Public transit for PublicSource

This week was not only the first week of my senior year at Point Park University but also my first week at my new internship: PublicSource, which is a nonprofit, digital-first media organization that covers the Pittsburgh region. I will be working 15 hours per week for about 15 weeks and get to use the new bus passes through the university to get to work and for assignments.

Tuesday was my first day, so it was fairly simple. I got a tour of the office, which is shared with a few other tenants. The space is so cute; it is literally like a mansion turned office. There is so much color and natural light. After fangirling over the decor, my supervisor and I went over the intern orientation packet. I have never had a company be so clear about the expectations for interns and the overall intern process; I was very impressed. I also got to fact-check a story even though I hadn't had the official training yet. It was a very tedious process, verifying each line of the article through materials provided by the journalists. I was able to finish checking the story before the end of the day, but it did take quite a while, which made me respect the lengths the company goes to to verify information and report accurately.

On Thursday, I think I got down the bus route to the office. I started my day with another fact-check for a story; though, this time it was a level two check whereas the other one was a level three, the most intense. It did not take too long, but it was great to get more familiar with the process. My supervisor and I then went over some story ideas I had, and it looks like I might be working with one of the newer reporters on the mental health beat, which is very exciting for me as a psychology minor. I also got to meet a few more reporters and even the other fall intern. We had our first intern meeting which will be every Thursday and went over the official fact-checking orientation. While it was a fairly slow week, I am excited for what lies ahead!

Here is one of the stories I helped fact-check:

Pittsburgh creates new policy addressing tent encampments