On Friday Paul Groswiler was in class to discuss print journalism. Instead of a lecture the class was designed to be a question and answer session with Groswiler. The following is what I learned and the opinions from Groswiler.
Print journalism is writing in tangible form. Many believe that print journalism has been doomed for many years and yet it is still going. Print journalism is showing that no matter the technology there is still room for print journalism.
Groswiler started as a graduate student of print journalism. He chose print journalism over broadcasting because he did not want to be on camera. He worked on a newspaper in Missouri where he wrote for the police beat and the obituaries. Later he moved to Maine to work for the Bangor Daily News as a copy editor. Groswiler hopes to be viewed as a muck raker ultimately.
The term muck raker was originally used in the 1900’s as an insult for inevestigative journalists. Journalists took the term as a compliment and continued to reform government and society through their writings.
The purpose of a journalist is to not get involved in the story. Journalists need to be separate from their story. There is some personal influence journalists will have when they write, but mostly journalists do not interfere while trying to report the news to their readers.
Groswiler’s advice to prospective journalists is to keep clips of all the articles you have written, and a good GPA helps as well as internships. You need to be able to be a generalist and proxy through the reader. For example if you were told to get a story on gas prices you are the person who decides where to take the story. The story will only be as good as the information you gather. Note talking is another important aspect, you must be able to write down the important information as well as write it fast. The ability to write a good lead is crucial, it is the most important part of the story.
