Herald columnist introduced to newspapering during summer internship at The Chronicle

EDITOR’S NOTE: Herald columnist Lydia Plahn, a Lowell High School junior, describes her summer experience working as an intern at The Chronicle, a weekly newspaper published in Creswell. Lydia, a three-sport athlete, wrote a weekly column last year for the Herald. It was titled “The Life of a Student Athlete.”

By LYDIA PLAHN/For The Herald — Before this summer, I probably drove past the Chronicle building in downtown Creswell a handful of times without paying much attention to the building.

My experience with print newspapers was next to none. I had looked at comics and done crosswords, but never sat down to read a full story let alone an entire paper front to back.

I came into my internship this summer with little knowledge of what I was getting into but with a lot of excitement and a willingness to learn.

On my first day, I thought to myself, “Wow, getting a newspaper out every week is a long process.” The steps are not easy in making it possible for anyone who chooses to pick up or get the paper delivered and be informed by the ink on the page. This process was entirely new to me, and I was immersed in it twice a week. New words were being thrown around and things were being explained at a rate that I thought would overwhelm me. Instead, I soaked it all in.

One day I came into the office and sat at my desk knowing that one of the things I had to do was to just call and chat with a couple of people on the phone. I had questions written as a guide, and I knew that all I had to do was talk.

Despite the seemingly simple agenda, I was terrified. Members of my generation, myself included, are notoriously bad at talking on the phone.

We are used to texting shorthand, and sometimes even an e-mail seems too formal and inefficient. But I tried it, and I made it through. I made it through the awkward pauses and transitions.

I made it through an interview! Not formal at all, but still made it. Trust me, it was filled with blunders, and if I listened to it now, I could make a list a mile long of all my mistakes, but I made it.

Throughout the day I did a couple more interviews and slowly I got better. I talked better, the conversation flowed and I was less and less nervous.

I learned many other things than talking on the phone during my internship, but it is important because it is one of the many things that make a local or any newspaper run. Phone calls, subscription renewals and talking to the people who just come into the office to talk are all things that a local newspaper person has to do.

There are many cogs in a machine that make it run, and I was glad that even for a short time I could play a small part in putting something out every week for people to enjoy. Now I drive past The Chronicle building in Creswell, see the logo and think of all I learned and how thankful I am for the opportunity.