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April 14, 2020

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Joshua Sullivan is a graduate student in Northeastern University’s School of Journalism, and is currently on co-op as a researcher for the WGBH media critique show Beat the Press. In this position, his main responsibility is to make sure no stone is left unturned in the package as his team works together to compile several stories about media coverage each week. He works on gathering research notes and searches for video clips and other media that pertain to the topic that week. Given that his role has now moved online, we caught up with Joshua to check in on his CAMD co-op gone digital!

How has your co-op changed since it’s moved online? Have your responsibilities shifted?

Unfortunately, there are some things that I need to be on the WGBH server to complete, such as using our transcription and time marking tools, so those responsibilities have shifted to other people who have access to them. Also, when there was a lull at Beat the Press, I’d help other reporters on shoots, acting as a production assistant, or another reporter. That, of course, is no more.

What digital tools is your co-op company using to keep everyone productive and on-the-same-page?

Nothing crazy here, just G-Mail and Google Docs. Our team members are often going in several different directions at once, so that part of communication hasn’t changed since going remote.

Has there been anything unexpected for you as you transitioned your role online?

It’s been a pretty easy transition online. I was definitely one of the last interns to stop working in the office, and I really didn’t want to, if I could help it. I’d still much rather prefer to be in the office, in the thick of things, but that’s just not a possibility right now.

During this difficult time, how are you staying motivated and inspired?

I need a job! I’m graduating this spring, and I can’t let a virus halt those plans. Aside from that, mostly, I just feel as if the importance of our show only increases during a pandemic.
“Media outlets will continue to put out good journalism and bad journalism, and it’s our show’s job to hold everyone accountable.”
That might get more difficult during a pandemic, but it certainly doesn’t become less important. We recently had a powerhouse show. Briant Stelter from CNN and David Folkenflick from NPR were both on, and Dan Shaugnessy from The Boston Globe did a phone interview. That’s a tough pace to maintain, but we’re going to try.