Grady InternViews: Abbey Clark

This is part of a series where we ask Grady College students to describe their summer internship experience.

Briefly describe your internship and responsibilities.

I stay up to date on news specifically to the states in the Southeast. My day begins with sending the summary I worked on the previous night of any top headline reports for the states in the Southeast. Throughout the day, I assist producers and anchors with any stories they may be working on.  We also have at minimum two daily meetings with the entire Southeast bureau team and ad hoc thereafter.  The job involves a lot of researching, writing and cold calling to get the right facts!

It is a remote internship as of now but generally is in person! Virtual has been nice because I am with my family, but I would really love the experience to work at CNN Center in Atlanta. I have been invited by leaders of the SE Bureau team to visit the office when I return to Georgia!

What has been the biggest surprise in your internship (ie: is there anything you didn’t expect?)

What surprised me the most is the amount of news that is out there and what is required to get a news story on the air.

What is the most valuable lesson or skill you have learned during your internship?

Flexibility and eagerness to learn is key in being successful in this internship and I think with most jobs overall.

What has been the most memorable experience you have had during your internship so far?

I remember my second day at CNN I was asked to help Ryan Young, a CNN Correspondent, on a summer violence surge happening throughout the country and I had to cold call police departments throughout the southeast states and watch press conferences from the departments as well. It took me about four hours and hundreds of calls to gather all the information, but I did it and I was featured as a contributor in the byline of the article. 

What do you think made you stand out while applying for the job and what qualities do you have that are helping you succeed?

I think the diversity in things I am involved in or have experience with really helped me stand out. I have a certification in digital media arts and have numerous jobs pertaining to customer service, technology, retail, film, social media and more. Diversifying yourself with lots of skills is very important to stand out to a company showing that you are a fast learner and open to opportunity with everything you do.

Information about the internship from WarnerMedia: Ted Turner is the visionary who launched CNN. Since that day, the world has never been the same. The Ted Turner Maverick Internship is designed for the next generation of “mavericks” who will shape the journalism world to come. It’s designed to offer maximum exposure to CNN, while preparing the intern to lead the way into the new era of news and storytelling. Since 2020, one Grady College student has been selected by WarnerMedia and CNN as a Maverick Intern each summer.