The Daily Signal - #518: Two Young Reporters Get a Taste of Washington

Episode Date: August 5, 2019

On today's episode, we talk with Daily Signal reporting interns Carmel Kookogey and Kaylee Greenlee about their summer in Washington, D.C. They share highlights from their internship and offer some advice to other college students aspiring to move to Washington.We also share letters to the editor and a story about how one generous man gave the gift of a college education to 33 strangers.The Daily Signal podcast is available on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. All of our podcasts can be found at http://dailysignal.com/podcasts. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Monday, August 5th. I'm Robert Blewey. And I'm Virginia Allen. Today we are talking with Carmel Kukagi and Kaley Greenlee, our two summer interns here at the Daily Signal. We also read your letters to the editor and share a good news story about how one generous man gave the gift of a college education to 33 strangers. Before we get to today's show, Virginia and I want to tell you about our favorite morning newsletter. It's called the morning bell. day, the Daily Signal delivers the top news and commentary directly to your inbox for free.

You'll be able to read about the policy debates shaping the agenda, analysis from Heritage Foundation experts, and commentary from leading conservatives like Ben Shapiro, Michelle Malkin, and Dennis Prager. It's easy to sign up. Just visit DailySignal.com and click on the connect button in the top right corner of the page. We'll start sending you the morning bell tomorrow. Stay tuned for today's show. coming up next. Today we welcome to the studio, The Daily Signals, Two Summer Interns, Carmel Kukagi, and Kaylee Greenlee.

Thanks for being with us. Thanks for having us. I want to begin by asking you about your experience at The Daily Signal this summer. You've had the chance to report on a whole number of stories. You've really been instrumental in terms of following the debates that have really shaped many of the news cycles over the summer. and I just would be curious. What's your favorite story?

What have you enjoyed most covering? I actually really enjoyed covering the Tiananmen Square rally in, I think it was early June with Jared Stepman and Carmel. She ran around doing interviews and reporting, and I took a bunch of photos and really enjoyed that. Yeah, that was a good one. I also really liked, I got to attend an event that Heritage put on about three eyewitnesses from Nigeria, who had suffered persecution for their Christian faith. That was a really heavy story to write, but also a really good one that I enjoyed telling.

It's interesting that you both mentioned stories that weren't necessarily dominating the headlines, stories that may have gone underreported in some other media outlets. Why would you say that those types of stories stood out to you? I just think I didn't know very much about it before I went to the event. That isn't something I remember learning about in high school or even in college. And I really like working out in the field

of being able to actually talk to the people who experienced it and the people who it directly affects and being able to share their stories. Yeah, I would agree with that. To me, the fact that a story is underreported makes it more interesting. I think there are a lot of big stories that hit the headlines and every news outlet has their little take on it. But when you get a story like that that no one has said anything about, that's much more exciting. Well, we certainly appreciate your all's writing ability and all of your hard work this summer. How did you all gain an interest in journalism?

I actually have been writing since I was little. I don't know if you guys remember Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter, but I used to be obsessed with him. And on the day that the Stingray attacked him, to cope with it, I actually wrote a report about his life. I can't remember how young I was, but my mom just talks about how she knew that in there. That was probably something I was going to keep doing. So I've stuck with it. Yeah. I also have been writing for most of my life in various ways, whether that's novels and plays that I wrote as like an eight-year-old girl with my sisters, or, I mean, I started journalism when I got to college and really, really started to get into it at that point. But yeah, just telling stories has always been a passion of mine.

So I think it's kind of natural. Well, telling stories is certainly something we strive to do well at The Daily Signal. You know, you both are young in your careers, and yet journalism is in many respects maligned. It's losing trust among the American people. If you look at news organizations, they tend to be among the least trusted out there. So what is it that you would like to contribute in a way to maybe reverse that trend? I don't know. I think you take it one story at a time.

