All I can say is wow. . .

The past two days of the internship have been full of highs and lows, but were also probably two of the most exciting days I've had in a long time.

Yesterday, I was assigned my first article. The story began as an idea that my editors had that revolved around the fact that people become crabbier when it's hot outside, so we wondered if the local police departments saw more cases of road rage and/or arrests. Well, that went bust, so I had to take a new avenue with the story, as not doing the story IS NOT AN OPTION in the professional world of journalism. I decided to talk to people who were forced to work in the heat, even though the National Weather Service had issued a heat advisory for our area. I ended up talking to some construction workers and found out how they deal with the extreme heat. It turned out to be a pretty good story and was placed on the front page!

Today was very different from yesterday. I met with my editor this morning and he assgned me a story about a national conference that was being held in the area for Model A car owners. I expected having to do most of my stories on conferences and meetings and such, since they are not so much spot news, which is often reserved for their best reporters. The next part of my day deserves a little background information: Jada Justice, a 2-year-old from Portage, was reported missing from her mom's cousin's car at a local gas station on June 16. Jada's mom left her in the care of her cousin so she could go on vacation with her boyfriend. The cousin, Engelica, and her boyfriend, Tim, were taken into custody as persons of interest in Jada's disappearance, but released. As the investigation continued, police found that Jada was never at that gas station and was actually missing for a much longer period of time. Last night, both Engelica and Tim were arrested after being busted at a meth lab. Now on to my day: The Times had been receiving tips all day about the situation, and the tips were simply that; they were nothing we could confirm. The Hobart Police Department then called a press conference to take place at 5 p.m. tonight. As I was writing my car show story, my editors asked me to go to the press conference with two other reporters and a photographer to help them cover crowd reaction. Unfortunately, the police announced that they found what they believe to be Jada's body earlier this morning, and that they took into custody two poeple (we assume those are the cousin and her boyfriend, but that has not been confirmed) who they are connecting with the murder. We then got word that there was going to be a small gathering of family and friends at the gas station where this all began, we took off, and I was assigned to cover the atmosphere at the gas station. I covered it, raced back to the newsroom, wrote the story, uploaded a couple of pictures I shot, and left at about 8:30 p.m.

I'm feeling such a mix of emotions right now. Part of me is so excited because I'm able to cover this hard, breaking news. However, part of me is heartbroken for Jada's family and friends. Doing this story has definitely made my skin a little thicker. I truly feel for the reporters and photographers who have to keep an unbiased attitude during situations like this that are so difficult. As I sit here writing this, I find myself tearing up a little for the first time today. Listening to the announcement that they found Jada's remains was difficult. Watching her friends and family collapse and sob with grief was ever harder. Reading statements from her father about how he will miss his little girl's hugs and kisses, and the way she said his name was even harder still. What helps is knowing that I am helping Jada's friends and family express their emotions, as they were all very willing to talk to me and explain how they were feeling.

Tomorrow is my last day of reporting before moving over to the design desk. I am excited to improve my skills in the area of pagination, but I will miss the excitement of going out into the field to cover stories. I will definitely update either tomorrow or Saturday. If you want to check out my stories or follow the Jada Justice story, go to nwi.com.