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Paula Perrotta's Blog

by paula_perrotta from Southfield, MI

Last Post 15 days, 21 hours Ago


Let's just start by saying my first two weeks as an intern at FOX 2's web team have been pretty remarkable and educational. And I'm really not just saying that!
After last week's intensive training on all of the teams software, systems and processes, we started applying what we learned right away. We've been posting stories, cutting videos, and helping our team as much as we possibly can. We are 3 interns in our department, and I find it nice share this experience with Kelly and John. We try to help each other out whenever someone forgets a password, or a little step in the process, or even if someone just needs a little help in Photoshop. I think we all have been doing very good.

Coming to this internship, I had an idea that I would be exposed to some cool stuff that I had never experienced before... but I really under-estimated the "cool factor."
Let me tell you guys about my first "field trip" today... I think we all know that Michigan had a special visitor today: Mr. Barack Obama. So, Dennis, our boss, had the awesome idea to send us out to his appearance at the Macomb Community College with the news team. Me and John were assigned to go get whatever we could get from behind-the-scenes shots to reactions to Obama's speech. It was awesome that he trusted us and just told us to get whatever we could, with no pressure on our shoulders. The only problem: we had consumer-type mini dv cameras (translating: terrible audio, and not very good video quality) , and did not take a tripod (my back is still feeling this decision!)

And away we went... press badges and all. When we got there, we went straight to the press area and met our FOX 2 colleagues. We advised Al Allen and Charles Pugh that we would basically stalk them for the day and get to show a little bit of their "human side." They were very nice to us and didn't mind us bugging them with questions and filming them doing whatever it was that they were doing.
Obama's speech was delayed by about an hour, because his tour of the Chrysler Stamping Plant took longer than expected, so we were all patiently waiting for what he had to say.

I was pretty excited I would get to see what Obama had to say straight from his mouth. As I am not a citizen of this country (I'm from Brazil), I cannot vote here, but I am really interested in American politics, especially because the decisions made here will affect everyone, everywhere in the world. Because I was not there to make a decision on whether to vote Obama, Hilary or McCain, I decided I would just analyze Obama's intellectual character and ideologies. And I admit I was really blown away by his well-known charisma. Even if you are not an Obama supporter, you have to give this to him: he is a great speaker, and he does appear have good intentions in his mind. In person, Mr. Obama shows he really cares for what he was saying and for his country... and this was just a beautiful thing to see.

After his conference, it was time for Charles Pugh's one-on-one with Mr. Obama, and for our surprise, me and John got to join him as well. But first we had to wait... with the Secret Service staring at us. Now, I cannot describe the feeling of waiting in that corridor for the opportunity to be face-to-face with a person that might be the next president of the United States. I hope Charles Pugh never reads this, but I think even he was kind of nervous too!
When we were called in and entered that small room, Mr. Obama was very courteous and polite. He welcomed us 4 into the room, and them him and Charles went straight into the interview.... and my heart was pounding there for those 10 minutes. After the interview was done, Charles had asked me to take a picture of him and Mr. Obama, which I did. As I was done taking the picture and showing it to Charles, Barack Obama was right in front of me, offering a hand shake and a smile (YES, I WAS EXCITED). He asked me how I was doing and I briefly introduced myself. He asked me about my hometown in Brazil and seemed genuinely interested in the conversation. With all of that hospitality I risked asking for a quick photo with him, to which he replied "Of course! No problem!" And here's the proof:



So... yes, we really got a lot more than what we were expecting to get in this experience. I would never even imagine I would have an opportunity like that when I left the studio this morning... really, what an amazing experience!!!
After this I'm really ready for whatever comes, but I seriously can't imagine anything cooler than what happened today happening again.

I think you guys are probably tired of reading this thread already, but I really wanted to share this great day with you guys!

