A Day in the Life of a Creative Services Intern

I’m the Creative Services intern for CMGO this summer! One of the best parts of this internship is that I get the opportunity to shadow different positions in different creative departments throughout Cox from advertising to news production. I also get the chance to create work of my own that will be used by the company as well as use the ideas of different experienced employees here to improve my work.

The schedule below will give you a feel for what an average day is like for me.

9:00 – I arrive at work. I check in with my boss, Kristy, the Creative Services Manager, then head to my desk to check my email and get some things started before the weekly meeting.

9:30 – In the meeting, we go over what needs to be done this week, like which spots need to be shot for different companies, who will be shooting on location, and what’s due for the week.

10:30 – I shadow Paul, a graphic designer in the news department who walks me through a bunch of different things he’s working on. He shows me how orders are processed from the producers, filled, tested, and sent back all while he fills a template with a mug shot and sends it in. He also shows me a map he’s building with an online program and a little Photoshop that aids the news reporters in their explanation of breaking stories. Later, I can see the pieces he’s made flash up on the TV screen as it plays on the 12:00 news. It’s really cool to be able to see the beginning, middle, and end of the whole process!

11:30 – Carol, another Graphic Designer in News, shows me around the studio and production rooms. It’s interesting to hear about and see the different kinds of work graphic designers do here from fully digital pieces that are created and sent in to be aired on the news to print pieces, such as the large canvases that decorate each of CMGO’s radio stations.

12:30 – Lunch!

1:30 – After lunch, I spend some time at my desk working on a long term project Kristy gave me creating graphics for an informational advertising video. It’s a great opportunity to practice my illustration. As I’m working on it, I send some pieces to another graphic designer, Kevin, for some feedback. It’s great having someone like Kevin who can give me great advice on how to better lay out some of the figures in my graphics and tell me more about his job and the type of pieces he is usually asked to create.

3:30 – Back downstairs in News, I shadow the designer who makes the teasers that play leading up to the news broadcast.

4:30 – Carol takes me to a meeting where we discuss a new installation in the CMG building.

5:30 – I get to sit in on the news production as three producers lead their segments for the ninety-minute news slot. It’s very fast paced but in between the action, I get to meet three interesting producers and learn about their career paths as we talk about college and the difference between classes and the “real world”.