Journalism

With only 32 days left until Christmas, the holiday shopping season is quickly ramping up. Malls and shopping centers everywhere will soon be packed with frantic shoppers looking for the perfect gift for their friends and loved ones. But, what if one of one of those people is a student journalist? Finding gifts for an up-and-coming journalist needn’t be difficult.

Here are a few of my suggestions.

• Newspaper and magazine subscriptions Keeping up with the news is important for any journalism student, but few students can afford to pay $5.70 per week for the Toronto Star.
• Batteries Who doesn’t need batteries? Tape recorder, camera flash, MP3/CD player, need I say more?
• Camera accessories A journalist’s camera is an important part of his or her arsenal. Why not help them out a little bit? Flash units and lenses are out of many student’s price ranges, and smaller accessories like straps, batteries, and memory cards can help out a lot.
• Pens and pencils We’ve all heard that saying, “A new baby is born every minute.” Snap your fingers. A journalist just lost another pen.
• Notepads A journalist without a notepad is like a surgeon without a scalpel. They’ll still get the job done, but it could get messy. Palm-sized pads are best for field interviews, while normal sizes work great for phone interviews. Buy these in bulk.
• Tape recorder A good tape recorder is a valuable commodity for journalists. It can be used to record interviews in the field and over the phone, as well as for personal notes. Don’t bother with any model with built-in phone jacks. It’s cheaper to buy a normal model and purchase a telephone adapter and it provides the same recording quality.
• Deals on books Most bookstores offer gift certificates and book club memberships for relatively cheap prices. Chapters, for example, offers an iRewards membership for $25, allowing the member to receive as much as 40% off on some books.
• USB key Floppy disks are dead. Let your journalism student get portable with a handy USB key. Check out SanDisk for some good models.
• Backpack Camera, lenses, tape recorder, notepads, pens, pencils, research materials, binders, notebooks, laptop, and more. A good backpack will save a journalism student a lot of future back pain and suffering.
• Money and food What college student isn’t hurting for cash and ramen noodles?

Are there any other suggestions from you guys? Hit up the comments and let me know.

Looking back on my time as a journalist thus far, there is one moment which stands out as the most frightening. I was covering the Royal Military College’s 2006 convocation ceremony and had gotten word that defence minister, Gordon O’Connor, would be in attendance. In recent weeks, O’Connor had become a virtual recluse, shying away from any sort of interaction with the media. The mounting death toll in Afghanistan was once again coming into the news and O’Connor, battered with media inquiries, was riding out the storm.

Now, however, O’Connor couldn’t avoid the spotlight any further. Word had recently reached Canada that we had lost Nichola Goddard, Canada’s first female combat casualty. In the middle of the ceremony, the college’s public relations officer casually informed us O’Connor had reluctantly agreed to set up a scrum for the members of the media present.

As a young and inexperienced journalist, this was a scary prospect. A scrum requires you to know what you want to ask ahead of time, ask your questions quickly, and jockey for time with other members of the media. I had never been in such a high-pressure situation before, but I survived. I managed to ride on the coattails of a local CBC reporter, as well as one of the photographers from the Whig, both of whom had much more experience than I. It may not have gone all that well, but it was an incredibly useful learning experience and it’s something I’ll never forget.

How can you avoid suffering a similar fate? Read on.

• If possible, be prepared. If you know the event you are covering usually plays host to a scrum or two afterward, go in there prepared. Chances are, you’ll have a pretty good idea of who will be stopping to speak with reporters and who won’t. Prepare some questions ahead of time and modify as necessary throughout the event.
• Don’t panic! Go over your notes and get things organized in your head. You are taking notes, right? If not, start now. If you have time, write out all of your questions and thoughts, using a new page for each new interviewee or subject. When in doubt, discuss your problems with your editor. Chances are he’s been through many a scrum and can offer you a number of ideas you (and I) never even considered.
• Think like a ninja. Remember, there are going to be a lot of other reporters jockeying to interview the same person. When you get an opportunity to ask a question, take it quickly. If you don’t, you might not get another chance. Don’t let the other members of the media intimidate you. You have just as much of a right to be there as they do.
• Don’t be afraid to get physical. I’m certainly not advocating violence in any form, but the simple fact of the matter is that scrums, by their very definition, require a little bit of pushing and shoving. Professional reporters have learned this lesson the hard way and don’t mind pushing a green or student reporter around. Don’t let them do it. That said…
• Be considerate. If there’s a camera in your way, don’t just shove on the arm connected to it. If someone’s microphone is in your way, don’t just slap it away. I’ve seen this happen in a number of scrums and, despite my earlier tip, it is generally frowned upon. Equipment can cost thousands of dollars and you really don’t want to be the recipient of a bill for someone’s smashed camera or tape recorder. You may be fighting for a sound bite right now, but remember these people are your colleagues and, in the future, potential employers or co-workers. It pays to be as respectful as possible. Even if someone wrongs you, be gracious. The kindness will impress those around you and give you a positive reputation.

