Spring Semester Internship at CBS Radio Orlando has been one of the best internship opportunities I could have ever asked for. I started off thinking that I was just going to strictly work in the promotional department and be an “extra hand,” and I was wrong. The entire internship was fully engaging and educational from the first week to the very last day.

My first day I was placed in a morning talk show with Sunny FM and learned what it was like to have a live radio talk show in the morning, and what the radio hosts had to go through, waking up at 5 a.m., pulling news reports, and finding audio for the listeners and making sure that each day they gave exactly what their listeners wanted.

I then moved to the sales department where I learned what it was like to sell packages to different clients. The work that goes into pitching to the clients, and all that was offered in theses packages made me realize how inclusive CBS radio was. Part of the selling process was to sell sponsorships to events that the NTR department puts together. NTR, or non-traditional revenue, is where I saw myself growing in a career since it was the portion where the company would put on events to gain extra profits. I was blessed with the opportunity to even go to an event and work it for a weekend, the Downtown Food and Wine Festival in Lake Eola. After the event was over I was able to go to the MIX 105.1 morning show and see what it was like to be on a show with three hosts. The show was very captivating and I learned how to be on air, create bumpers, create commercials, and talk to winners on the phone.

Food and Wine Festival with Adam and Taylor

As I was still working with the morning show I started working with the Digital Media Department and learned about posting different advertisements all over the internet portion of CBS radio. It was captivating to see the backside of ad placements on the web; the web consisted of radio.com and the station websites that placed ads on videos, on the page, and on the air. This correlated with my classes and made what I was learning applicable to what I was doing at the station.

My next step was to venture off into promotions and work with marketing the station brands.  I was really excited to sit in on promotional meetings and music meetings to see what would be placed next on the radio, I was even lucky enough to help choose a couple of songs that should play on the radio. When I went to my first on-site promotional event I did an outstanding job in making the brand known. I learned that when you work, always work as if someone is watching, and because of that work ethic I was able to greet and meet a celebrity, Vanilla Ice, since my boss was very pleased with my work.

Ting Tings

Andy Grammer

This internship was a real blessing for my life. I went in with the idea that if I were to start my own advertising agency I would know the back end of radio commercials, and never did I think I would fall in love with such a great experience. This has been a huge opportunity for me to grow as an individual, and also in my occupational searches. CBS radio Orlando taught me about myself and about what I truly want to do. I call this a very successful internship, and I am excited to see what the future has in store for me.

Walk the Moon with Trey Jensen and Samantha Rivero.