Michael Prazmark '10 had quite an experience at Curry. Combining a rich academic experience that included majoring in Sociology and minoring in Communication, and a series of well-placed internships along the way, he recently accepted a position with CNN in Atlanta as a journalist trainee. This competitive program typically chooses less than a dozen college graduates a year from across the country.
In 2010 he finished his final internship at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, working as a runner for NBC Sports. This internship was the crowning achievement for a student who fully realized Curry's powerful Experiential Learning component. Over the years, Michael interned at CNN, NESN and the London bureau of NBC News.
The Vancouver Olympics was his second stint helping NBC Sports with Olympics coverage, having already worked on the Beijing Summer Games in 2008. Throughout the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Michael kept Curry readers up-to-date with his experiences on the internship. You can read the archived blog down below.
We wish Michael luck as he represents himself and Curry in the deadline-driven world of 24 hour news!
Final Entry, March 8, 2010:
Back in the United States! It has been a very intense month of long hours with zero days off. My initial expectations of my responsibilities became a rollercoaster of learning experiences and exciting moments that I will remember forever. Our Production Manager told us before we left over dinner that we might have feelings of withdrawal after returning home when everything was all said and done, and he was right! At the time we were soaking wet and had been outside pulling cable off the mountain for 15+ hours, so many of us were skeptical about the remark. Now being home, looking at pictures, and reminiscing with friends and family I wish I could do it all over again starting tomorrow.
From putting together production trucks, to helping athletes and their families unite at the finish lines, my job as a "Runner" was boundless. I was fortunate enough to work with anyone from the Director of the events, right down to the people who lay the fiber cables that reach the cameras at the very top of the mountain. The wide range of responsibilities I undertook gave me an eye opening perspective on how the Games work full circle. Everyone that had a hand in creating the broadcasts rely on one another to make " the magic happen". I was one of the few fortunate enough to be involved with this project that happens once every four years and have obtained the skill set that is applicable especially in the tough market we as future graduates will be facing shortly.
Whether you have read the updates, or just stayed tuned in, I thank all of you for reading along. I want to especially thank my many supporters who I couldn't have gotten as far as I have without. To Jerry Gibbs - our Television Production Professor, who initially helped generate my interest in television and helped coach my efforts inside the various networks over the years - I want to extend special thanks. Michelle Perrault - the Director of Career Services for organizing the many logistics that came along with some of my out of the ordinary international internships - I want to especially thank, along with everyone else involved who have helped me throughout my time at Curry.
My advice to anyone who may want to find what they are best at or simply enjoy the most, take advantage of the many resources that are available at Curry. Find interesting companies to spend a semester with. You may learn a lot and love every minute you are there, or find out that you would never want to work in that particular industry for as long as you live! These are important questions that internships are able to help answer. You may even have the answer to the question you get oh so often, "what do you want to do when you graduate from college?"…because I did!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
It's Wednesday, February 24th and Cypress is having more weather issues. The fog is a major concern for the Aerial Finals, and the effect it has on the athletes. Competitors hit heights of 50ft+ and rely on the pine bows, and also their coaches, in order to see how and when they should maneuver their bodies for smooth landings.
On the production side of things the delays create issues with other events that are supposed to be aired as scheduled. On February 20th I was lucky enough to sit in the production truck for the qualification rounds for Aerials that knocked down the number of athletes to only 12. The production truck is a very intense high-paced 
place to be--especially while broadcasting a live event.
In the production truck the Director, Producer, Technical Director, Assistant Producer, and a recent addition called “Stromoter” all work together to create what is aired. The truck is equipped with 30 or more monitors that are used for various situations, and headsets that the Cameramen, Talent, and Correspondents all get their cues from. Variables such as timing directly affect the airing of athletes actual runs, their results, replays, commercial breaks, montages, and on site interviews that are used carefully to create “The Big Show”.