So if you guys are interested in our first little snippet of behind-the-scenes from today (that's all we really had time for after we got back to the office), you can check it out here: Behind the Scenes at Obama's Visit to MCC

Please keep in mind our lack of proper equipment and time to put a decent package together, but I promise we'll do better next time!
So... enjoy and thanks for reading!
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Member Comments Total Comments: 32
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shockhazard read my blog view my photos
May 15, 2008 | 9:57 AM

Charles should have aswed Obama if he figured out how many states we had yet .

paula_perrotta read my blog view my photos
May 15, 2008 | 10:34 AM

shockhazard, I'm not sure that it aired, but Charles did ask him how he thought they were going and he didn't quantify it in numbers, but I believe he is pretty confident, but emphasized that he had not won yet, and suggested that Hilary won't back down anytime soon.

shockhazard read my blog view my photos
May 15, 2008 | 11:47 AM

Thank you for the responce Paula . I think you should feel lucky at this point in history that you don't have to make a voting decision this year .
I hope you become a conservative American , and do your homework well .
I welcome you to the melting pot that makes America unique , and wish you a great future in the land of opertunity .

TheMidevils read my blog
May 15, 2008 | 2:30 PM

Great picture of you and Jacko O'Sama, the first American flag hating, war bashing, muslim, white/black Negro that will find himself up against John McCain for the Presidency of this country.

Keep that picture close to your heart Paula, for alot of us do not.

colt19112 read my blog view my photos
May 15, 2008 | 9:06 PM

One question

who cares?

Justin_Ryan read my blog view my photos
May 15, 2008 | 9:38 PM

Paula, people can be cruel on this board, hiding behind a computer...just like the cup of chocolate pudding I am eating now (ironically), you'll develop a thick skin working in news. Great pictures and a well written piece! Keep up the good work, and we're lucky to have you on our team. Come say HI to me in the weather office next time :)

jax276 read my blog
May 15, 2008 | 11:13 PM

Justin you aren't worried about Paula's thick skin. I don't know her but I'll bet she's not stupid....

bye-byeMI read my blog view my photos
May 15, 2008 | 11:46 PM

Who's being cruel? Or is it that you don't agree with someone's post and you fine that cruel? I don't know........Paula, I bet that was a great experience for you and you should cherish it. I personally don't care for Obama and his policies that's just my opinion and hopefully I wasn't cruel for expressing that? I do agree with you, he's a good speaker and that's about as far as it goes with me. I enjoyed reading your blog and it seems you're having fun doing what you're doing.

StooltimeCounseling read my blog view my photos
May 16, 2008 | 12:14 AM

Hi, Paula.
Welcome to America. Your passion to do a good job at work and your sense of excitement for having rubbed elbows with someone involved in America's political process that will elect the next commander in chief are refreshing! Good luck with your internship at Fox 2.

colt19112 read my blog view my photos
May 16, 2008 | 8:21 AM

Justin if you are refering to me and my post about who cares it was not being mean i was asking who cares. This is a young person who is blogging about poltics and having just met a polticain is in awe of that person. it is no different that meeting a movie star as you get old you are not in awe of people anymore they are no different than you.

I aksed who cares? because I really do not care about Obama, Hillery or MClame for that matter.If these 3 are the best we can do God help us.

As far as getting thick skin, Justin thats great advise. Today our kids are never told that life is hard. We cannot even keep score as a coach of a little league team in a fear if they loose the kids will be hurt.. Well guess what that is life and how it goes. SO learning to understand that not all people are going to agree with you or even want to hear you is something everyone needs to learn

Again i was not being mean i was asking a question to everyone including this poster..

colt19112 read my blog view my photos
May 16, 2008 | 8:22 AM

after rereading, it sounds like obamagirl

colt19112 read my blog view my photos
May 16, 2008 | 8:31 AM

JUstin one more point i do not think anyone is hiding behind a computer. see Justin we are from a generation before yours and PC is something most of us do not beleive in. If I was to be in person with this story i would say the samething. You seem to think because we will disagree and say why and not be politically correct we are computer rambos, sadly your worng and what you have been taugh is wrong. Like Don Imas you too have to watch everything you say it could be cause for your firing. I say so what to Don Imus too who cares he said what he said so what, but to go after people for their thoughts or ideas is the only thing your generation has seen. it knows not of sicks and stones... Pc has been forced upon us and God help us if you slip up and say the wrong thing and offend someone.

