(Editor’s Note: This is the 11th in a series of stories about internships being completed by students in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Broadcast journalism major Haley Jacobs knows that most news is digital now and powered by social media. However, her experience at the annual Picklesburgh festival taught her that traditional local news still means a lot to a community.
The senior from Moon Township, Pennsylvania, was a news and creative services intern for KDKA-TV this summer. She said the 10-week experience exceeded her expectations and strengthened her interest in becoming a journalist.
“There is such a community here with the reporters and viewers,” she said. “Getting facts and telling stories builds that community, which is so fulfilling to me.”
KDKA had a tent set up at Picklesburgh, an event that draws hundreds of thousands to downtown Pittsburgh. Jacobs said she was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and interest from attendees.
“I did not expect the amount of people that stopped by to say they loved us, and that they watch every day,” she said. “Watching our reporters and anchors with the fans, I was in awe. Journalism really makes an impact on people’s lives, and that’s pretty special.”
Growing up, Jacobs was a “theater kid.” When it came time to choose a career, she wanted the spontaneity and showmanship she enjoyed performing on stage. Her vocal coach suggested journalism.
Like any good journalist, Jacobs started investigating this new career path right away. She joined a Penn State journalism camp for high schoolers, but the COVID-19 pandemic shut that down before it started. However, a project her junior year brought Jacobs to what would become a familiar place — the KDKA studios.
“I shadowed one of our anchors, Kristine Sorensen, because I was interested in going into the field,” she said. “I wanted to learn more about it, and I loved it.”
The search for collegiate journalism programs was broad, but short lived. Jacobs said her visit to Penn State and the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications sealed the deal.
“Penn State was the first school I looked at and I fell in love,” she said. “Every other school after that I compared to Penn State. I just knew this is where I was meant to be. I absolutely love the program.”
Over the past three years, Jacobs has sought out the opportunities that not only look good on a resume, but build her confidence, skills and passion for news reporting. As a freshman, she joined CommRadio, a student-run streaming station, where she got early experience as a news anchor. As a member of the Penn State chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, she enjoyed trips to New York City to tour the "ABC World News Tonight" studios and Pittsburgh to visit, yes, the KDKA studios. She also studied abroad at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom and held other internship positions with Penn State Athletics and WTOV-TV in Steubenville, Ohio.
“The Bellisario College prepared me so well,” she said. “Especially for when I’m sent out in the field, the reporters would ask, ‘Do you know what a stand up is?’ I'm like, ‘yeah.’ Or the cameraman might ask, ‘How do we set up the camera?’ And I already know how to do most of this, because Penn State prepares you so well.”