Are We There Yet? October 2, 2007

      In class Mindy suggested her students read Paul Bradshaw’s blog “How to be a journalism student.”  Posted last week, Bradshaw’s 10 tips for journalism students has received various comments-everything from teachers giving him a “high five” and requiring their students to read  to people rewriting his tips to create their own “recipe” for good journalism.  I agree with Mindy’s advice about journalism students’ need for curiosity.  I remember when I started doing interviews in my first reporting class.  After reading my first draft, Professor Weston would always make me get more details while covering an event or do follow up interviews.  Looking back I think it was because I needed to become a little more curious about the topic so that I could effectively communicate to anyone who would read the story.  Journalists must have that child-like curiosity which will lead us to ask the “right questions” and become more engaged in what we write about.  Now, before I interview someone or turn in a story, I consider what might be confusing to the reader.  Sometimes it’s necessary to ask questions even when we think we know the answers.  It’s a good way to avoid holes left for readers because of “underreporting” and an easy way to gain a quote that explains the topic better than you could have yourself.     I found a quote Mathew Gonzalez’s “New media, same old journalism,” a post written in response to Bradshaw’s hints to journalism students.  He wrote “Journalists are students forever.”  I’ve heard that before, but I didn’t fully understand it until I started graduate school.  Since news is the heart and soul of our profession, we will learn each time we write a story.  And this continuous education is always evident when journalists have to keep up with the rising tides of online and digital media platforms.  And even the more traditional media are not stagnant.  To be marketable journalism students need to be abreast newspaper and magazine design and writing styles, software and storytelling techniques newsrooms are using and trends in television news.    

       As an undergraduate student, I had what I call the”Are-we-there-yet syndrome.” I used to be so concerned about making a good grade on assignment, passing tests and quizzes and even with the whole idea of graduating.  I thought those things would signal the end of my days as a student and my arrival into the world of professional journalism.  Somewhere on this long walk as a journalism student, I realized the best journalists never arrive.  They are the ones who never stop learning, never stop reading and writing, never stop perfecting the skills they add to their repertoire.  Now I am realizing journalism students can’t be lazy and complete only what is assigned in class and expect to build a career.  We must take the information we learn in class far beyond exams and use it on jobs and internships so we won’t forget it.   And we must take the skills we learn in class far beyond projects and master them so that our education is not in vain.   

       I think the life of ABC News Anchor Peter Jennings, the journalist who inspires me the most, is a perfect example of the zeal for life-long learning journalists must acquire.  Jennings covered events that defined the world during his time as an anchor and never “arrived” until he died a couple years ago.  Known as “America’s youngest anchor,” Jennings never even got a college education, but he became a life-long student and an exemplary journalist for our times.