Belmont senior journalism major Kevin Heim covered the July 6 Twitter Town Hall as a reporter through his internship with the Scripps Howard Foundation Wire. Heim’s organization was offered a spot at the event for interns to gain experience. Moderated by Twitter co-founder and executive chairman Jack Dorsey, the Twitter Town Hall event was held at the White House and allowed President Barack Obama to answer questions posted on Twitter by people across the country.
Heim said, “I jumped at the opportunity to cover a groundbreaking event, and ended up right in the middle of the press area surrounded by reporters from CNN, ABC, FOX News and the Associated Press.
While at the debate Heim took more than 700 photos for the newswire as well as a recording for the story he was writing.
Heim says Belmont played a major role in his ability to land an internship like this one. Belmont professors have given him both the knowledge and support to be prepared for such an internship, he said. “They have taught me so much in my three years and have given me the skills and confidence to go out and compete for internships with students from much larger journalism programs.”
He also went on to say that the most beneficial aspect of the experience was the confidence he acquired from covering a White House event, an attribute he believes will be quite attractive to editors looking for new hires.
“It’s not too often that someone comes out of college with experience covering Congress or the White House. It was a really amazing opportunity to get to attend the Twitter Town Hall. It’s really rare for an intern to get to cover something the President does… I’m pretty sure my grandparents died from excitement when they saw the photos,” Heim said.
Click here to read Heim’s coverage of the event. Photo courtsey of SHFWire Photos by Kevin Heim
