Journalism may not need another wannabe writer after the Pulitzer Prize but it's getting one. After what I'm sure will be many years as a reporter, I want to become an editor (then possibly a managing editor) at a large or mid-sized special interest magazine. I found that delegating is one of my fortes (the fact that delegating simultaneously minimizes the actual work I have do myself is beside the point) and have learned that that type of position is suitable for me. I suspect that I may be overreaching the attainable goals at the moment, but I know that I have to pay my dues as an everyday reporter and writer before I can become an editor.
As far as writing goes, my interests range from Middle Eastern happenings to both international and hyper-local art, culture and fashion scenes. While many may attribute some of those topics to "soft journalism," that doesn't really matter to me. Those are the subjects I love to read and write about; I'm certain that I'm not alone. I hope to change these topics' negative perception in the world of "hard journalism." Arts and culture are always indicative of political and social climates at any given time--their existence, or lack thereof, says volumes about the societies we live in.
I love travel writing, especially humorous, first person, culture shock pieces mostly because I tend to become a protagonist who gets caught in those situations. I want to show my colleagues that there is no such thing as a stupid question. Said "stupid questions" should be used as a means for clarification--travel writing commonly relies on the asking of seemingly stupid questions. However, the most complex stories benefit from the simplest inquiries. One of our most important jobs as journalists is to simplify the complicated. I want to be the person who asks the simple questions making a name for myself among readers as their go-to writer when an issue is beyond their understanding (granted that I understand the issue myself). Oh, and I plan to do all this while overcoming my fear of talking to strangers and the anxiety I feel when inconveniencing people with journalistic probing. Yes, I still hate picking up the phone to ask someone for an interview. That's what I'm hoping an M.A. degree will eradicate. So, get to work, Annenberg.
Leave a comment