My Job Shadow Day At The Cheshire Herald

February 5, 2010 by Julia Turret

For a long time now, I’ve wanted to pursue a career in journalism. The prospect of being so close to the latest news and then being able to write about it… honestly, nothing appeals to me more. Today (Feb. 2) was my first chance to experience the reality of being a journalist through the Cheshire High School job shadow program, and it was even more fascinating and exciting than I imagined.
On this job shadow, Meghan Fackler and I followed Cheshire Herald staff writer Josh Morgan through his typical working day. After answering all of our initial questions about being a journalist, he gave us a tour of the Cheshire Herald newsroom, and we met the editor and other contributors to the paper.
Editor John Rook explained the layout of the paper and the process that it takes to create it. I realized that it is very complicated; advertisements have to be put in and, often, the stories jump from page to page. Although a lot of people don’t realize the importance of visuals and graphics, they are very important to making the actual stories in the paper more readable and interesting. Overall, a lot of thought has to go into making the paper look good.
After this, we went with Morgan around town to take pictures for the Cheshire Herald Web site. Our next stop was the Cheshire Town Hall, where he conducted an interview with the Town Manager regarding the Cheshire Grand List. Then, we visited the Police Department and the Fire Department and met some of the people that Morgan often interacts with whenever there is an emergency situation in town or some sort of event led by either of these departments that requires press attention.
After following Josh Morgan, I was able to learn about the process taken by a news reporter. Whenever a story comes up that requires attention, the first step for a journalist is to go to the scene or event to conduct interviews and learn what happened. Politeness and patience is vital and, over time, a reporter can gain a good reputation that allows them to build a relationship with the people that they interview often.
An interest in photography is also important, because it is becoming more and more common for journalists to add that skill (and sometimes even videos) to the requirements of interviewing for and writing the story. Sometimes it is necessary to have a follow up interview with a subject and background research is also important for a thorough understanding of the topic of the story.
Following Josh Morgan as he went to conduct interviews was intriguing.
I was able to see the relationship that he has developed with many people around town, and I realized that in order to be an effective and respected journalist, good social interactions with interviewees and subjects are necessary. However, this quality can be developed over time and often follows having a passion for writing and the news.
It is also important that the same level of respect and understanding that is shown in a reporter’s interview presence should be reflected in the actual story that is written for the paper so that the story can reach and inform as many people as possible.
And, really, that is what being a journalist is all about.