Inside MyRye.com with Intern Matt Capaldi

MyRye.com welcomes college and high school interns from the City of Rye. If you have an interest in writing, editing or photography, please get in touch with us. One of our interns in the Summer of 2023 was Matt Capaldi, currently a junior at Boston College. He completed this Q&A interview with us at the conclusion of his internship. You can read interviews with various MyRye.com interns.

Your Name: Matthew Capaldi

Your Title: MyRye.com intern

MyRye.com: Describe yourself in one word: Passionate

What appealed to you about local journalism and the MyRye.com internship?

Capaldi: Working with MyRye.com provided me with some great experiences in which I learned more about the Rye community. I was exposed to several businesses, events, and people in Rye that I knew little about prior. 

Describe a typical day during your internship. 

Capaldi: I attended our daily 10am meetings to review the progress of ongoing projects and assignments. For the rest of the day, I went around town to cover specific community events while also connecting with and contacting local business owners for potential feature stories. I’d return home to write articles and make them ready for publishing. 

Tell us about one or two of your assignments.

Capaldi: Two of my favorite assignments were the Memorial Day parade and Rye High School graduation. I attended each of these events and captured several photographs to later be included in my articles. I also wrote down notable excerpts from any of the speakers so that I could quote them in the stories. Reporting on these events allowed me to have greater appreciation and understanding of some of Rye’s long-celebrated traditions. 

What happens at the 10am stand-up meeting? 

Capaldi: All of the interns and Jay meet as a group to share any updates on assignments. We also give each other different advice for tackling any hurdles that arise. 

The MyRye.com interns heard from various guest speakers, all with connections to local media. What were three of the more interesting things you learned?

Capaldi: 

1. Martin Nisenholtz shared insight about the newspaper industry’s transition to the digital sphere, discussing the ways publications attempt to build a subscriber base. 
2. Randall Rothenberg mentioned statistics that debunked the thought that the internet solely killed the newspaper industry. 
3. Larry Kramer emphasized the importance of leaving no stone unturned when reporting.

Where are you currently in college?

Capaldi: I am currently at Boston College where I am a junior. 

Will you continue to study writing, English or journalism as part of your academic and extracurricular activities? 

Capaldi: I am a writer for the student newspaper at BC in the sports section, and I hope to continue doing that. Most of my coursework is not focused on English/Journalism, however. 

Thanks, Matt!