There are only five more days until I graduate, so I have a chance to reflect on the past and look towards the future.
The JMC program atUNC has done a great job of making me a better writer. There are also a variety of things to focus on, from newspaper and magazine writing to broadcasting and that really helps students develop into better journalists. I do wish we had started working on actual reporting earlier than junior year. I should’ve joined The Mirror to get that experience, but more of it in class can be a boost for the students who don’t work for the paper.
I learned that AP Style and I don’t get along very well. I like to write my numbers out; AP stops me at ten. AP wants me to abbreviate states; I like to write them out. Making the switch to focusing on journalism instead of working on it with Chicago style in my writing minor should help.
I learned that I have a knack for journalistic writing. Overly poetic language feels weird to me so I feel out of place at times in the English department. The goal of journalism is to give as much information in as few words as possible, and I can handle that.
I think I’m ready for a career in journalism, but is it ready for me? I want to go into sports writing, but it’s such a difficult field to find a job in. Sports writers love what they do, so there aren’t that many positions open. Peter Gammons has been writing for 42 years, so I hope I can have a career like that.
