GLEN ELLYN, Ill., Oct. 17, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sixteen students from the College of DuPage Motion Picture/Television (MPTV) program gained crucial real-world experience while interning for WCIU’s satirical news show WTF News America this summer, including Matt Miltonberger of Lemont and Langan Jenkins of Lombard.

Sixteen students from the College of DuPage Motion Picture/Television (MPTV) program gained crucial real-world experience while interning for WCIU’s satirical news show WTF News America this summer, including Matt Miltonberger of Lemont (above right) and Langan Jenkins of Lombard (above left).

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d0c3eaad-aa10-4bb3-b179-1e1f5fd066ed

Produced by American Digital News Corp., WTF News America is a 30-minute weekly mockumentary-style news program developed by Second City and Saturday Night Live alumni which presents stories about the current and political events of the prior week in a satirical fashion. A ''week in review'' from both conservative and libertarian perspectives, the show combines scripted comic stories with real news.

According to College of DuPage Associate Professor of Motion Picture/Television John Rangel, the internship opportunity came about after a contact at the Illinois Film Office made him aware of the opportunity. He said internships like this one provide a valuable learning experience.

“Ninety percent of what you need to know for a career in film and television is learned in the making of that media, not in the classroom,” Rangel said. “On every set and production, students will run into unique scenarios that must be dealt with in real time. Either they will have decisions to make or they will be there to watch a professional make decisions on the fly. This helps them learn a kind of anticipation you can't get from a lecture or demonstration.”

Rangel said that in addition to crucial hands-on learning, the students also gain substantial benefit from the networking opportunities provided during the opportunity.

“Everyone in this field gets their first gig by being recommended which means their network is everything,” he said. “Students begin to build one in class but the connections they make in a professional environment can, and often does lead to their first paid job.”

Lemont resident Matt Miltonberger said he learned about the internship in class.

“Advanced Film Production professor John Rangel told all of us in class that this studio was looking for interns and to submit a piece of our work to them,” Miltonberger said. “So I submitted a narrative music video that I wrote, directed, shot, acted in and edited and the next thing I knew I got called in for an interview.”

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