Photo credit: Matt Law
Journalism resources
George Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language”
The Reynolds Center for Business Journalism
Poynter’s News University
Project Gutenberg
Kwantlen instructor @gmarkham‘s wealth of great Delicious links
10,000 Words – Where Journalism and Technology Meet
On graduating in 2012
But that will not be the case. As years passed, I tired of hearing the redundant “gloom and doom” speeches made by professors and guest speakers. So did many classmates, it seems, as my class of 16 has been reduced to six. Why weren’t there more speeches on what we can do to kick-start the industry? I feel as if most don’t know; I feel it’s my responsibility to create that solution. Do industry professionals feel the same of new grads, I wonder?
Graduating, for me, means more than leaving the textbooks behind. It is stepping into an unknown future that is dependent on finding a job. It is the difference of living in one country or another: my Canadian visa will expire and time will run out for me to request another. It is both thrilling and terrifying. But mostly, I love knowing that something unexpected lies ahead, and that one day soon, my life will change completely. I am hungry for a new adventure.
The ugly issues
Too few strive to understand or assist with the unpleasantries that are daily realities for people from all classes and cultural groups. I’m talking about domestic abuse. Poverty. Starvation. Homelessness. Occupational crime. And especially about stalking.
I’ve been a victim of each one of those things. Cyberstalking, which falls under the RCMP’s category of criminal harassment, is the real kicker. It is easy for an abuser to track their victim and trash their name online. Too easy. I was asked by the police to abandon everything associated with my real name and to create a new name for myself. So I did. You knew me once as Sarah Jackson. You knew me again as Elise Gray. But now I’ve returned to my real name, for good this time.
These hardships are in your neighbourhood, too. And you have the power to make a difference. It requires far less than you think; attentiveness and a kind word are precious to the people in these positions. Care inspires motivation.
I’ve been through more difficulties than most at 22 years old, but it doesn’t stop me from taking on new challenges. From domestic abuse to homelessness to surviving on food bank donations, I know much about a part of the world that often gets ignored or hidden.
I’m an American who trekked from Maryland to Vancouver, B.C. to study journalism in a diverse, multicultural climate. It has been eye-opening, particularly in regard to the international perception of my nation. This spring, I will graduate from Kwantlen Polytechnic University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in applied journalism.
Currently, I work as a freelance reporter, web editor, research assistant, communications specialist, website designer and copywriter for a handful of organizations. I recently finished an internship at MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews in New York City.
The Whistleblower
The Marx-Engels Reader
Books I want to read next:
My Antonia
Lost in Shangri-La
The Rape of Nanking
Some of my favorite news sites:
The Wall Street Journal
The New York Times
The New Yorker
The Economist
Mother Jones
The Daily Beast
National Public Radio
The Washington Post
On the docket are courses in classical sociological theory, social policy, social issues journalism, public affairs journalism and a directed study looking at the behind-the-scenes of launching a paywall.
Though I’m preparing for a career in journalism, my work experience includes a wider range of media-related roles, and I’m glad to have the opportunity to afford my education by applying my journalistic skills and knowledge at work. But my love of storytelling, in some of these cases, must be tailored a little differently.
Right now, I work as a web editor and research assistant for Acting Together-CURA‘s gang prevention research project. I built and maintain the website. I take photos and write press releases. I help with other research tasks. I’m also the communications coordinator for Kwantlen’s Centre for Interdisciplinary Research: Community Learning and Engagement (CIR:CLE). That’s mostly meant launching the website and helping with event promotions. Other things I do: freelance reporting, news television production, website building, copywriting and ESL tutoring.
I’m a volunteer writer for Five Hole For Food, too!
No, really. I’ve had a concept for funding online journalism in mind for several years and it’s received high praise from some bright minds in USA and Canada. I wish I knew more web coding; hence, the ongoing studies in my spare time. I might use this website to test some new knowledge. Maybe I can find a way to make the vision a reality.
Overall, though, I have a less auspicious goal for my future. I hope to be a news editor or a producer one day; I have a particular fondness for grammar and precision. The beats I love most are business, crime and politics, but my curiosities and interests aren’t limited to those topics. I graduate this spring, and then things will get interesting!
