Skip to main content

Student journalists are real journalists

As I sit here at 2 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, it baffles my mind that someone could undervalue the time and energy it takes to be a student journalist. I don’t think most people understand what it’s like, so I’m here to share my experience. 

Student journalists are real journalists. Us student journalists have a lot on our plate sometimes. We juggle writing articles, editing news packages, conducting interviews, researching data and much more, while also being college students in 15 plus credit hours with personal lives. 

I’m not complaining. I love it, and I have to in order to do it. 

Alongside my studies, I am plugged in on campus. I have multiple meetings each week, some that I lead. When I’m not in a meeting, in class or eating, I’m probably reporting. 

News takes no lunch breaks, so I sometimes skip mine to grab a quick interview with a university official or student. Just like the real journalistic world, news happens 24/7. In order to cover stories, I remain flexible. I could be up at 8 a.m. before my classes or out at 8 p.m. covering stories. There really is no telling. 

I have to remain flexible at all times, as I might have to sprint across campus in order to interview someone minutes before our show goes live. I’ve become accustomed to carrying the heavy camera equipment alongside my school backpack while briskly walking, it’s probably funny to witness.  

I work on real, hard deadlines like any other journalist. Daily, I have to meet deadlines for the broadcast stories I produce, quickly writing and editing video to get it out to viewers by 5 p.m.

For our student newspaper, I convert my broadcast stories into print articles before the paper goes to press and is posted online.  

After a long day of work, I come home and complete homework, every college student’s pride and joy. I share my news stories on social media, as I have been working for years to create a professional news presence online, then can finally socialize with my friends before going to bed. 

Every day is a little different, which is what I enjoy. No day is ever the exact same. So, student journalists always enjoy the thrill of not knowing what is next. 

When I wake up in the morning, I will start my day again; not knowing exactly how it will end.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TV journalists social distance & report from home

The coronavirus outbreak has flipped many people’s lives upside down. Employees who used to work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. are now stuck at home, either completing work online or waiting for this pandemic to end.  Obviously, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and those in the food industry are considered “essential” workers because people need access to these things to survive. What some may not realize is that journalists are also essential workers, because the communication of newsworthy events is needed now more than ever to keep people safe. Journalists are the ones keeping the public in on the loop that is the coronavirus. They are working around the clock to report Covid-19 cases, and what political leaders are saying to their local communities to keep them safe. Journalists out in the field and in press conferences, like the one’s with Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, are maintaining their distance from interview subjects and other reporters. Many are strictly staying six feet away...
Post a Comment
Read more

The production team: the unsung heroes of news

So, you’re making a newscast. Who do you need? A news anchor or two, a weather anchor, a sports anchor, a couple reporters and that’s it, right? Not exactly.  There are faces behind the faces, and as deep as that sounds, its true. Behind every anchor is a director calling the shots, a camera person framing the angles and an audio technician balancing sound levels. The production team brings the show to life. Before every newscast, the production team is preparing for the show. While some team members may actually be broadcasting another live program, other team members work to create graphics for each story in the newscast. Those name graphics, fancy over the shoulder graphics and monitor graphics don’t make themselves. The production team whips them up in editing software. At Troy TrojanVision News, our production team arrives at least two hours before every newscast to prepare the show. They work hard in a booth beside the studio, creating graphics, as the producers ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Localize it: coronavirus in a college town

Like I have said before, each national story tends to have a local impact. As journalists it is important to understand that these large breaking news stories ultimately trickle down and affect our communities.  The last time I “localized” the coronavirus, I spoke about the significance of the disease and what precautions Troy University was putting in place to prevent its spread. At that time, the thought of the virus popping up in our small, rural college town was unthinkable for some.  On Wednesday, as students were brewing their morning coffee or working on assignments from home, the Troy Messenger broke the news that a confirmed case of COVID-19 had made its way into Pike County. The unthinkable, for some, had just became a reality.  Right now, the public has been encouraged to continue practicing social distancing. People should only leave their home for necessities. When leaving your home, you should leave a six-foot distance between yourself and oth...
Post a Comment
Read more