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Journalist Joanne enjoys an American adventure

A journalist from the Dewsbury Reporter experienced life on the Internet highway on the other side of the world during a week working with the breaking news team of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Joanne Mead, (25), spent ten days in California after winning work experience in the States at last year’s Yorkshire Press Awards.

During the trip she faced early starts, rolling deadlines, a meeting with Arnold Schwarzenegger and a press conference surrounded by armed police – a far cry from her job on the weekly Johnston Press title.

She was working with the five-strong breaking news team that produces www.signonsandiego.com, the sister website to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The team works separately from those on the newspaper, and sometimes this means two reporters cover the same story, although they do also share some copy.

Joanne (pictured) told HoldtheFrontPage: “It was really good. Very interesting and lots of fun.

“There were no major stories while I was out there, but what was interesting was that stories that we’d find quite major, such as murders, happen frequently over there and so what would make the front page here didn’t over there.”

She was kept busy, covering police incidents such as the case of a man who allegedly murdered his ex-wife and then kidnapped her daughter.

She also attended a press conference, about gangs, on a street corner surrounded by armed police, and met film star Arnold Schwarzenegger who was at a school in San Diego talking about investing in schools.

Joanne said: “I worked from 7.30am to 2.30pm or from 6am to 1pm, which meant I had to get up at 4.30am or 5am which wasn’t very nice on holiday!

“The Internet team had the luxury of deciding what stories they wanted to cover and it was a lot different working on a daily because you are working to shorter deadlines.

“I learnt that on the Internet you have to get as many stories on there as possible.”