The high intensity is mostly felt when on-the-spot changes occur that interfere with what was originally discussed in the regular meetings held prior to the start of each event. More than just weather, athletes taking big falls in need of medical assistance can generate the unexpected delays that production must quickly adapt to. Announcers need to be ready at any moment’s notice to jump right back into discussion, as does everyone else involved that have been previously mentioned.
My short description of the way the production truck runs does not do justice to the amount of things that need to be taken into consideration when building such a large show. My time spent in that area increases my own considerations, but there is just so much going on it is almost impossible to retain what everyone is doing in such a short period of time. All the people involved are professionals that are the best at what they do and therefore are hand picked to take on the highly regarded production of the Olympic Games.
Friday February 19, 2010:
It is now February 19th, only two days after Shaun White secured his second gold medal at the 2010 Olympics.
After escorting his family down to the finish line, Shaun went for his second run, already knowing he had won the gold and pulled the trick that put the icing on the cake. All of us here at NBC don't quite know what to call it, but we do know it has never been seen in any previous Olympic Games.
Yesterday we had the Women's Snowboard half pipe finals and I took on much of the same responsibilities. NBC's "Today Show" had a crew at the event where I accompanied correspondent Jenna Bush (pictured) and crew to the families of the U.S. athletes competing. 
The "Today Show" got great interviews with Teeter, Clark, and Bliliers before the start of the big event. While watching the interviews take place I got a great perspective on how to approach the mothers and fathers that are watching their children compete on such a grand stage not knowing what the outcome may be.
We are not done just yet. We still have some very exciting events coming up such as Ski Cross, and Aerials that some say are the most visually exciting events that the Winter Games has to offer.
I am now starting to do more work in the production truck where the Director, Producer, and various others who work together to coordinate what you see at home.
Saturday February 13, 2010:
Weather remains an issue here at Cypress Mountain where Freestyle skiing such as moguls, ariels, and ski-cross are taking place. We have Women's moguls qualifiers today from 4:30-7:00 pm where weather is not affecting the course. On the other hand the snowboard half-pipe remains an issue due to the rainfall, and Giant slalom has been referred to by, NBC's snowboard statistic's analyst, Marc Sullivan, as "sketchy at best."
Jim Cantore, our weather expert and correspondent, is with us up here at Cypress, and has been running live stand-ups back to the states periodically concerning the conditions. Whistler is seeing the exact opposite effects of the storm and has a record breaking 200+ inches of snow this season. Due to the lack of snow here at Cypress, snowboard practice has been cancelled and moved to the Whistler pipes and big air.
Personally I have been working with our producer for the events, Rob Hyland, and Director, Drew Esocoff, doing practice runs for the upcoming events this afternoon. Over the past few days cameramen, editors, and sound personnel have been fine tuning our production facilities and it looks like we are where we need to be.
With the lack of snow being an issue an NBC affiliate was sent to do a story on the dumping of snow from one mountain to the other via helicopter, and the sheer amount of money the VANOC committee is spending on the operations is creating controversy among locals. Rumors are that the two helicopters use about $10,000 an hour to dump the 20,000 pounds of snow on each drop. I escorted the NBC crew to the dump site via snowmobile, and I also attended a press conference regarding the issue.
Monday February 8, 2010:
So far so great! I have officially had my orientation, and last night an unofficial orientation dinner with some big names from the TV world.
We have been doing anything from setting up the talent rooms (Bob Costas) and where the athletes will be before being interviewed. Lots of grunt work, so far nothing quite technical, except for trying to mount a satellite to the roof of the NBC production trail
er late last night!
I did get a chance to talk to the Production Manager who oversees both snowboarding and freestyle skiing.
Our dinner last night allowed us the opportunity to meet with several television personalities and learn how they got into the business. Mary Carillo, Sam Flood, Peter Alexander (pictured), and Lester Holt all came and chatted with each of us personally.
My duties are still anything and everything, but until the start of the games we won't have a daily schedule of responsibilities. There is still much to be discovered and I will let you know everything I know as soon as possible, but I hope this first update can give you an idea of what we have been up to.