The German Citizen Newspaper

Fall 2016

This fall semester I interned with The German Citizen Newspaper that is based out of Cheektowaga, New York. The newspaper is published six times a year and my work was published in three editions of it. Since the office is located somewhat far from campus, I only stopped by the office a few times to speak with the editor of the paper to get feedback on the work I was submitting to him.

In September and October I was very busy covering some various Oktoberfest events that took place around the area including Marilla, Springville, Lake George and Niagara Falls. Even though others were farther than some, taking a toll on my gas tank, they were all still fun events to be able to attend and write about. By going to these events I was able to meet many new people and hear interesting stories about them. When I went to the events I would take pictures of people in their authentic German clothing and videos of others dancing and having a good time. I would speak to people who were willing to be quoted for the newspaper and learn why they came to the events. I would then write up a story and email them to the editor along with the pictures and videos. Many of the stories would be posted to their Facebook page with the pictures and videos before it was printed. He said they don’t normally have videos to go along with stories so it was a good feature that readers enjoyed.

After the Oktoberfest season passed I was assigned various other stories and I came up with some on my own as well. I interviewed the New York German Consulate, Matthew Collard who is also an attorney in Buffalo. It was my duty to contact him and set up a meeting time where I could go to his office and interview him. I prepared questions before the interview so I would not go off track or forget what I wanted to ask him. Through this interview he ended becoming a very good contact to have for future reference.

I wrote a piece on a restaurant in East Aurora called Schnitzel & Co. that has been open for a couple of years now. Again, I called the restaurant to see if they were interested in being featured in the newspaper and set up a time to interview the manager of the restaurant. I went to the restaurant to interview him in person and took pictures of the inside so the readers could get an idea of what it looked like. Other restaurants I tried reaching out to but they never got back to me so I moved on looking for the next story.

While looking online for some more story ideas I came across an event called The German Table that was a cooking class held by chef Krista Van Wagner. At the Roycroft Inn she would host a class and people who bought tickets would be able to watch how she prepared German dishes and then they were served all the food that was prepared. I was lucky enough to be Krista’s guest because I asked to do a story on the event and got to enjoy the event for free. Like the other events I attended, I was able to meet many nice and interesting people that inspired the articles I wrote.

The last story I did for the newspaper didn't have to really do with German heritage but the editor suggested I do a story on what happens behind the scenes of a local TV news station since he knows that I am interested in broadcast journalism. He gave me the contact information of someone who was his former student who now works at WIVB in Buffalo. I then contacted her to see if she’d be interested in me interviewing her for the newspaper. She agreed and we set up a time and place to meet. During all my interviews I usually recorded the interview on my phone but also took notes highlighting the key points we touch on. The interview went well and it was very helpful to me, giving me honest information about the pros and cons of broadcast journalism. I was grateful that they suggested it knowing that it would help me out and helped me gain another contact.

Even though this internship wasn't ideally what I pictured I’d be doing this semester I am still grateful I was given the opportunity. Throughout the semester I noticed that my writing skills improved immensely and that I was growing less shy of having to interview people for stories. Many people also respected me for wanting to intern for such a small newspaper instead of thinking I was better than it. I think that even when an opportunity seems small it is still a good idea to consider it and even take it because you never know what other opportunities it can lead to. My goal is to get a job in broadcast news and many people don’t realize that in order to be taken seriously you need to have strong writing skills, something that this internship as well as my others and classes have prepared me for.