Without a firm conception of why you are on overdrive (chomping down your lunch from a tupperware container in a parking lot before you have to get out of your car and source your second story of the day or working the graveyard shift for the third week in a row) it’s easy to get discouraged or upset when you inevitably get tired. Keeping in mind the big picture will let you point to some larger purpose when you’re stuck in that daily grind and help you get through those inevitable rough patches with a little more sanity.

My internship ended yesterday and I’m riding the same emotional rollercoaster that I involuntarily rode each time I’ve covered a Washington State Legislative session — a whopping two of em’ — and the final gavel brought the year to a close. It’s a great adrenalin letdown. All the sudden there’s nothing more to do. Nothing to worry about tomorrow or next week. And every petty disagreement doesn’t matter anymore — I’m gone.

Honestly, there were moments this summer when I downright dreaded going to work. Times I hated work, that I couldn’t wait for the internship to be over.

But now, after it’s over, I’m not unsure those feelings were entirely appropriate. I question whether I let my frustrations interfere with work. I wonder if I picked the right battles to fight.

To be sure, I worked — and got worked — hard. Today ,which was my last day, was the end of nine consecutive days of work. And while that was the lengthiest stretch I pulled, there were plenty other long days, long weeks, accompanied by the fatigue that is inevitable with that sort of work regiment. As an important point of admission, though, I did buy into this sadism — I volunteered to come in on days off. As an intern, I figured I should rise to the challenge presented.

To do that I filed an awful lot of stories. An average of two stories a day. Sometimes (mostly on weekends) I would only submit one. But other times I’d file as many as three stories a day.

I learned to pound out copy. Fast . Which is one of the best professional skills I’ve picked up. But does the need for pounded copy also allow for good reporting, or does it merely indicate a large news hole and a need for content?

Personally I think (yes, I know “personally” and “I think” used in conjunction are a redundancy) good reporting requires… well, good reporting. And time. When a reporter is required to file twice daily, the reporting often suffers. Not every stone is unturned and not every angle is pursued; sometimes the job switches from newspaper reporter to stenographer. But given the current state of the newspaper business, that is what can be expected — at least in some quarters.

Even larger newspapers are seeing their newsroom resources stretched thin

Despite all the aforementioned detractors, I question whether I made the most of my internship. The amount of work I was expected to produce was the same everyone else at the paper was expected to produce: Every reporter was expected to write two stories a day. And this was, after all, where I was assigned to go, and there are no reasons to believe that previous Chips Quinn interns had any less on their plate. Also, does the broader umbrella of “what’s good for journalism” in a normative sense necessarily apply to an internship offered through Chips Quinn? I’m not sure, actually, since this was meant to be a summer of growth, and growth — copy cranking — I experienced.

Instead of answers, all I have now are self-reflexive rhetorical questions. I excepted the opposite to be true at this point.

I agree with others, I wish I has spent more time connecting with other reporters outside of those immediately close to me. For example, in my job in Waco I will be covering the county beat (after a stint on night cops) and I had spent no time with at all with the county reporter here at the Statesman. He did sit down and chat with me some, though I could have learned more if I had connected with him earlier in the summer. It just shows you that you never know who could be a valuable connection. I also wish I had been able to pull off an enterprise story I had pitched, but my sources would not come through, and I haven’t quite managed the balance between the daily grind and working on longer in-depth pieces.

I am constantly growing, and I know all that I have worked on in this internship will benefit me in my internship. I too have enjoyed all the advice and tips that we’ve gained from Chips and this little web group. It’s been fun hearing all of your progress, and I’m excited for all of our futures!

One of my goals was enterprise, and I failed at it. Though I did take several stories and make them my own, I did not budget enough time to truly find a story, pitch it, and write it. That being said, I have developed many ideas for my school newspaper and for the newsletter that I edit. Being on a staff where every second of every day counts, I’ve learned how to utilize my time to be the most efficient I can be.

I wish I had know at the start of the internship to get out of my seat more and collaborate with others in the newsroom for story ideas, get their opinion about what I had so far or just talking to be friendly. I wish I had known it is perfectly fine to get up and move about the newsroom. It comes down to being comfortable in the newsroom and to get comfortable you need to talk to people and make yourself known.

I now know that producing video stories is something that makes me professional and emotionally fulfilled. I don’t mind the some times hectic work hours when I know I can just as easily take the Friday off. I now know communication with my editor is essential for my career. I learned making friends in the newsroom is not only beneficial for my social life but career too, the friends I made in the newsroom may hold managing positions in the future.

LANCASTER — There is one truly-great and endless 20th Century debate in the minds of many muscle car enthusiasts. What’s better — Chevy or Ford.

And at Saturday evening’s Midsummer Night’s Car show in Lancaster, that debate was no closer to being resolved than it was when Richard Petty roared to victory in the 1964 Daytona 500, driving a Hemi-powered Mopar that was manufactured by neither.

As it turns out, each of Detroit’s Big 3 auto-makers made a showing of force at the fourth annual event, which is a fundraiser staged by Sixth Avenue United Methodist Church.

One procedure that I like here is as we’re working on a story, we continuously update to the website. So as I’m working on a story and have a good idea what I’m going to be writing about and have at least one source, I make a quick brief and get it posted online. Then as I’m working on it and get another source, I update the brief and get it online. After that I’m usually done with the story when I get my three sources.

I do usually get a lot more sources than I need, and pick and choose which ones give the best perspective or information about the story I’m writing.