Today was the first day in DC and I can happily say I enjoyed the entirety of the day and who we visited. But maybe that was because we stepped out bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. The week was about to be incredibly draining. Before leaving the apartment, Ariana and I took our daily self-timer photo (I can't say it's my favorite thing in the world). But we walked down the street grabbed some city bikes and rode toward the Getty office. We arrived and were taken upstairs by Anna Moneymaker, a staff photographer for Getty, and then met Chip Somodevilla and were graciously greeted with coffee and muffins.
I was surprised by Getty and impressed by the photographers' passion and dedication to their craft. Compared to NYC last year we did not speak with many staff photographers for wire services. I think I was surprised by how much it interested me. Although they are not working on long-term stories, which is where my interests lie, I liked the way they are involved in every aspect of the industry. The independence of working at Getty ultimately is what perked my ears up. Chip really said it well when he mentioned that you have to be good at everything. Some of their small suggestions ranged from getting a drone license to connecting your camera to the internet. What struck me the most about these photographers was that they sometimes can pitch ideas and photograph what they're interested in. I enjoyed listening to Chip speak about his opportunity to photograph in Montana for a story about bark beetles.
After that, we arrived at USA Today. My first impression of USA Today was literally just the outside of the building. I thought it was a really beautiful area, I had a great time sitting on the bench near their pond, I called Josh and chatted with him about project updates and how DC was going. After my short outside time, I walked in and waited with the rest of the class for Andy Scott. The building was large with high ceilings, long staircases, and fountains. I can't say I was in my comfort zone. Andy greeted us in the lobby and brought us to USA Today's floor. Walking in felt like a movie. It was exactly how you might picture a newsroom to look. Tangled wires, cameras at the ready, clocks with different time zones, and Fox and CNN playing continuously. The only thing missing was the people. It was a day when no one was in the office. Although I wish I could have seen an in-person workday, I understand why we never went in on a normal day.
Andy took us into a conference room along with Josh Morgan and Megan Smith. We proceeded to chat with us about the company. I was mostly surprised by the amount of video work that is produced by USA Today. However, it felt like the transition to the video was a new development from the work they showed us. They were good features, but I think USA Today has some improvements to make when it comes to creating good-quality videos. My takeaway from USA Today was centered on the pitch process there. Megan spoke about the deliverable for her pitches. It felt comforting to know the proposal process we use at school right now is similar to what she does. I enjoyed USA Today because of how they seem to be looking ahead.
After USA Today, we drove to Dan's mom's (Margot) house. She was probably one of the sweetest people I have ever met. She was just a ball of energy. I was certainly not in the mood to be around a bunch of people as I was very drained from the interactions of the day but I really appreciated Margot's kindness.
