Private Misener

Two job shadows this past week – one with Kevin Trudell at CFMX, and another with reporter Kevin Misener (no relation) at 680 News. And more and more, I’ve been thinking about working in the private radio world. I came to Toronto last year with my sights set solely on the CBC, and I’m now thinking otherwise. Starting in the privates might not be such a bad idea. Every CBC exec I’ve talked to is looking for reporting skills and hard news experience. And though I’ve done several short doc pieces (morning show fare), I’ve never done any real "reporting." And short of actually doing it, there’s no real way for me to get that type of experience. So if the CBC won’t hire me without these skills, why not try to get a job at a place that might help me develop them? Like 680 or CFRB? From what I’ve seen, private radio deadlines would be great for someone like me. Having to churn out a report every 30 minutes is tough enough, but having to tell the same story several ways in under 40 seconds each time – well, that’s enough to hone anybody’s chops. A prof at Dalhousie once told me that the best way to get good at reading is to read, and the best way to get good at writing is to write. I think the same holds true for radio. I’d love to do an internship at 680 (in addition to Metro Morning) – it would be a great way to see the inside of a newsroom on a regular basis, and it wouldn’t look too bad on a resume either. But, once again, because my program doesn’t have a mandatory internship policy, I can’t intern at 680 because of insurance issues. However, I did do a couple of demo newscast reads at 680 with a woman named Anne Lavrih. She was wonderful, and apparently she’s going to play my demo for the higher-ups when they’re looking to staff the new Rogers News/Talk station in Halifax. Plus, Kevin mentioned to me that there might be spots available as an audio editor at 680. So all hope isn’t lost. I’m feeling like I need to focus my energies, but I don’t know where. In many ways, it’s the same question I’ve always had – do I stay or do I go? And now on top of that, another question – public or private?