Have you ever written a newspaper article? Well, I hadn’t either until this very moment, and you could turn your life around just like me if you would sign up for the Newspaper Practicum class offered here at McDaniel.
For someone with little or no journalism experience (until now, the only experience I’ve had has been watching the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas a lot), the very title of this class can be intimidating. But, as I have recently discovered, there is nothing to be afraid of and plenty to even be excited about.
Admittedly, the practicum is a little overwhelming at first. As soon as you get into your seat the first day , you find out that you don’t always have to go to class . A great deal of the learning, and work, is done at odd hours in strange places. This is cool. Then Lisa Breslin starts talking at high speed about deadlines and “ leads ” and “60 seconds” and “McCribs” and the fact that you get to pick you first assignment. Y ou have absolutely no idea what’s going on. As it turns out, that’s fine.
Breslin is extremely open to questions , and she is one of the more laid-back faculty members to be found here. Rest assured she is acutely aware of how hectic the newspaper process seems at first, and she is more than willing to help you improve from any starting point. You even get to come up with your own first assignment, if you so choose and if your idea isn’t terrible.
So I’m here to tell you from experience: if you have even the remotest interest in writing for the paper, or for any other reason find yourself in a position to take the Newspaper Practicum, don’t hesitate. There’s nothing to worry about. Y ou get to meet some cool people, and you get to see your name in print, which is awesome.