FOX BROADCASTING (WTTG-TV)
Patricia C. Borna

A graduate of Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany where she majored in theater with minors in American studies and journalism, Patricia Borna also earned a Masters degree. Patricia speaks German, English, Spanish, and Latin. She worked as a reporter for the daily newspaper Offenbach Post; as an intern at ZDF (German Public Television) as well as Mousonturm Theater in Frankfurt; and as a tutor in German, English, and math. Patricia won the Book Prize Deutschephysikalische Gesellschaft; participated in exchange programs in Poole, England and Portland, Oregon; and traveled to Indonesia, Thailand, Spain, Austria, and Hungary. She also studied ballet, astronomy, fencing, and badminton. Patricia first applied to the Washington Internship Program in mid April of 2005 to start a television internship in December, but when Patricia was chosen by the chief editor at Frahkfurter Neue Press (where she was working) to help with the “newspaper in school” project run by the IZOP Institute (which is famous in Germany and financed by Fraport / AG, who operates Frankfort Airport), she decided to postpone her start date for her Washington, D.C. internship until the summer of 2006. In late April, the Washington Internship Program placed Patricia at Fox News for in a position that began in June. Patricia worked at Fox from mid June through early September, and her colorful account below reflects the current state of TV journalism: 
                                   
“Whether the writer for the Fox 5 WTTG’s 10 pm news broadcast didn’t really understand that the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 was not a peace treaty between Israel and Hesbollah or if he just failed to read the wire information carefully and therefore wrote a voiceover about alleged successful negotiations between both sides, the resulting misrepresentation is indicative of the state of television journalism in the United States. The anchor read the prompter without questioning. After the show, the anchor’s Republican colleague was outraged. This editor had worked for several television companies during his career, and now he was disappointed with the TV news business; he blamed producers and management for transforming the news into a ‘zoo of infotainment’ without substance that catered to an unreflective audience. This man is not the only professional frustrated by widespread ignorance among young colleagues; old-school journalists searching for truth have become relatively rare in American local television.”

“Patrick McGrath, Fox 5’s national correspondent, turned out to be one of my major teachers during three months of learning and working. He took me under his wing. In the field, we visited Capitol Hill, the Pentagon and the White House, daily press briefings at the State Department, and the State House in Annapolis for a story on the Maryland race for comptroller. He also covered the war in the Middle East and Afghanistan and the health of Fidel Castro in Cuba. During our visits, this sixty-three-year-old WTTG veteran introduced me to several other senior correspondents, reporters, producers, and political analysts like Fox News Channel’s Jim Mills and Major Garret, WTOP Radio’s Mark Plotkin, and CNC’s Chad Pergram. After doing live-shots, McGrath took me around the facilities, explained historical facts, and recounted stories from his long career in journalism.”

“McGrath opened doors for me at Fox News and widened my horizons from the confines of a local Washington news station to the glamorous world of a national news network. Having the opportunity to visit Jim Mills, senior editor and producer on Capitol Hill, in his office whenever I wanted, I was exposed to the daily routine at the House TV and Radio Gallery. I shadowed Major Garret, a former CNN reporter, at the Capitol Hill Club and visited the Fox News D.C. bureau where stories are written and edited. Being granted press credentials for the Hill, I was able to attend the congressional visit of Iraqi’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. I was in the House of Representatives when Fox News staff members awaited the release of abducted colleagues in Gaza. Because of Patrick’s contacts, I was allowed to visit the White House press area -- even during its renovation this summer and despite the fact that after 9/11, foreigners have great difficulty gaining permission to go there at all.”

“During these field trips, I gathered ideas for my own stories and packages. After finishing pieces, I gave them to a Fox 5 writer, producer, or anchor to improve my writing. I chose video footage from the library, used a new tapeless archive system, shot stand-ups with dedicated photographers like Doug Wilkes (who covered the war in Iraq as a photojournalist), tracked my voice, and gave the packages to editors like Mike Fischoff. Finally, I worked with the control room and a director to insert chyrons on my packages. I was supposed to work only three days a week, but soon I was at the station almost every day to work on my resume tape. I was working during Fox 5’s morning news as well as for the 5 pm and 10 pm news broadcasts. At the end of my internship, I had completed six packages, and one of the stand-ups was filmed at the Pentagon press-briefing room. I shot one German standup, but all the other material was in English. Most of the time, I covered politics, but because of my academic background in theater, American studies, and politics, I also did a feature story on the reopening of the American Art Museum and the Portrait Gallery. In addition, I followed police reporter Darryn Moore for a story on a pawn-shop robbery.”

“The news coordinator and my dedicated supervisor worked out an opportunity for me and the other the interns to sit at the anchors’ desk and participate in an audition. Supported by the whole Fox 5 studio crew, we recorded voice-overs and live-shots out of the Fox 5 morning news rundown. Then we talked with the anchors about our camera presence. Fox 5’s chief editor worked on my voice and American diction. In addition, I sat at the assignment desk where all information for stories is gathered and newsroom operations are organized.”

“As a German intern who worked as a full-time freelance newspaper reporter for ten months after graduation, I was eager to learn everything about the American news business. I worked as an intern in German television twice in the past. Because newspapers go into greater depth than electronic broadcasting, I knew from the start that local television would be different from print journalism, but I was still surprised by the size of the gap between ‘info-entertainment’ and fine reporters like John Henrehan and Patrick McGrath and anchors like Will Thomas. I was saddened to see WTTG veterans like Henrehan or McGrath, who covered the White House and Capitol Hill for almost twenty years, fight for their stories in daily editorial meetings. Some younger producers constantly misjudge the importance of political and cultural stories and therefore decide against covering critical matters. Likewise, anchors often know far too little about international relations. Doing a piece on naked yoga during a serious news broadcast is more than questionable.”
 

“Nevertheless, my internship at Fox 5 WTTG was an extraordinary experience. I was able to make contacts very early in the internship and therefore could focus on things that interest me, so the time at Fox 5 WTTG was more than helpful. Now I know that I would like to advance my career in political or cultural journalism. The contacts and friendships I made are very important to my future goals.”

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