Inside MyRye.com with Intern Charlie Morris
MyRye.com welcomes college and high school interns from the City of Rye throughout the year. One of our interns in the Summer of 2024 was Charlie Morris, currently a junior at Notre Dame University. He completed this Q&A interview with us at the conclusion of his internship.
You can read interviews with various MyRye.com interns. If you have an interest in interning to work on writing, editing, photography or marketing, please get in touch with us.
Your Name: Charlie Morris
Your Title: MyRye.com head intern, editor in chief and now staff writer
Describe yourself in one word: Passionate
What appealed to you about local journalism and the MyRye.com internship?
Morris: I have had a growing interest in local journalism ever since becoming a minor in that subject at Notre Dame. I have gone from someone who barely pays any attention to the news to someone who keeps up to date at both the local and national level. I was also intrigued by the locality of the internship (walking commute!) and the flexibility it offered to fit around my other summer plans.
Describe a typical day during your internship.
Morris: Because I worked another job during the day, most MyRye.com days for me began at the 4pm standup meeting or speaker. After that, I would spend a good amount of time at my computer writing and editing and taking care of other administrative tasks, like reviewing photos, answering emails, and assigning stories to other interns. Sometimes I would have to go into town to achieve something – usually to take a photo or cover an event.
Tell us about one or two of your assignments.
Morris: I covered several live events in Rye throughout my internship, but the one that sticks out the most is the Jay Heritage Center receiving a $500,000 donation from New York State. The head of the center was thrilled to see someone from local media there to cover, and finally after the event ended I managed to flag her down and have a great conversation with her. [Speaking with her helped] ensure all the fine details and names were correct, which was a huge help. That story was probably the best I produced that summer.
Another assignment which was totally different was covering the 12U Rye Little League Tournament Team. I got in contact with the coaches so they knew to expect me at every game. I had the opportunity to interview them and some players after one of their district 20 wins. It was a cool experience – and even cooler for the kids!
What happens at the 10am stand-up meeting?
Morris: The beginning is usually general updates, but it quickly turns into Jay (or me) asking each coworker to individually describe their last day(s) and plan for the near future. Occasionally, interns are asked to open a spreadsheet to track their progress. This is also a great time to ask questions about any assignments.
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?
Morris:
- I really enjoyed Ethan [Sears]’s insights on how a beat reporter interacts with professional athletes. I was genuinely surprised to learn about that relationship and how it differed from my expectations.
- Brian Wieser had some amazing insights on both the journalism and financial side of media. He also had the best stance on AI in my opinion.
- I liked hearing from Sophie and Beatrice together. Those two are my age so I was interested to hear their perspectives. The bit from Sophie about the difference between magazine/creative writing and more rigid/structured pieces was memorable.
Where are you currently in college?
Morris: I am going to be a junior at Notre Dame in 2024-25
Will you continue to study writing, English or journalism as part of your academic and extracurricular activities?
Morris: I have a journalism minor (American Studies major) and I occasionally write for the school newspaper. Many of my academic classes are writing focused – by design.
Thanks Charlie!
