When I think back to my sophomore year and the decision to take News class, I remember wanting to write more and I remember that a lot of my friends were taking it. But while the primary factors leading to my decision to take News may seem silly, I was not prepared for how much I would grow, not only as a writer, but as a person during my time in this class.
Over the course of the year, News class has had consistent routines; start the day with news playing during passing period, 7-minute jobs, good news and then instruction or production time. I’ve never been one to seek out routine, but as I fell into the routine of this class, I loved the predictability and the way it combined with the uncertainty of journalism. Yes, each class was structured the same, but each day was different. A different story, a different class celebration, a different Black and Red TV segment. And sometime between our first real deadline and writing this final story, I’ve grown as a journalist and a person.
Through my monthly stories and editing opinion pieces from the whole staff, I’ve honed my attention to detail. Paying attention is extremely important in the newsroom, be it noticing something on the website that needs improved, or finding stories in seemingly unimportant places. An awareness of the world around me has made me a better journalist, yes, but also a better leader, sister, student and friend.
I’ve always been a procrastinator, and I feared, that when starting this class, my deadlines would be no different. Unfortunately, I was right. This will not be my final story this year, if I want to complete all of my classwork, but I can tell that there’s been growth. I didn’t hold off until 10:00 to do my final DMACC assignments (thank goodness, because Canvas shut down). Earlier this year, in November, I completed a People of the Month story, but it was not published in the designated month. I took almost two months to complete that story. This semester, I signed up for People of the Month for May and I was able to complete it in about a week. To me, that is not a little change; that’s a big improvement.
But by far the most important thing that I’ve gotten out of news is an increase in initiative. Unlike other classes, News allows you to take matters into your own hands. Mrs. Basinger doesn’t tell you exactly what to do each month, and neither does the editor-in-chief. Their roles are to guide you, and your role is to seek out stories and find what needs done. This year, I’ve noticed various things that could be improved, such as people forgetting to put their name on a video story on the site or the Wordle and Connections being broken, and, instead of waiting around for someone else to make it better, I fixed it.
In relation to leaving things better than you found them, being able to take initiative allows people to rely on you, to not only get done what you need to, but to improve the teams you are on. For me, this applies to not just the news staff, but my summer jobs, theater productions and Speech team. I’ve learned to be a team player and aim for the good of the group. Being the one to say “Hey, we could do this better,” and then doing it better is a valuable skill.
News this year has taught me to pay attention, get work done to the highest quality and just do what needs done. I can’t wait to take the class again next year and see what I can learn.
