At The Times-Tribune (Scranton), Executive Editor Larry Holeva, NEPA Advertising Director Paul Ross, Digital Sales Manager Jim Cunha, Regional Advertising Manager, Denise Sellers, Regional Classified Manager, Rebecca Reynolds, Managing Digital Editor, Chad Sebring, and Managing Editor Enterprise Dave Janoski discussed their efforts of evolving into a digital first organization. Collaboration and sharing of content with other MediaNews Group newsrooms in central and eastern Pennsylvania has been very successful.

The management team from The Daily News (Huntingdon), including Publisher John Cook, Managing Editor Becky Bard, Sports Editor Pearse Costello, Advertising Manager Katie Grager and Circulation Manager Michelle Ehresman shared their excitement about incorporating new talent into all departments of the publication.

Like so many news media organizations across Pennsylvania, when legacy staff retires, it is vital to indoctrinate new talent who can continue to engage the community with meaningful local content and revenue-generating advertising opportunities.

Under the guidance of PPG Internship Coordinator Jerry Micco, interns Katie Hovan from the University of Pittsburgh and Darin Martin from Susquehanna University are benefiting from this hands-on experience.

“The atmosphere has been so welcoming for me, and I have had the opportunity to work a lot of different beats. I love being able to talk with different journalists to get their perspectives especially the new journalists in their 20s that I can really relate to,” said Hovan.

Martin added, “I have been able to cover the pro soccer team, Riverhounds, along with covering charity events like the Batch Foundation. I have been pleasantly surprised by the level of trust from Jerry and the editors I have received as an intern to write about these games and events for the Post-Gazette.”

Micco said it is the organization’s goal to give every PPG intern a great opportunity by exposing them to different beats, journalists and events so they are successful and better prepared to join the real world when they graduate.

A rising senior at Point Park University, Kalliyan Winder is excited about spending her summer as an intern for Tribune-Review/TribLIVE under the tutelage of Internship Coordinator John Allison.

Winder commented, “It has been a perfect experience at TribLIVE as I was able to jump right in, and I already have 10 stories published and have been able to shadow some incredible journalists. The reporters at Trib are passionate, they trust and respect each other so it has been a great environment for me to learn.”

Allison noted, “We try to provide an atmosphere where there is good interaction between editors, journalists and interns, all while we are covering the breaking news of the day in the newsroom. Kalliyan has been tremendous in her assignments and a pleasure to work with.”