On Monday November 3rd, Achona Online had the opportunity to have an official visit to local news station, FOX 13. Kelly Ring, mother of sophomore Kendall Bulleit, has been a news broadcaster for the past twenty years. She attended The University of Missouri, which is ranked in one of the top three journalism schools in the country. Our Achona staff had an eye opening experience seeing how journalists in the real world work. This was my second time visiting the news station. I had the privilege junior year to shadow Ring and saw first hand how she prepared her lines; I even was able to watch the live broadcast.

Ring welcomed our staff at 8:00 AM with open arms. We started off the tour in the main office and were quickly taken to catch Lindsay Milbourne broadcast the morning weather. Lindsay shared with us that she usually runs through the weather report in her head before heading to report. Often done outside in the front garden of the station, she has no teleprompter, so her extemporaneous speaking skills are quite advanced. She also has to be constantly updated on world news in case the anchors on screen before her, ask her her opinion. We were all so impressed to see how natural she looked standing in the sun, facing a camera and speaking so eloquently.

Ring then gave us a personal tour of the main office where all the computers are located, the control room, the weather station and the main set. I don’t think we all realized how much work goes into producing the news. The control room is filled with twenty plus computers and TV screens along with the producer and director making sure everything runs smoothly. This whole experience broadened our thoughts on journalism. Senior Jessica Jurado exclaimed that the first thing that ran through her head when she walked in was “This is NOT what I expected.” She states: “When I first walked in and saw all the different rooms and how they were set up, it seemed so surreal. I always thought it was a flat wall in a small room, but it’s completely different.”

Ring wrapped up the tour by giving us some advice for our futures in journalism. She informed us that there’s an abundant number of women who are extremely successful in broadcasting. Ring stated that theres opportunities in every field, whether its in weather, sports, politics or even if you’re strictly interested in writing, there’s always an opportunity waiting. Attending an all girls school helps us develop that confidence and determination needed to succeed in the field. Senior Rachel Anderson asked Ring what people generally major in if they’re interested in pursuing this job. The majors range from journalism, communications, political science and more. Most majors have a beneficial impact on producing news. Overall, the experience engaged us in the many opportunities journalism has to offer.