There's a lot being said about what journalists should and shouldn't be doing. And I think too many journalists spend their time trying to fight back against that or reporting on themselves, really. So I think it's important as young reporters to really change that narrative with our actions instead of our words and just, you know, write the good stories, tell the truth and do a good job at it and hopefully regain some respect for this art. I think a lot of it too is keeping your opinion out of things labeled news. So I don't know, just keeping commentary and commentary and news and news I think would gain a lot of trust back. That's a great point. And that's one of the reasons why we label them as such on the Daily Sink. You know, mentors have played a big role in my life. I started out as a reporter in Washington,

started writing when I was in high school, was editor in my college paper. And throughout that, mentors really helped guide me in that direction. Do either of you have a mentor that you look up to, either somebody that has been, you know, had a personal influence on your life or somebody that you might, look to as a role model who you don't personally know? Yeah, I have a few, actually. Two of them are professors at my school, Brad Owens and Curtis Calloway. Calloway was one of the diving photographers for Jack Cousteau back in the day, and so I've loved working under him, doing independent study with him actually learning how to shoot film next semester, so I'm looking forward to that. And then Dr. Owens taught my first reporting and writing class, and it was terrifying, and he was

hard, but I learned everything the right way, so I've never really had to backtrack and relearn how to do something or been caught off guard, not knowing how to tell a story or how to interview or how to write. I think a real mental figure in my life was actually an English professor I had last year who kind of shaped the way that I reshaped the way that I look at writing and telling stories in general. And he has this line that he always says about needing to have a logical mind and a sensitive soul so that you can both get the facts straight and do it in a very logical way, but at the same time being sensitive to the human heart and what moves it. And so I think I try to do that in my writing after that class.

Can you all share a little bit about your experience as an intern at Heritage? Besides writing articles for the Daily Signal, what sorts of things have you gotten to do? I've really loved working for Heritage. It's been one of the best work environments I've ever been in. Everyone is always so helpful. If you ever need anything, like just background on an article, you don't know about a subject. There's an expert in the building who knows everything about it. And often they'll drop everything just to talk to you for 30 minutes.

So I think that's been one of the most beneficial things about working at Heritage. Yeah, I would agree with that. I also think the intern dynamic is really great. All the communications interns are super. Everyone has different talents and it's really cool to see them play off of one another. So I really enjoyed the work environment and also just getting to talk to people who understand issues that I've always been curious about and get their expertise. That's great to hear. Was there anything that surprised you at all while living in D.C. this summer?

How do you feel that D.C. shapes up to the way the media sometimes portrays it? I don't think it's quite as hostile of an environment as the media portrays it. I think it's kind of what you make of it. So, I mean, I guess if you go about things, just expecting it to be extremes, then it's going to be. But you still can very much have a conversation with people who disagree with you. Yeah. I think what struck me really is how much like a neighborhood it is.

It's like a small town. I was expecting it to be very isolating. and I found the opposite to be true. So what advice would you all offer to other college students who might be interested in coming to D.C. for an internship or to pursue a career here? I think it's definitely important to build a network of friends, not necessarily people just in your field, so that you have people to talk to when things come up at work or with work and you have people to like balance ideas off of or to talk about workplace issues who aren't necessarily involved in your workplace. So then it just doesn't create a bigger amount of drama than is necessary. Yeah, I think that's really true. I definitely think that having friends outside of work or just a good network of people,

people that you can rely on who are, you know, quiet about, you know, the things that you tell them. Someone who's trusted and who's not going to spread those things around is really, really important. So what is coming up next for each of you? Where are you headed after you and your internship at The Daily Signal? back to school. Yeah, I have another year of school left at Baylor University, so I'll be working down there, going back to Baylor Athletics and working as a student photographer. That's great. Yeah, I have two more years at Hillsdale College, working as the culture editor at the Hillsdale Collegian, so we'll continue to do that. Well, thank you both so much. It's been a joy having you here

