A Media Studies/Journalism Student Reports from the Field

I can't remember when I updated you last, but in January I got hired as a Legislative Aide  for a law firm in Minneapolis.  I helped their Gov Relations team at the state capitol  throughout the legislative session - sitting in on committee hearings, writing client reports,  tracking bills.  It was great experience, as I'd never done legislative work before. When session ended in May, the firm asked me to stay on.  I've been doing a bit  more administrative work since then, but they give me political stuff when it comes up  (since session is over it's not as busy).  I think it's a good place for right now - it's full-time  with benefits, so even the office work is worth it. Plus, I'm meeting good people and  they've said they don't want to lose me - so maybe I can get back to the capitol  again next year. As for the skills I was taught at USF that have come in handy at work - everything!   But I would say specifically the journalism courses because a big part of the  legislative work I did required good writing skills; it was the main thing the firm  looked for and I had to submit writing samples.  So although I'm not reporting,  I did have to be able to follow complex issues at the Capitol and write about  them for clients in a way that made sense to people who didn't follow politics on a daily basis.  An interesting story on social media:  A Repub state senator here in MN used  Twitter to post what a Dem senator had said during a floor debate on budget  issues - the only problem was, the Repub completely misquoted her colleague  and it become a huge controversy because the Twitter post had the Dem saying  negative things about the disabled (which never actually happened).  It was  taken up by the Senate Ethics Committee and got lots of media attention.   Just another reminder about the potential pitfalls of social media, if used carelessly.