In the past two weeks my small, but dedicated editorial team has been inundated by university student requests to answer a series of journalism questions. We were all eager to support and encourage these future reporters with well thought out answers.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
One question was "why did you choose journalism?" My answer: "I wanted to be a journalist from about the age of 14. I always liked to know what was happening around me and in the world at large and I was inspired by those in a role of delivering such information. I wanted to be involved in a career that kept people informed."
Furthermore, I wanted to help people celebrate great moments, share their news, and be a part of an environment that was all inclusive of the community in delivering what people wanted to read. Weddings, anniversaries, baby announcements, sports, academic wins, politics and breaking news - I wanted to share it all. I've now been in this industry for 36 years and I still love what I do
I've been blessed to have been able to do this. I'm equally blessed to guide a young team - three of the four are cadet journalists - on their first job in the industry. I'm inspired by their passion to get to as many stories as they can in their work day and I marvel at the way they gladly volunteer to do an after hours job because they know it is important to the reader.
Most importantly I love the way they support each other when someone takes them to task for not getting to their important event, for a single spelling or grammatical error they made in one of the many stories they have researched and written on any given day or the criticism from a reader because a particular story wasn't online immediately.
We accept criticism as part of the job and cop it on the chin. However, there is some misinformation in the marketplace that needs clarification.
Your local newspaper is not owned by the government, it is not a charity, it is a business that needs paying customers so that it stays viable and continues its intended service delivering the news.
It is a business that relies on a variety of analytics to identify what the customer is reading, and what the staff should cover to meet the obvious demands of the audience. The stories you read are tracked and rated according to audience response. This determines what we prioritise for publication - not because it is what we want, but because it is what the audience tells us they want. If you want us to continue to cover the stories that matter to you, you need to read what we publish. The future of your local news outlet relies on you.
