Some Advice for New College Journalism Students

When I started taking journalism courses at a local college in the mid-1980s, I was under the impression that I was well-prepared to be a college-level writer for the campus’ student newspaper.  I had studied the basics of news writing, reporting, editing, and page makeup for two years in high school, and I had been a section editor during my sophomore and senior years.  I even earned A’s consistently in my journalism courses.

So imagine my surprise, two years after I had graduated from high school, when I stepped into my JOU 1100 classroom for the first time and felt as though I had actually studied just enough to get by in class but had much more to learn.

It’s possible that I felt that way because I had added Prof. Townsend’s class two days into the Fall term (my Pell Grant had just been approved and I needed to become a full-time student, so I added Basic Reporting and Introduction to Radio and Television to my schedule) and was nervous.  Perhaps I was keenly aware that doing well in a high school level course doesn’t guarantee success in a college level journalism class.  


Then again, knowing that the professor at the lectern was also the Director of Student Publications was a bit intimidating, to say the least.

Looking back on my first semester as a college journalist, I realize that this initial feeling of fear actually was beneficial to me because it forced me to be proactive and strive to do well, not just in the academic aspects of Basic Reporting and Editing but also on the newspaper production end of things.

One of the factors that worried me at first was the fact that at the junior college level, staff members of a campus paper had to deal with weekly deadlines rather than the more leisurely monthly ones I was familiar with from high school.  While not as demanding as the daily deadlines which many student newspapers at four-year university impose on editors and writers, the thought of writing one or more news stories a week – while taking 12 credits’ worth of classes – was daunting  to some of us. 


At first I had a pessimistic attitude of Man, I am not going to do well in this class; however, I promised myself that I’d stay the course during the semester no matter what.  I had chosen journalism as a career track and if I had to adapt to a more demanding set of circumstances, so be it.

By the end of my first day in Prof. Townsend’s class I accepted my first assignment; the Entertainment Editor needed an interview with the head of the campus music department and at least two other sources for a story about the college’s first record albums.  The three albums featured our campus’ choral, Gospel and jazz ensembles and were about to be released to the public, which was a big deal for the students, music teachers and campus administrators.

I was nervous, but I set up an appointment with the music department chair, did the interview, collected quotes from the jazz ensemble director and two of the students who had participated in the recording sessions.  I then wrote my first draft, checking my textbook and the Associated Press Stylebook to see if I was following proper newswriting procedures and style, then turned in my assignment.

Of course, some of my content was edited for style and space considerations, but I was rewarded not only with a good grade but also with my article’s prominent placement as the lead story in the Entertainment section of the following week’s issue.  This led to my quick promotion to assistant opinions editor and a subsequent “bump up” to copy editor – all within the space of my first six weeks as a member of the newspaper staff.

I am sharing this bit of personal history not to boast about how good I was “back in the day,” but rather to impart some lessons which are still relevant even in the ever-changing world of mass media.

1. Learn to think like a reporter.  Even if you are taking a newspaper reporting class as a prerequisite to an advertising or broadcast media course, you should consider yourself as a full-fledged staff writer for your campus publication.  Be proactive and look for stories on your own, or if you prefer being given assignments, accept stories in beats you think you are best suited for.

2. Don’t “fall in love with your copy.”  You may have been a good reporter or section editor in high school, and you might think you have what it takes to be a college-level journalist, but unless your alma mater had a superb journalism program with the resources needed to produce award-winning newspapers, you will have your first assignments severely edited by the copy editor, the section editor and your journalism professor.  

Also, do not feel offended or think that your articles are being singled out unfairly; everyone who writes for a student publication gets edits and rewrites the first few times out.  Stories need to be edited not just to correct spelling and grammar mistakes, but also to fit into a section editor’s allotted space on the page layout and conform with the publication’s established style.  To paraphrase a famous line from The Godfather, “It’s not personal; it’s journalism.”

3. Meet deadlines.  There are many things that bug student publications editors, including technical problems and lack of resources – particularly in public colleges which depend on state funding – but the Number One headache is the reporter who fails to meet his or her deadlines.  When I was a staff writer and section editor, I noticed that many first-time students would treat deadlines as mere suggestions of when to turn in their stories.  More often than not, missed deadlines played havoc with our 1980s-era production process and occasionally caused us to cancel entire issues.  So if you are going to be a student journalist, keep in mind that you are a member of a team, and if you don’t meet deadlines it’s not just your grade that suffers; the entire staff does, too. 

© 2012 Alex Diaz-Granados, All Rights Reserved