Claudine Sarmiento has been with KTLA 5 since she graduated from CSUN at 2010.
She was lucky enough to receive an internship at KTLA 5 when she was studying at CSUN.
After interning at the station, she was offered a job after having been a production assistant and writer for them.
Sarmiento has won her second Emmy at KTLA 5 for the best morning newscast.
As a line producer, she picks and chooses the stories for a two hour show every morning. She'll wake up at 1 a.m. to catch up on the news before arriving at work by 2:30 a.m. She also looks for stories that speak to her, then assigns reporters the stories and gives them their assignments.
Another part is picking voice over and clips and how she wants the stories to be portrayed. Sarmiento then goes into a booth and hits the meters and keeps track of the time for commercials. If breaking news happen, she’s the first to know. She’ll also cut out stories if the anchors are talking too long.
Tips for broadcast writing:
- If you write a story, put it aside and then come back to it to rework it and make it shorter.
- Watch the news, plain and simple. You’ll pick up their style of speaking and that’s how you should write.
- When you write something, read it out loud.
- If you understand the source, you can write it quickly.
A few questions answered by Claudine:
Q: Is KTLA offering any internships now?
A: Not anymore, there was an issue about interns wanting to be paid rather than getting credit.
Q: Is news something you always wanted to do?
A: I kind of fell into it. I was high school editor for their newspaper, I interned at LA Times, and they told me newspapers are dying and to get a plan B. SO I went to college and picked a major at COC for the first two years. They had removed their newspaper program because they had no money. I had to pick PR or Broadcast journalism. I decided to give Broadcast a try and that’s how I got into my career.
Q: Any advice on how to prepare ourselves for an internship interview?
A: Know who you’re applying for, see their background and know who the anchors are just research the station. A lot of it is about confidence, bring the energy and remember why you’re there. Let them know you’re willing to work. Say, this is why I’m here and why you should remember me.
Q: How important is a cover letter?
A: Very important because I’d much rather read a cover letter and get to know you rather than only go through bullet points on your resume.
Q: How many hours do you typically work?
A: Sometimes less than 8 hours and I still stay about an hour after,
Q: What’s a word of advice to the students who are going to graduate?
A: I had a purpose, and all of this was for my family. I wanted to make them proud and take over the role of the breadwinner in the family. I did it in four years. If you don’t have a purpose, it’s always going to be a struggle for you so figure out what will make you happy.
To get the full insight, watch the whole interview on our YouTube channel!