A scrum can be a heated, confusing situation for any reporter, let alone a novice. Keep your head on straight, take good notes, stay on the top of the situation, and you’ll do fine.

In the days following the tragic shootings at Dawson College, Canadian news organizations, along with their readers, have spent a considerable amount of time trying to get a picture of what happened and, more importantly, why. Details have become clear about the shooter, Kimveer Gill, and his mindset. We have learned what the scene inside the school was like during his rampage. And, much to every one’s sadness, we have learned of a young victim — Anastasia De Sousa. Two others still remain in critical condition today.

For many national papers, this situation presents a problem — how to tell the story of a young life extinguished far too early, while also attempting to explain a killer’s motivations? Both stories are at the forefront of many people’s minds and both deserve front page coverage. Flipping through a couple of editions yesterday it became abundantly clear, while some papers pulled it off, many did not.

The Toronto Star

The cover of the Toronto Star (pictured above) was the worst offender. By opting to place the two stories side-by-side, each with a prominent photo of the subject, the page ended up looking more like a boxing match promotion than two meaningful stories worthy of attention.

In my opinion, pictures of victims — particularly victims of such a violent crime — should never be played right next to one of their killer, and certainly without the same prominence. It serves only to cheapen the victim’s story and to remind their family of the confrontation which took place between the two individuals. Even my mother, who has no experience in news page design, gasped when she saw the layout. “If I was the family of that girl, I would be pretty ticked off right now,” she said.

Of course this could have been the Star’s intention, to stir up controversy and confrontational feelings. If so, I don’t think they went about it the right way. Strong feelings can come from many places in a newspaper, cheap layout tricks needn’t be one of them. It was a bad call.

Note (9/17/2006): It would seem at least one Toronto Star reader agrees with me, writing in to say, “…a large picture on Page 1 only seems to validate the gunman’s desire for attention and infamy. The emphasis should be on the victims, not the killer. I hope you show better judgment in the future.”

The Globe and Mail

The Globe, taking a much more sensible approach, chose to run both photos on front, but with De Sousa’s story given much more prominence. Like the Star, they ran both photos next to each other, but the difference in size is what makes this a better page. It’s much less confrontational.

Where they fell down, however, is in their choice of lead story. Certainly the death of a young student is more important than proclaiming ‘Quebec to push PM on guns’? Of course Jean Charest is going to make this a hot issue, he’s a politician. Is there really anyone who didn’t see that coming?

The National Post

The Post decided to run with a huge “sidebar” in the middle of the page, detailing Gill’s weblog entries from the day of the shooting. Topped off with a photo of Gill pointing his rifle directly at the camera, it made for a menacing page. The story surrounding De Sousa’s death was relegated to a thin, one-column spot at the side of the page.

While I would’ve liked to see De Sousa’s story given the more prominent spot, I applaud the Post for not taking the easy way out. They could’ve very easily ran both stories side-by-side, complete with huge photos of both De Sousa and Gill. Instead, they chose one story and just went with it.

A never-ending struggle

These are the sort of decisions page designers and copy editors are making each and every night, holed up in the newsroom. What sort of image are we presenting to the public? Is this the kind of message we want? How do we affect the people involved in the story? How do we accurately tell the story? Sometimes they get it right. Just as many times, they don’t.

But, such is life in the newsroom. You take what you can from the experience, learn as much as possible and, before you know it, you’re back at the copy desk. It’s 11 PM and it’s time to package the day’s news once again.

Like many people, I have a number of posters, photographs, and other knick-knacks hanging on the walls of my bedroom. Many of these items remind me of special moments in my life, people I love, or things which inspire me. Sometimes, an object will accomplish all three.

In terms of my journalism experience, there is one item which stands well above the rest. Hanging above my desk, above my monitor and below my CPR certification, is a photocopy of the first pay-cheque I received for an article I had written.

It’s a modest sum, 50 dollars, but it stands as one of the first times I said to myself, “Maybe I can do this after all.” It was also the first time I was able to call myself a professional journalist, a thought which still brings a smile to my face and a chuckle to my chest.

Assigned to me by the Whig’s sports editor, Claude Scilly (who was acting city editor at the time), the story was to profile the county of Lennox & Addington’s new manager of economic development. I was excited, not because of the subject matter, but because of what the story represented.

I remember sitting in the office of one of my professors, flipping through the paper, looking for my article. Not expecting very much out of the story, I immediately opened to the back of the paper. “There’s no way they would have run it close to front,” I thought.

It wasn’t until my professor shoved the front section in my face, turned to page two, that I saw it.

The feeling of pride and accomplishment which swept over me at that moment was unmistakable. I showed the article to everyone I could find. I e-mailed the link to all of my friends back home and to all of my relatives. If I knew you, you saw that article.

I’ve since written for the Whig many times over and produced a college magazine. I’ve been paid for my writing and photography and have had the pleasure of seeing my work published time and time again. None of it, however, has ever managed to come close to the feeling of looking at that cheque, and looking at my article, and thinking that maybe — just maybe — I could make a go of this whole writing thing.