As a journalist, you never know what you'll learn about -- and then
help others learn about.
"I have a cartoon on my wall that features four people standing around,
one of whom has covered his eyes and is throwing a dart at a wall," says Anne
Saker, a staff writer for the Raleigh News and Observer in North Carolina.
"On the wall is a sign: 'Today I Am An Expert In:'
"Under the sign are a bunch of smaller signs that say politics, economy,
car repair, world peace, and so on. The caption of the cartoon says: 'How
Reporters Start Their Day at Work.' I couldn't say it any better."
"If you want a job that'll never bore you, give you career options
and endless learning opportunities and allow you to perform a useful social
function, then you should consider a career in journalism," adds Hal Doran.
Doran, a former journalist and producer, is now a writer, trainer and consultant.
Journalists spend their days tracking down and interpreting information,
and then presenting it so that their audience gets something useful out of
it. Sometimes they report good news -- the successful rescue of a child from
a burning home, or the important victory of a local sports team. Journalists
also report news that makes people sad or even angry -- the crash of an airliner
or the illegal activities of government officials.
Whatever the case, journalists see themselves as having the crucial role
of making people think and act. "I try to make people think about more than
one side, and the bigger picture," says Donna Ladd, a freelance journalist
in Colorado Springs. "I see the biggest problem facing the world as people's
apathy. We don't think much anymore, especially in this country. We must
question everything, down to TV commercials."
"My work isn't changing the whole world yet, but it will," adds Chandra
Clarke, managing editor of a weekly newspaper. "At the moment, it's changing
my patch of the globe -- making government officials more responsible, getting
people involved in their communities, and bringing a different perspective
to local readers."
To fulfill their roles successfully and fairly, journalists must be both
knowledgeable and able to communicate clearly and effectively. That takes
hard work and practice. Where do you start?
"Read," Saker stresses. "Keep your mouth shut and your eyes open. Read.
Take notes. Read. Ask questions. Read. Listen to people. Read."
"Read well and widely," adds Doran. "Read newspapers, magazines and books
in a wide variety of areas. Listen to the radio, go to movies, and watch TV
as well, but read, read, read."
Work on your writing skills as well. "Write a lot," Doran says. "Keep a
journal. Write for school publications and elsewhere. Write on the Internet.
Write stories, fiction, letters, poems -- whatever you like. You might even
practice writing down your day-to-day observations as if you were writing
for a newspaper or magazine."
Reading and writing are the foundations of the profession. But success
as a journalist goes beyond knowing how to learn, how to find information,
and how to communicate well. You also have to be able to deal with limits
-- those imposed by deadlines and the coverage limits imposed by the news
organization you're working for.
"To survive in this business, you might picture yourself standing in a
circus ring," says Tom Mangan, a journalist and copy editor. "You can't
do anything outside the ring, but you can do anything you want so long as
it's within the ring. So the key to staying sane in journalism is to
come to grips with limits."
One of the most important limits a journalist faces involves their audience.
Your readers, viewers or listeners will be quick to tell you when they don't
like what you've had to say or how you've said it. Handling that
criticism, says Clarke, can be difficult, especially for a beginner. "So get
a thick skin. For every compliment, you'll receive 50 complaints."
But most journalists thrive on the ultimate results of compliments and
complaints: the community debate that follows a controversial article, or
the exchange of ideas after an eye-opening television news program.
"Getting phone calls from readers who've been moved or angered by
something I've written is an energizing reminder of just how much impact
a reporter can have on a community," says Saker.
"The best part of being a journalist is when someone comes
up to you and says that they've read your work, and that it's made
them think, laugh or learn something," adds Clarke. "To know that you've
entered someone's mind and changed something there, however small, is
a great thing."