Find Your Path into the Student News Room: Consider Writing for the Newspaper

It is no secret that extra curricular activities can improve on academic performance. And if you enjoy reading and writing, are un-athletic and sororities and fraternities are unappealing, consider joining your school newspaper.

The life of a student journalist can entail restless nights, hard deadlines and a challenging work environment.  On the other hand, it is one of the most rewarding jobs a college student could have; free front row passes to a concert or political event, interviews from people you have seen only from afar and networking with professionals in specified fields are only a few of the benefits of being on your school newspaper

Ultimately, journalism is writing first hand accounts of history, and while it may seem intimidating, it can benefit a student’s education and career. The ability to write can make any employer jump for joy.

Daniel Jimenez from Bay Area News Group wrote for his school paper at San Francisco State and says, “Learning the ways journalists work is invaluable, the basic one is to distill information.”

He has a point. Journalistic writing is getting the basic facts and is far different from writing in essay format. Yet, this type of writing produces critical thinking and allows student to hone in on writing and interviewing skills, which are important factors in receiving a job.

Barbara Halliday, Hayward City Council member, says joining the newspaper put her ahead in her past career as an insurance investigator. She said the experience she received from writing for Mary Washington College in Virginia gave her many opportunities in the working field.

“It was a wonderful thing to do in my 20’s, it teaches you so much and served as a real foundation for learning,” Halliday said. “You get out of it what you put into it. What journalism does is lead to an open a door to people and subjects that you want to explore.”

Journalistic writing does not mean you have to be a journalism major or even a communication major. It just calls for an interest in writing and yearning for information. Subjects vary and a reporter needs to be flexible in learning about different subjects, but at same time they need to be an expert in a specific fields or beats.

“You look at a complex issue and rank the important nuggets of information. I can think of any number of work involving mathematics and science,” said Jimenez.

So if you like being in the know and “want to be in the center of things, but not be the center of attention,” as Halliday mentions, then this is the job for you. The rewards and experience is more than satisfying and the networking is phenomenal.

Furthermore, if you like to stir up the dirt, investigative reporting is more than rewarding. Everyone remembers the Jerry Sandusky scandal, but what people do not always know is that Sara Ganim, a 24-year-old journalist, ousted the story. Ganim at the time was not part of a college newspaper, but she did write for her school newspaper (at one point?).

In general, working on the newspaper is fun. It is a co-op of like-minded people who are updated on current news and stories that are affecting everyday people. It is stimulating, difficult and allows students to have real life job experience.