News Journalism?

When I started my degree, I knew what I wanted from it. I had expectations, hopes, the lot. My ambition has always been to be a fashion or travel journalist. My first two months of my degree have been based on news writing, the most traditional form of journalism (potentially) and a million miles from what I expected.

A city girl through and through, I feel at home in the hustle and bustle of crowds, pigeons, cigarette butts and tall buildings. I thrive in places bursting with life of all ages, backgrounds, and general West Country nonsense. The Georgian setting of Bath has long since been full of news - some genuine and others... not quite so genuine. From Chaucer to sightings of Johnny Depp and the like, there is always something going on, so, stepping out into the small town of Falmouth where I now reside was a big challenge for me. Before, I had news thrown at me from my family and friends and the other thousands of city dwellers who like myself love to talk and spread the news. In a completely new setting where I knew next to nobody, I felt as though I was stood at a precipice with little or no equipment to catch myself with should I fall.

But learning news writing has taught me a valuable lesson - that there is an element of importance in all walks of journalism. What is irrelevant and boring to one person is another person's mantra, a feeding ground for knowledge and gossip and of the highest importance. Though at first glance the fire demonstration of the building in which I live is not the most enthralling subject, when you dig deep enough it became infinitely clear that there was a reason why it was newsworthy. It was newsworthy because it was necessary. The follow up story based upon the connection between alcohol consumption and fires in student accommodation I covered was somewhat close to my heart, being a rare consumer of alcohol.


Being a journalist isn't just about writing fancy stories, nor is it about covering the biggest stories. All is relative when the world is narrowed down to the boundaries of one town. The difficulty isn't in finding the stories or finding the right people to ask, it lies within finding a fresh angle. People already know there are fire demonstrations for young people because they are connoted with reckless behaviour. They aren't, however, exposed to the true statistics that it is older people who cause more fires through alcohol consumption unless they are faced with it in an everyday article.

Although I'm not sure I have been swayed in my interests of journalism, I have learnt that the real stories come from people, and a range of people at that. The vibrancy of a story can never be on the same rainbow spectrum if not enhanced by the perspectives of the people who live through the story, experience the story and ultimately, become a part of the story.