Baltics’ Centennial | A Sub Regional Project for the Baltic States
Prateek became the World Affairs Council’s Global Programs Intern in May of 2018. He was then interviewed and selected for the Scripps Howard Communication Internship in August of 2018, a paid internship through the Scripps Howard Foundation in partnership with the World Affairs Council. This internship helps to further communication student’s education with hands-on experience, as well as offer additional support to the selected nonprofit organization. At the Council, Prateek created marketing material, managed social media outlets, and our world-class website for all our programs including our International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), Global Education Programs, and Diplomatic Speaker Events. He adapted to our mission quickly; to be a leader in preparing our region and its citizens to thrive in the 21st-century global environment by promoting international understanding, education, and cooperation.
As the Scripps Howard Communications Intern at the World Affairs Council – Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, my job involved engaging and communicating with individuals from all over the world. My favorite part of these networking opportunities was that they allowed me to meet and learn from the visiting delegations, as they brought a diverse perspective from their homelands. This space for conversation and shared information made me thankful that I work for a nonprofit that promotes international understanding.
I have met with several guests traveling on the professional exchange sponsored by the U.S. Department of State entitled International Visitor Leadership Programs (IVLP) this past year, but the most recent one touched the basis of my education. Eighteen delegates from Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia visited Cincinnati in late November to discuss “Journalism in the 21st-century.” The participants ranged from a variety of media careers including, journalists, reporters, editors, producers, and radio correspondents. As a Journalism and International Affairs major at the University of Cincinnati, this was an excellent opportunity for me to understand the perspective of 21st-century media and communications from the Baltic States. I was fortunate enough to spend an entire day of programming with the delegates as they visited the Business Courier, Cincinnati Enquirer, E.W. Scripps Center, and WCPO-TV.
My day started with an early morning meeting with the Business Courier, where we met with Rob Daumeyer, Editor since 1997, to discuss coverage of economic issues in Southwest Ohio. The Cincinnati Business Courier is an online and print edition magazine featuring the latest breaking business news. Members have access to 43 other local business publications owned by the parent company, American City Business Journals, as well as other business journals sites. The meeting was a success as they showed enthusiasm through their questions and ideas about how marketing and social media is used in business and work culture. I learned a lot about the upcoming employment opportunities and the transformation of the workplace. After a small chat with the delegates over coffee, I was able to discuss my own experiences in Europe.
Our next stop was at the Cincinnati Enquirer where we discussed how social media has impacted the sharing of information in print media and is altering the media landscape. Investigative Reporter, James Pilcher shared the Pulitzer award-winning story, “Seven Days of Heroin” and how it formulated such a significant impact on Cincinnati. Here, I learned about privacy issues in covering news in America and Baltic countries. I believe this knowledge was gold for me as I focus on studying South Asian cultures from a global perspective. Understanding the values of privacy through a legal aspect will help me to be better at writing, reading, and researching.
Next, we met with my professor, Dr. Jeffrey Blevins, Associate Professor and Head of the Journalism Department at the University of Cincinnati. He is a frequent opinion-editorial columnist for major news outlets, including USA Today, The Cincinnati Enquirer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and other venues. Dr. Blevins discussed fake news, social media, and anti-media sentiments which are developing slowly in the current society.
On the ride to WCPO-TV for our final meeting, we all chatted about the diversity in Baltic countries and the current social media and entertainment industry. I was happy to find out that several Bollywood movies and Indian television series are showcased in Baltic states. They also have a massive following of upcoming pop Indian music. At WCPO, we met with Reporter, Tom McKee, and News Director, Chip Mahaney who discussed the daily news in Cincinnati and how it has substantially changed in years concerning racial and gender perspectives. The investigative team joined the roundtable to discuss local issues including child care, slum lords, health care, law enforcement, sexual assault, and federal welfare fraud. Later we got a chance to tour the newsroom and the recording studio.
Through my internships at the Council, I have had the opportunity to meet with several international delegations, this one in particular engaged my interest, as this directly impacts my field of interest, journalism. It was such a pleasure to spend an entire day of programming with the delegates to discuss the diversity of media. I wish the delegates the best of luck in their fields, and I hope that they learned as much as I did to help them to the fullest extent in their home countries.
