to be a Journalist

At school this week, there was a publishing camp for student editors. Leaders from the newspaper, magazine, and academic journal have been invited to learn more about the publishing industry. It was planned not just so we could learn to use Photoshop and InDesign (which has certainly been helpful), but so that we could interact with the other publications on campus and develop more of a community among ourselves.

It's been great.

The woman in charge hooked us up with several local journalists, two of whom are typically very shy, and one who is actually a recluse who only goes out once a week for pizza. They've all been around the world, covered major stories, and interviewed remarkable figures. Despite having covered such famous stories, a theme they returned to again and again was the personal experience of being a journalist.

Every time you go out into the community or the world, you're connecting with other human beings. You're listening to their ideas, then transferring that voice to an audience. People need to trust you before they'll give you their story. It's remarkable, and I don't know if I've conveyed it properly here. But the connections a journalist makes with other people and events is just as important as his writing about it.

I like this.