Journalism students, and writers in general are very much a unique group of people. We tend to be creative and maybe a tiny bit eccentric. We look at life through a different set of lenses. We often get intensely excited about things that make the people around us question our sanity.
I promise. We really are sane. We just look at things a little differently than you do. Here are some things that are very normal for journalism students and writers (I am fairly sure that most of you can identify with this):
1. Coffee is necessary for life and without it we could not survive.
Seriously. Without inordinate amounts of coffee, we could not survive our attempts to balance classes, homework, interviews, writing, photography, production days and nights, and social activities. Coffee gives us life and no little amount of sanity.
2. Competing with peers to be the one to cover a hot topic story is normal.
Even if these peers are some of our best friends, there is going to be a decent amount of friendly (or sometimes heated) competition to cover a hot topic story.
3. Getting the text perfectly kerned is one of the most satisfying things. Ever.
For those of you who are reading this and currently have a confused, blank stare on your face, kerning is the process of aligning the spacing between letters and words in the text of headlines in order to make it more pleasing to the eye. During the layout process, one of the most important things to do is to get the text perfectly kerned and make it fit perfectly in the space while still being perfectly kerned. As my journalism professor always says, “Learn to kern.”
4. New notebooks and journals are completely the best gifts anyone can get you.
Since we are constantly doing interviews, notebooks and journals are part of our everyday life. Finding the ideal one of these that fits in your hand while note-taking, and can be easily stored in your pocket or bag can be difficult. If you provide us with one of these, we will forever love you.
5. Once you find the perfect pen, nothing anyone can say or do would make you ever, ever part with it.
Let me clear something up for you, all pens are not the same. Cheap pens that have no shape or grip to them, and offer a feeble somewhat dry type of ink are not okay. Pens are immensely important to our field of study. With them we scribble down notes, copy down interviews, copy important phone numbers, etc. Once we find the pen, with the perfect grip, just the right amount of ink flow, and the color ink that we like, we are satisfied, and will never part with it.
6. In print newspaper, having your story published front page, above the fold, is your undying goal.
This is the first story everyone will see when they look at the newspaper...need I say more?
7. You pay attention to all the latest gossip in hopes of finding a juicy lead to pursue.
Even if you hate gossip, you pay attention to it, because out of tidbits of gossip can come the greatest leads and eventual news stories.
8. You likely keep a personal journal to keep track of all your thoughts, ideas, and goals in life.
Our only enjoyment in writing is not found in news coverage and writing for publication. We also enjoy keeping personal writings to keep up with all of our thoughts, experiences, ideas, goals and more. It's like a little piece of who we are.
9. You have a fierce and exhausting love-hate relationship with writing.
We thrive off of writing, but sometimes it is absolutely grueling work. Leads do not work out, stories crumble, writers block kicks in, we spend late nights writing, we frantically search for sources, we spend late nights involved in layout and production, there is editing and checking to make sure AP guidelines are being followed with no errors. It is a demanding field...but when a story comes through as you hoped it would, when you get the perfect photograph to illustrate it or design the perfect layout, or when you get an overwhelmingly positive response, it is oh, so satisfying.
10. You think your job is the best ever.
As a journalist and writer, we get to travel to interesting places, meet unique and inspiring people, and tell stories! We write to keep the public informed. We write to tell stories. We write to make a difference. It is truly incredible.
11. Nothing could make you stop writing.
It is absolutely a part of who we are.