over the summer, and we appreciate you coming on the show with us. We certainly value your contributions. The Daily Signal has had so much success because of the talented interns like yourselves who have joined us over the last five years. So we really appreciate it. Thank you all so much. Tired of high taxes, fewer health care choices, and bigger government, become a part of the Heritage Foundation. We're fighting the rising tide of homegrown socialism

while developing conservative solutions that make families more free and more prosperous. Find out more. at heritage.org. Thanks for sending us your letters to the editor. Each Monday, we feature our favorites in this show and The Daily Signals Morning Bell email newsletter. Virginia, who's up first? In response to Jarrett Stepman's article,

the left's attacks on the Electoral College are all about political power. Galbert writes, finally, someone is stating the facts for all to see. Some of those in the government think they have been elected to lead us, but in fact their job is to represent

we, the people. I think it is time that we let our leaders know this. It is time they start representing us instead of themselves. And we heard this in response to Josh Nelson's article about immigration being the most important problem facing America. Karen Calloway writes, tell Congress that they have endangered the American people with their lack of judgment to fix our immigration laws. We need definitive rules or laws that will make it easier to determine if an immigrant has enter the country legally or illegally. Our courts are so backlog that we are behind at least three years on clearing the asylum cases.

Your letter could be featured on next week's show. Send an email to Letters at DailySignal.com or leave a voicemail message at 202-608-6205. Do conversations about the Supreme Court leave you scratching your head? If you want to understand what's happening at the court, subscribe to SCOTUS 101, a Heritage Foundation podcast, breaking down the cases, personalities, and gossip at the Supreme Court. There's no better way to start your week than with some good news. Today, Abby Strew, an intern here at the Heritage Foundation, has a great story to share with us. Abby, over to you. Thanks, Virginia. This week's good news story takes us to America's heartland, the Midwest. One thing most Americans can agree on is that college prices are skyrocketing. While plenty of people bicker about what can be done to unburdened students,

one man in Iowa set out to drastically alter the lives of as many college students as he could. Dale Schrader was born poor, lacking the opportunity to attend college due to its high cost. He found a quiet job as a carpenter and lived a simple life. He never married, nor did he have any children. Dale forfeited luxuries and vacations and saved most of what he brought home. As you can imagine, by the time he retired, Dale had accumulated a fair amount of money. However, instead of spending that money on himself, he headed straight to his lawyer's office to set up a trust. I never got the opportunity to go to college, and so I'd like to help kids go to college.

Dale had saved just under $3 million. When Dale passed away in 2005, he left behind instructions for his lawyer to seek out small-town Iowa kids. He wanted to help kids that were like him that probably wouldn't have an opportunity to go to go to. to college but for his gift. In the end, 33 students who almost missed the opportunity for a college education received scholarships from Dale. I grew up in a single parent household and I had three older sisters, so paying for all four of us was never an option.

I really loved reading about this story. It was heartwarming to hear about someone so selfless. Dale literally spent most of his life sacrificing his own comfort to help other people people realized their dreams. And what's really wild about this story is these were not his neighbors or family friends. All 33 kids were complete strangers to Dale and were not notified of his scholarship until after he had died. In the end, Dale didn't just help many students who needed it. He also brought a group of people together. All 33 students recently met up for a meal and celebration of Dale's life. These students now, affectionately, call themselves Dale's kids. Thanks so much for sharing

that story I mean really encouraging and so neat to see one man's generosity. Of course. Well, we're going to leave it there for today. The Daily Signal podcast comes to you from the Robert H. Bruce Radio Studio at the Heritage Foundation. You can find it on the Rurkishay Audio Network. All our shows can be found at daily signal.com slash podcasts. You can also subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. And be sure to listen every weekday by adding the Daily Signal podcast as part of your Alexa Flash. If you like what you hear, please leave us a review and a five-star rating. It means a lot to us and helps us spread the word to other listeners.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter at DailySignal and Facebook.com slash the DailySignal News. Have a great week. The Daily Signal podcast is executive produced by Rob Bluey and Virginia Allen. Sound design by Lauren Evans and Thalia Rambersad. For more information, visit DailySignal.com.