Job Responsibilities
As a reporter, my main task is, well, reporting. I work for a
mid-size daily, so I put out about a story a day. I'm in a team
of reporters who cover communities around our county, so I
follow a beat. This means I have a few towns that are my
resposibility -- everything from human interest features to
breaking news like a fire to local government coverage. Most
days, my time is split between talking to people either on the
phone or in person and writing the story. I am responsible for
checking out every rumor, and verifying any facts for the story
I want to write -- you can't believe anything at first glance. I
also am responsible for working with editors and copy editors on
both the style and mechanics of any story I write.
Since I have a community beat, I also have to make a daily
round of calls to police stations and fire stations, reporting
all the items of interest in small "briefs," or small ietms
giving the basic facts of an arrest, a crime, etc. I also
compile community briefs, which are short items of note that may
not really be worthy of a story, but that still need a mention
(like a check presentation, or a library event)
I also spend a some time reading other papers from the nearby
city -- we cover a suburban county that borders on a bigger
city -- to make sure I'm hitting all the right stories. I read a
lot of national newspapers as well, both because it can give me
good ideas for enterprise stories or localizing national events,
and because the work of more experienced journalists helps
improve my writing and reporting.
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Job Requirements
There isn't really any set path for getting into journalism.
I went to Georgetown University, and majored in English,
grabbing a minor in Anthropology as well. I made sure to take
journalism classes when I could, but as Georgetown has no
journalism major, there were only two classes offered each term
and it was very difficult to get into them -- i didn't make it
in until my second term of my junior year. They were, however,
great courses and very useful. In my Intro to Journalism class,
I studied under a guy who had been a bureau chief at Time, and
won a Pulitzer while working for the Chicago Tribune -- you just
can't qualify how beneficial working for a professor like that
is. He gave us super-strict deadlines, and was one of the
toughest graders I have ever faced, all of which helped whip my
butt into shape.
Still, I would say that far more useful than any writing
class I ever took was my experience working at the school
newspaper. It was a twice-weekly, and I started there the first
week of my freshman year. A lot of the older students had
already aced these tough professors and were great about helping
you improve. As a freshman, I worked for a senior who still
helps me in my career today. Plus, because we were large for a
school paper (circ. of 10,000 because we distributed in the
community as well) and our school was in DC, a location that saw
its share of celebs and political bigwigs, we got to cover some
pretty amazing stuff as students.
I also made sure to get plenty of internships. I landed two TV
internships in DC before moving home to do a newspaper
internship after my junior year. Internships were also a huge
part of my education.
As someone who is still fairly new to the workforce, I'd
reccomend picking a major that involves a lot of writing
(English, history, government...or really anything but maybe
physics or accounting). This gives you both flexibility and
depth: if you have a journalism degree, that's all you can do,
and all you know. If you have something broader, it makes you
ready to handle the challenge of tackling whatever story comes
your way.
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Uppers
I like that it changes everyday. A newspaper reporter never has the same day
twice -- every story is a new chance to get it right, or better, or more fun.
Getting to talk to and meet a lot of different people is also really fun, as is
the fact that you don't have to sit at a desk all day every day. I mean, sure,
some days you do and you obviously sit to write, but you also go to meetings, to
schools, to events to people's homes and businesses. Its not an "Office Space"
life.
Newspaper people are also generally fun. Dorks, but fun. We laugh at headlines,
we make jokes about local figures and everyone sort of works as a team. If your
story is breaking and phones are going nuts, you have people on your back.
Likewise, you feel ready to jump up and help your colleugues. Its generally not
a
back-stabbing envrionment.
And, of course, if you do it right, you make a difference. I dont mean
everything is Woodward and Bernstein, taking down Watergate, but even in the
tiniest cow town, the mayor may lie, a police chief may be corrupt. And you can
let that out. And even in the smaller, less-hard hitting pieces, an article can
make a difference: You alert people to a charity that needs help, you write
about
a dead WWII vetran and his widow calls and thanks you. Its great to feel like
what you did mattered, even if just to one person.
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Downers
The hours can be rough ... I rarely have a regular schedule.
I'm actually OK with that now, I like it, but I can see how it
woudl be a pain if you were married with kids or the like.
Journalists aren't always loved. Your job is to be a skeptic.
That can make people really mad at you, and you have to have a
thick skin and just remember, as long as you are telling the
truth, you are doing your job.
You also got to pay your dues. It doesn't start out
glamorous, not at all. Naturally, like most big-headed students
out of a school like Georgetown, I halfway assumed I'd just
waltz into The New York Times or the Washington Post and rock
out ... didn't so much happen. I landed an internship at a
financial newswire, which turned into a job. I seriously
disliked financial writing, though (most English majors could
give a hoot about stock prices or quarterly reports, and I was
one of them) so when a job at a paper near my hometown came up,
I took it. Its hard to be in a smaller town, away from "the high
life" of a big city. But I know its what I need. And you do
learn a ton.
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Lifestyle
Journalism is always hard to break into. Write or work for
another campus news source (radio, tv) in college, and start
interning as soon as possible. But dont give up. Its a lot of
fun, and if you want it, you'll get it.
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Compensation
You can't be rich as a journalist, but you can do pretty
well. I make really good money for the cost of living here.
(base of around $33,400) and you get good benefits (eye, dental,
health, 401K and pension) Bonuses are rare, although you usually
get overtime as well as more money for working odd shifts (aka
At a family owned newspaper copmany, you wont get stock
options, but I know the biggies give them out.
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Advice to Jobseekers
Journalism is always hard to break into. Write or work for
another campus news source (radio, tv) in college, and start
interning as soon as possible. But dont give up. Its a lot of
fun, and if you want it, you'll get it.
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