Sorry for the slack posting. I was in Raleigh Friday (more on that in a second), and off yesterday, taking in some mountain air. It is true about the leaves this year. They are spectacular.
Anyway, I was in Raleigh for a job fair, recruiting college students (and a few recent graduates) for internships and full-time work down the road. Other than having to get up way too early and hit two rush hours on the drive back, it’s an incredible experience to spend the day talking with bright and ambitious young people about journalism. Lots of schools represented: Carolina, WSSU, ASU, NC State, NC Central etc.
With all the perceived troubles in our industry, there’s a small amount of fear about what you might find at such an event, i.e. what if they gave a job fair and nobody showed up ... The students I spoke with are pretty savvy. They know what is happening in journalism, the budget constraints, the changing media appetite of the American public, our limited attention spa ...
And they care and don’t care. Certainly, they (and their parents) want a secure job future with a reasonably good paycheck. But they also want more. They want to tell great stories and make a difference in the communities they cover, which at the end of the day is what it’s all about.
Your host is Ken Otterbourg, the managing editor at the Winston-Salem Journal. It's a forum to discuss the media, from
I hope you retained the young lady from Howard University who recently interned with you. Her press-on toenail article was completely the talk of the playgrounds, and I’m not joking. We all loved it. Anyone who can make beauty product articles that riveting…
Ayesha is still in school, but I will pass on your comments to her ... I agree on the art and science of beauty product coverage ...
Sincerely, it was good. Also popular with the playground set are the reviews of new food products, though I think the Dinner Belle should write THOSE. Strongly opinionated, excellently descriptive verbage… she could rock at product reviews. They’re OK now, but talk about a place where her style could shine.
You have stated what ought to be the reason any writer writes: “To tell great stories and have them make a difference,” or to paint great verbal pictures and have them make a difference, to breach great gaps and bring people together, which is to make a difference.
Journalists live a more social existence than creative writers but “making a difference” is a common goal. Too bad English teachers everywhere haven’t seen your statement. It could make a difference in how many students view writing.
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