Intern Spotlight: Sonia Narang

By Kelly Carr
September 8, 2008 04:37 PM

Sonia Narang just graduated from the master’s program at University of California Berkeley in May and already she’s built herself an impressive journalism resume.

She worked at Forbes and PBS’s Frontline while in college and this summer Narang was one of seven students in the nation to clinch a business journalism internship funded by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism. The internships give aspiring business journalists a chance to learn the ropes and improve their skills by spending 10 weeks working at a metro newspaper.

Narang’s internship took her to the business desk at the San Jose Mercury News. There, she covered spot business news stories, crafted enterprise pieces and improved her multimedia skills. Each day, she said, she came to work ready to take on a new assignment.

“The daily stories coupled with long-term in-depth reporting gave me the experience I wanted to continue my career as a journalist,” Narang said. “I received significant one-on-one guidance from my editor on print stories and also got a chance to pursue my skills as a video journalist by shooting and editing a few videos for the newspaper's Web site, mercurynews.com.”

Below, Narang shares more details from the internship experience:

Did you have a specific beat or area of focus on the business desk of the San Jose Mercury News?

I covered a variety of business news, from home remodeling to the tomato salmonella scare to a spike in Bay Area bankruptcy filings. It was great moving from one type of business-related story to another, and I enjoyed switching gears. My editors were great about giving me the chance to cover all sorts of interesting stories, from short dailies to more in-depth articles.

 Which story are you most proud of? What were your reporting methods?

I was really happy with my story on summer jobs for teens, a piece I reported by interviewing high school students working at local stores. My editor assigned me the story and I read a study about how summer employment for teens had hit an all-time low. I then visited a local ice cream shop and a shopping mall, where I interviewed a number of students who had found jobs and some who were still looking. I also called up San Jose area employment offices to find out how they were supporting young job hunters. I visited the ice cream shop with the San Jose Mercury News photography intern, who photographed my subjects at work.

Talk about the multimedia experience you garnered while at the San Jose Mercury News. How has this helped to make you a better reporter?

As a journalism student who is trained in video reporting, I pushed for the opportunity to do a few online videos for the San Jose Mercury News Web site, mercurynews.com. I filmed and edited a few short videos, including one about stacked parking garages and another about a local beer factory. Making videos on deadline was a worthwhile experience, as it taught me how to get the most important details quickly.

What are your plans now?

I'm heading to New York City, where I will work as a News Associate for NBC News. I'll be rotating through various news shows at NBC. I'm mostly interested in shooting and editing videos, and I hope to continue my career in video journalism and also cover international stories.

What are the most valuable lessons you'll take away from your internship experience?

I learned how to turn around a complicated story very quickly and how to transform a potentially dry, difficult-to-understand business story into a compelling piece. I also learned how important it is to get more facts than I'll ever need for the story, but also to limit the number of people I interview for one story.

A few other samples of Narang’s work from the San Jose Mercury News:

"Contractors at the ready for remodeling work amid slowdown"

"Housing crisis spurs sharp jump in bankruptcies"

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Copyright © 2008 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism