Dear Student Journalists,
The news will not walk into the newsroom and beg you to put it in the paper.
It will not do a little dance and say “Hi! I’m the news! Look at me! Put me in the paper!”
You have to remove your ass from your chair, leave the newsroom and go out into the world to discover the news. News is greater than what you see in your line of sight from your comfy chair or when looking out your dorm window. It is more than what you are hand fed via email.
News is about a natural curiosity. It is about being among the people and *gasp* talking to them. That’s right, the rules have changed. Now that you’re in college, I want you to talk to strangers-on purpose.
News is about observation. It’s about inquiry. It’s about noticing what is different and what always remains the same. It’s about when systems fail and when they succeed. It’s about the ebb and flow of life.
It’s not happening at your desk. It’s just not.
Good journalism doesn’t happen on accident. It’s actual work. If you want to be a good journalist, you have to work to be one. The first step is leaving the office
Go out into the world and learn new things. Gathering information and bring it back to provide to your readers. Have a great day in that bright thing we like to call the sun.
XOXO,
KRG
NathanHatcher says
I agree with what you say about getting out into the world to find news. I also think there are different degrees of news. While there is the more investigative news that requires someone to get out into the world, news can easily be spread among friends, co-workers, professors, and classmates.
Being a good journalist isn’t easy! People take news coverage for granted. I find it interesting how the average consumer can spend less than a minute acknowledging a piece of news that may have taken hours for a journalist to put together.
profkrg says
@NathanHatcher That’s so true, Nathan. Journalists certainly don’t do this job for the glory. I’m sure you’ve found that most people are fast to judge the quality of your work and to criticize while most of them wouldn’t spend a minute in your job. However, I’ve always found the rush of a great story (which I’m not sure you’ve experienced yet) to be well worth all of the crap you put up with to get there. I’m sure other journalists and editors would agree.
Thanks for reading and commenting. This post, by the way, was not directed at you or your staff. I think you’re the hardest working chickens on the planet 🙂
fmwillingham says
I also agree with your sentiments about news gathering, Kenna. I think many of us have adapted to our technological advancements, such as the iPhone, laptop, or the tablet, and find living in our own little world to be easier than stepping outside to learn. I’ll admit that I definitely have.
Nathan seems to be correct too. We receive news from many different sources, but I think the best way to discover news is by getting out in the world and discovering it for yourself.
Prof KRG says
Yes, we have made it easy to surround ourselves only with information with which we agree. This doesn’t work well in making us more informed or democratic. It certainly doesn’t work well for journalists.
Thanks for your comment, Farris. I appreciate you reading and discussing these topics with me.
Mathew L. Cantore says
My pleasure, and I’d forgotten about this. I need to print copies and post it in our newsroom. Thanks for reminding me!
Bobby Ross Jr. says
But wouldn’t it be cool if the news did walk in and say that.
Prof KRG says
One time our school mascot came to the newsroom for an interview. My students still are quite smug about that.
Hailey Michelle Holloway says
I am SO struggling with this right now – being in a new city where I can barely get to the grocery store!
Prof KRG says
You’ll figure it out quickly once your job begins. Plus, you have the advantage of looking at the entire city with child-like curiosity. You are likely to notice things others just see as the norm.
Kari_Williams says
profkrg Love this. Couldn’t have said it better myself!
profkrg says
Kari_Williams Thank you!
newsladykatie says
profkrg But don’t let that translate into skipping 3/4 of your history in media classes like it did for me. 😉
profkrg says
newsladykatie My student staff knows that professors will contact me if they miss classes and it won’t go over well. U0001f633
newsladykatie says
profkrg Eh. 🙂 I’ll say the hours I spent with boots on the ground doing reporting were more valuable to me than learning radio components.
newsladykatie says
profkrg of course that was a 500 person class. Different beast than the 400-level journalism classes.
Mike_Padgett says
profkrg Getting out of newsroom is probably best advice for budding journalists. Phone interview is shallow. In-person interview is best.