Dear Friends of “FOX & Friends,”
Hope you had a great weekend, and as we start another workweek, let me give a shout out to the legions of fresh-faced college kids who've spent their summers working for FOX News . In the next two weeks, we'll be saying so long to most of them as they return to their ivy-covered buildings and beer funnels.
Every semester interns arrive with high hopes and anticipation of seeing how a television news network operates. By the end of the summer, they've done just that. Plus, if they work on our show, they've got an additional something to chew on: Why did I give up my summer vacation to work at a place where I have to get up at 3 a.m.?
The answer is easy: To see us without makeup and get us coffee — and it better be hot!
When I was at the University of Kansas 75 years ago, I had an internship at a television station in Kansas City. But because of union restrictions, I could not write anything, touch any equipment or appear on the air.
Really, all I could do was arrive early in the afternoon to observe the professionals drink coffee and smoke cigarettes right through the 10 o'clock news. I got nothing from that internship other than I developed a five-cup-of-coffee-a-day habit.
Meanwhile, those brave souls who intern at FOX News get to do lots of stuff: research stories, help book segments, coordinate outdoor elements, locate missing guests and remind us old timers what it was like to be young and without a mortgage. One college kid appeared more than once in a cow suit on camera. This is the kind of practical experience you just can't get at the "Today Show."
Actually, I don't know where we'd be without the interns. Sure they provide a valuable service to us by giving us a hand, but at the same time they're getting some practical experience in the business they hope to be a part of one day.
For some, it's a real eye-opener; they discover they really like broadcasting. For a few others, they realize it's hard work, where you have to be painfully accurate, and they opt to get into a less demanding field like neurosurgery. I'm kidding, so please stop with the hate mail all of you neurosurgeons!
We've had a really great crop of interns this summer, and I know in a few weeks they'll all be gone. And in their places with temporary employee cards will be a new batch, who we will greet with open arms and then tell to race to the mail room and get more toner for printer three and step on it, Mr. Kilmeade needs his sports scripts.
By the way, if you're reading this and you're thinking, "Why don't I apply to be a FOX News intern?" you can, as long as you're a student interested in the production of television news. For more information please click here.
Have a great day and a cool week, and we'll see you tomorrow morning for “FOX & Friends.”
Steve Doocy
Kansas City Intern Emeritus
Start your weekdays with "FOX & Friends First" at 6 a.m. ET and send your comments to: insider@foxnews.com
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox