Starting my journalist journey after Covid-19

The fall of 2022 was when I finally attended face-to-face classes again after 2 years of the pandemic.

A mix of emotions was going through my head the moment I stepped foot on campus. I was nervous about socializing because I had been accustomed to what I call the pandemic way of life, which was always wearing a mask, always social distancing 6 feet, If I didn't wear gloves I would hand sanitize constantly, I even brought my cleaning wipes to clean where I'd be sitting so that when I came home I wouldn't get as many germs with me. I feel like the pandemic had turned a lot of us into germaphobes for a good while before we all began to adjust to the "new normal" of life after a worldwide pandemic.

When I finally found my building and classes, my nerves were through the roof. I had knots in my stomach, a backpack with extra hand sanitizer, and face masks, and it wasn't until I took my seat and the class began that I was starting to relax.

For the first time in a long time, I felt a sense of normalcy and it was amazing.

This semester I was learning all of the fundamentals of journalism and putting it into practice. Two journalist courses I remember fondly were freelance writing and news reporting. News writing taught me the basics of writing news-related stories like event coverages, which are time-sensitive articles considered breaking news. Freelance writing taught me to find my writing voice and how to write feature stories, which are articles that are not time-sensitive and more human interest-related stories such as lifestyle stories.

Both classes taught me the importance of story structure and the matter of importance, how to pitch story ideas to editors, how to conduct interviews in person or over the phone, and how to use the internet to conduct your research into adding more facts of data into your stories. I became aware that the world of journalism was going to be a fast-paced career depending on the stories that you chase. For instance, news stories are usually 250 to 500 words and feature stories can range from 500 to 2,000 words.

Here is an example of what a new journalist must do if they want to pitch a news or feature article.

News stories:

• Step one: Do some research on what is currently going on in your area.

• Step two: Gather your information on a story you think would be worth writing about and speak to at least two people involved in what is happening.

• Step three: Write your pitch to the editor of your choice as to the story you want to cover, why it's important, who is involved, who you plan to interview at the event, the time the event ends, and what time you plan to get the story to them. News stories are typically turned in within three hours after the event. If the editor approves your pitch, you are good to go with your story with the agreed terms you placed in your pitch. If not approved, it's always good to have another story to pitch.

• Step four: Cover your story and turn it in on the agreed deadline.

• Step five: Go through a round of edits from your editor for fact-checking, confirming sources you interviewed, and correcting any grammar or spelling mistakes. Follow your AP stylebook.

• Step six: Your story gets published!

Feature stories:

• Step one: Gather information. Find a person you want to write about and contact them about your interest in writing a story about them. Be transparent about who you are, what you are doing, why you are interested, and who you are writing the story for. If they agree, schedule a time that works for both of you and conduct a pre-interview to make the person you are writing about more comfortable. Don't be afraid to ask the person if other people they know wouldn't mind adding their voice to your story on the person.

• Step two: Pitch your story to your editor. Features stories typically take two weeks to complete. If approved, write the story. If not approved, always have a backup story.

• Step three: Turn in your story and be prepared to reach your sources for follow-up questions.

• Step four: Edit the story as instructed by your editor. Check for grammar and spelling, fact check, and make sure to follow your AP Stylebook.

• Step five: Your story gets published.

Note: There are multiple ways to pitch a story that involve different steps. These are broad overviews of how to write these types of stories.

Out of all the journalist tools you'll need to complete your stories, the main one that constantly updates is the AP Stylebook. This book is treated like the holy bible of journalism. It essentially provides a guideline for journalistic writing like newspapers, magazines, and other types of media writing. It updates each year so advice would be to constantly get the latest version so that you will stay up to date on the latest terms added.

Learning all about this and putting it into practice was exciting and nerve-wracking but worth it! I was able to talk and interview people from different walks of life, expand my curiosity and ask questions, write about a variety of topics, and deep dive into researching facts I'd never have known before.

I fell in love with journalism even more now that I was on campus and eager to learn more about the different types of journalists in the program!