Name: Timothy J. Carroll
Job: Staff writer at the Hoboken Reporter weekly newspaper in Hoboken, N.J., one of nine newspapers in the Hudson Reporter newspapers chain.
What are your responsibilities? In charge of covering all aspects of the city – from kittens to corruption – and submitting four to five stories a week, plus extras. I usually submit one 1,000 word cover story, three/four 500-800 word stories, news briefs, and a crime section story. I am also solely responsible for any photography needed for the stories.
What's a typical workday? Reporters at weeklies have different schedules depending on what day it is. On Mondays I speak with people around town and nail down my stories for the week. Tuesday is a staff meeting to discuss stories and then off to report. Wednesdays are the key to the week and when I do much of my reporting. Sometimes I find out that a story has fallen through and I have to find something else on the fly. I usually spend a few nights of the week in meetings, whether it's the zoning board, board of education, or city council – they can go past one in the morning sometimes. On Thursday, I'm pumping out stories and tying up any loose ends, usually staying up late to finish. Friday is our publication day and I work with my editor and layout personnel to review the final versions of the paper and post them on-line.
What do you like/dislike about the job? There are so many unique characters in town and I enjoy talking with all of them. I love getting out of the office and exploring story ideas. I'm a naturally curious person and journalism gives me an excuse to ask questions and investigate curious or interesting situations. I do not like writing advertiser-driven stories (which sometimes happens) and have in the past asked to have my name removed from such stories. I hate dull meetings and slow news weeks, although I don't get much of either.
Background: My higher education began as a chemical engineering major at Rowan University, but that wasn’t my calling. I ended up at Bucks County Community College in Pennsylvania and decided to try my hand at journalism. I excelled at it and became news editor of the student newspaper, then editor-in-chief. I unfortunately did not finish the degree program, but was lucky to find this job based mostly on my writing samples from Bucks. I'm planning to finish my degree in the near future.
What are the skills young journalists need today? With the onset of blogging and citizen journalism, journalists need to be more active to keep up with the endless news cycle. But just as important is maintaining a more professional mindset in order to set ourselves apart from the non-professionals. Journalistic standards are important and very few members of the new media adhere to them. We need to play the game by our rules, not theirs. Also, learning a second language would be a huge asset.
Any advice to aspiring journalists? Find the right questions to ask. As I am learning, being a successful journalist requires preparation and investigation, more so than anything else. If you’ve prepared, you’ll ask the right questions. If you ask the right questions, the story will write itself.
Any additional comments? “Decisions are made by those who show up.” The quote from the West Wing is one of my favorites. It makes things very simple: be there and opportunity will present itself. All that’s left is to take advantage of it. When you're a young journalist, never say no to a story. It’ll pay off later. (And be sure you keep your writing samples.)
Job: Staff writer at the Hoboken Reporter weekly newspaper in Hoboken, N.J., one of nine newspapers in the Hudson Reporter newspapers chain.
What are your responsibilities? In charge of covering all aspects of the city – from kittens to corruption – and submitting four to five stories a week, plus extras. I usually submit one 1,000 word cover story, three/four 500-800 word stories, news briefs, and a crime section story. I am also solely responsible for any photography needed for the stories.
What's a typical workday? Reporters at weeklies have different schedules depending on what day it is. On Mondays I speak with people around town and nail down my stories for the week. Tuesday is a staff meeting to discuss stories and then off to report. Wednesdays are the key to the week and when I do much of my reporting. Sometimes I find out that a story has fallen through and I have to find something else on the fly. I usually spend a few nights of the week in meetings, whether it's the zoning board, board of education, or city council – they can go past one in the morning sometimes. On Thursday, I'm pumping out stories and tying up any loose ends, usually staying up late to finish. Friday is our publication day and I work with my editor and layout personnel to review the final versions of the paper and post them on-line.
What do you like/dislike about the job? There are so many unique characters in town and I enjoy talking with all of them. I love getting out of the office and exploring story ideas. I'm a naturally curious person and journalism gives me an excuse to ask questions and investigate curious or interesting situations. I do not like writing advertiser-driven stories (which sometimes happens) and have in the past asked to have my name removed from such stories. I hate dull meetings and slow news weeks, although I don't get much of either.
Background: My higher education began as a chemical engineering major at Rowan University, but that wasn’t my calling. I ended up at Bucks County Community College in Pennsylvania and decided to try my hand at journalism. I excelled at it and became news editor of the student newspaper, then editor-in-chief. I unfortunately did not finish the degree program, but was lucky to find this job based mostly on my writing samples from Bucks. I'm planning to finish my degree in the near future.
What are the skills young journalists need today? With the onset of blogging and citizen journalism, journalists need to be more active to keep up with the endless news cycle. But just as important is maintaining a more professional mindset in order to set ourselves apart from the non-professionals. Journalistic standards are important and very few members of the new media adhere to them. We need to play the game by our rules, not theirs. Also, learning a second language would be a huge asset.
Any advice to aspiring journalists? Find the right questions to ask. As I am learning, being a successful journalist requires preparation and investigation, more so than anything else. If you’ve prepared, you’ll ask the right questions. If you ask the right questions, the story will write itself.
Any additional comments? “Decisions are made by those who show up.” The quote from the West Wing is one of my favorites. It makes things very simple: be there and opportunity will present itself. All that’s left is to take advantage of it. When you're a young journalist, never say no to a story. It’ll pay off later. (And be sure you keep your writing samples.)
http://journalism.about.com/od/careersinjournalism/a/timcarroll.htm
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