The life of a student reporter

Many people don’t think about the all the work behind running a student newspaper.

A student newspaper is exactly what it says it is: a newspaper run entirely by students. Aside from schoolwork, students have to worry about assigning stories, scheduling interviews, thinking about questions to ask and writing and editing stories. Photos have to be taken and advertisements have to be sold before the paper is even designed so that it can be laid out. All of these things have to be accomplished before deadline and between classes and schoolwork.

Even if a student doesn’t directly write content for the paper, they are still considered reporters. A paper wouldn’t exist without advertisements, and advertisements wouldn’t get sold without a team of student ad representatives who go out looking for new ad opportunities. The paper would also seem pretty bland without the pictures that student photographers at various campus and community events. The paper also doesn’t organize itself. Layout and design students produce the final product by fitting the stories, pictures and advertisements onto the page.

Student reporters have the same routine as other students but with occasional detours. Our weeks are booked with interviews, staff meetings, writing online content and the production nights where we put it all together. We go to class, work on schoolwork, have other jobs and hang out with friends, but there are days when there isn’t time to do anything other than focus on our obligations at the paper.

Many people don’t have to worry about their job once they leave their workplace, but student reporters are reporters 24 hours a day, seven days a week; however, this isn’t a complaint. We love what we do, but it’s a shame when some people don’t take us seriously or think that we don’t do much.

We conduct interviews and write articles, not for our own amusement, but to keep those in the community and on campus aware of the current events. We want the student body to be engaged with what’s going on around them.

Go on and do us a favor. Pick up the newspaper and read what’s inside or check us out online. Think we’re missing important or interesting content? Let us know. There’s no way we can know what the student body wants unless you tell us.