Yearbook Success!
Great news! My staff and I have finally completed the 2018 yearbook for Lyons Township High School. This publication consists of more than 300 pages of colorful pictures and stories of the 2017-2018 schoolyear. I have done so many stories for this year’s Tabulae, it makes me feel good to be done with the book. During the last two semesters I have covered the varsity water polo team, varsity baseball, a report on the new football field, a profile on a terrific tennis player, coverage of an improvisation performance and a production consisting of ten plays written by local students.
Through all the recording, note-taking, asking the right questions, dealing with first, second, third, fourth, and fifth drafts, I have come to a realization that my journalism skills are improving tremendously. When it comes to Journalism, there are a few things a reader needs to know from a journalist’s point of view. The first point of being is journalists don’t know the answers to every single issue out there. It takes time and a whole lot of digging to get to the bottom of a topic or story. You need to ask the right questions. Ask questions that not only me, the journalist wants to know, but also questions readers are asking to know as well. As I trudge closer to the beginning of real world journalism, there are some things I am expectant of. When asking for an interview most people will say yes. When asking for an interview with important people such as politicians, lawyers, and company CEO’s; those subjects will not want to have an interview recorded for the record. It is only when a journalist has a regular off the books conversation with the person of interest; the subject will give or possibly slip a piece of context vital to the piece you are writing.
At the current moment, I don’t know what kind of journalist I want to become. I do enjoy watching 60 Minutes and it would a lifetime accomplishment if I was a correspondent for the program. I could also become a magazine style journalist. I do enjoy writing long pieces of reporting to get both sides of the conversation into spectrum. I can see myself writing for Outside Magazine or National Geographic after a few years of free lancing. I also have a knack for comedy. Wouldn’t it be hilarious if I was the only actual journalist on The Daily Show or Last Week Tonight? I can only work hard in the moment to get to the top now.