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