Thick skin is what America used to have before the frontal assult by liberalism.

shockhazard read my blog view my photos
May 16, 2008 | 9:26 AM

Don't forget about the bias media ,and liberal double standards out there .
We have racist hate mongers out there that get a free pass , but if someone else says the same thing in reverse , they get fired or worse .

colt19112 read my blog view my photos
May 16, 2008 | 9:49 AM

hey get this obama when to a church that spews hate and some want to make this man president go figure!

shockhazard read my blog view my photos
May 16, 2008 | 10:13 AM

Whatch out Colt ! Obama has 57 states to get votes from , McCain will only have 50 .

paula_perrotta read my blog view my photos
May 16, 2008 | 10:19 AM

Thanks for all your comments (good or bad), but I think people are missing the point of this blog post.
I wrote this thread with the intent to express two things: 1. my excitement about my internship and doing what I like ; 2. my honor in meeting a person that could be the next president of the United States.
I don't even vote in this country so, don't worry about me being biased. My opinion of Mr. Obama for the purposes of this blog post were solely based on his character as a PERSON, not as a presidential candidate. I was just stating, ideologies aside, that he was an extremely polite and courteous person. I didn't want to make a political statement out of this, or talk about speculations in the media. There has been a lot of trash being talked about all three candidates. You make the choice on what you want to believe or not. I decided to go in there and make my decision based on my own impressions, not someone else's. Of course, I'm not foolish to believe that Mr. Obama was being 100% true in all of his promises (we are in an election year after all and everybody is making a lot of promises they know they won't be able to follow through). I know he is not a saint, but I also know Hilary and McCain aren't either.
I still would respect all 3 of them if they were respectful of me... and Mr. Obama was.

To wrap this up, I also think that if you really didn't care, you wouldn't even read the post, let alone reply 3 or 4 times to this thread. Let's please keep this space peaceful and respect other people's opinions.

jax276 read my blog
May 16, 2008 | 12:41 PM

You have integrity Ms. Perrotta. I'll bet you'll go far.

sicktired read my blog
May 16, 2008 | 1:01 PM

And don't forget she is a hot Brazilian woman. I want to party with you next Carnival. And great writing!

Schindy read my blog view my photos
May 16, 2008 | 1:54 PM

I agree with two points. First, you need a thick skin to work in broadcasting. Second, I've been blessed with the opportunity in my career to rub elbows with several politicians, movie stars, musicians and other so-called celebrities. I can tell you from experience that the awe factor fades with time. However, I could share a few "diva" stories. lol.

Finally, Paula you are a lucky girl! Several years ago, I spent the first two weeks of my internship at a radio station sorting thousands of post cards for a contest. That was in an age before we had this thing called the internet! I also recall writing press releases on a typewriter. Okay, I’ve got to stop writing now. I'm starting to feel old!

colt19112 read my blog view my photos
May 16, 2008 | 2:02 PM

Paula,

I guess since your new to this we all post and they evolve into things we never inteded.

Mr Obama charactor comes in to questions on many fronts but hishate towards his own nation and he pasters view which i am sorry he cannot be seperated from of white people.

I have met presidents and movie and sports stars as well and i will tell you as you go the awe will fade. But you posted and we repsond many of us do not see this man in the same eyes you look thru. So pardon me if i seem a but cold to your post but these are the facts as i am many others see them.

Good luck with your internship are you here on a student visa?

now this begs another question, but it is for another time..

Watch out for Justin he may take a liking to you!

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paula_perrotta

My name is Paula Perrotta, and I'm from Sao Paulo, Brazil. I am an intern at FOX 2 News' Web Team this summer and love what I do.

Member Since: 5/6/2008