is covering stories about bipartisan efforts such as this, and this bill would be a big deal for college athletes.
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I've known of debates on how colleges should cover their athletes and the risks athletes take to perform for about a decade now. This bill would codify that and give protections to college athletes for a long time.
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Covering this story was once again different than the others: via a password-protected phone call. It felt clumsy, and voices sometimes did not come through perfectly making quote gathering difficult, but nonetheless a good opportunity to learn another press meeting method.
WRITERS GUILD STRIKE HITS DC WITH PROTESTS AT MARVEL MOVIE LOCATION
Labor Article | Thursday, June 29, 2023 | Published on Web
Members of the Writers Guild of America and their allies used the filming of a new Marvel franchise feature near the White House as a platform for airing their grievances and marking the start of the eighth week of their prolonged strike.
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I was not expecting my trip to see the newest Marvel movie shooting lead to writing a story about a small Writer's Guild protest, but here we are.
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This is the second story I've wrote where I felt like I needed to be present to get all the action, and the first where I absolutely had to be as it wasn't covered elsewhere and no press release was given.
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Both the protestor and set lady were super nice to me and definitely cooled my nerves a bit, but I still wish I had some more guts to tell the Park Police I needed to talk to one of them. Worst case they shoved me back across the street I suppose.
REPUBLICANS WIN THIRD STRAIGHT CONGRESSIONAL BASEBALL GAME FOR CHARITY
Congress Article | Thursday, June 15, 2023 | Published on Web
Democrats and Republicans set their differences aside Wednesday night to enjoy a game of America’s pastime.
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It was such a cool opportunity watching the Congressional Baseball Game. I still think it's odd it isn't more talked about; a bunch of politicians competing in a sport seems like a perfect mix of Americans' enjoyments.
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This was one of my easier stories. Attend the game, look up some history, write a recap. My sports writers at the Collegian have done it plenty of times, it's about time I got a crack at it (and they made it super easy for me to write this one too).
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Alongside the recap, I live tweeted the game as plays were happening. This was the more stressful part. No numbered roster, unfamiliar faces, tons of designated runners. It was hard to keep up, but that added to the fun of what otherwise can be a pretty slow sport.
FDA RELEASES DRAFT GUIDANCE FOR TATTOO INK SAFETY
Health Article | Thursday, June 15, 2023 | Published on Web
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday released draft recommendations for tattoo ink manufacturers and distributors aimed at reducing the potential harm caused by microbial contamination.
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I'm not a huge tattoo guy, but researching this topic was pretty insightful, mostly because tattoos are a lot safer than I previously conceived.
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The frustrating part of this story was sources not getting back. One stark contrast between Manhattan, Kansas, and Washington, D.C., is source availability. Almost every source I've wanted to talk to in Manhattan got back to me in at least a few days whereas I have trouble getting emails or calls returned in the capitol.
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My editor still liked the final product, and I felt accomplished writing this with the research I did.
PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL ON SPORTS, FITNESS & NUTRITION TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING
Health Article | Friday, June 09, 2023 | Published on Web
The President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition will hold its first public meeting in three years on June 27, with members expected to revise old priorities and set new ones in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
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This was a last-second change story. After sources did not get back to me for our original first story idea, we decided to preview this event.
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The event is pretty cool: chefs and high-profile athletes on site is an awesome thing. It caught me off guard a bit seeing Stephen Curry on the list.
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I'll be attending the event virtually on Tuesday, hoping that there may be enough content for a follow-up story to be made.