Newspaper Days

I spent the past two years of journalism classes and Collegian work trying to imagine what the day-to-day life of a journalist is like. Now that I'm here, trying it out for the summer, I find that some of my imagining was completely off, while some of it was not too far from the truth. 

* First of all, it does get easier to whip out stories on a deadline. That started getting easier this year, as I wrote 2-5 stories a week for the Collegian, but I still thought it would be harder at a daily. The reality: some stories still take several days to adequately research, and that's still ok. Others have a turnaround of 2 hours or less, and that's ok too. It happens. 

* Second of all, it really is easier to interview people when you can introduce yourself as part of a major newspaper. Saying, "Hi, my name is Michal and I'm calling from Hillsdale College's newspaper, the Collegian... Hillsdale... yes, Michigan..." just doesn't get you as quick a response as saying you're calling from the Times. 

*The newsroom is not always hectic, and editors are not always scary. Sure, my stomach flip-flops at the thought (or event) of an editor coming over and asking if I can get a story done before I leave the same day, especially if there are prominent people involved. But one phone call at a time, reporting just has its busy moments like any other job. Political reporters in The District probably always feel hectic, but I am not one of them. 

*Sometimes being in an office and wearing business attire, even if it's cute, is not as fun as playing house. The walls are bare white. The lights are fluorescent-do I have Seasonal Affectedness Disorder? Or does anyone else understand how awful fluorescent lights are on cloudy days? Also, button-downs don't stay tucked in all day. 

*The newsroom is no longer full to the brim, the phones don't ring off the hook (although a lady called in a story today), and the editors are not constantly yelling and assigning and copyediting. But there is plenty of room for young, innovative, persistent journalists to keep the news industry going. Newspapers are by no means dying; the business model is simply changing. 

*It really is a fun job. And it's an industry that has no time or patience for writers and reporters who can't hit the ground running, so everyone in the newsroom or the editorial office really counts. You really do get your name in print, too, which doesn't hurt. :-) 

Nine weeks of summer left to save the world. The last two are for cleanup.