News Writing Isn't for Me

Just like every English major, the idea of being a perfect news writer (journalist) comes into your mind and refuses to get out of it until you've put it to rest by taking a course specified in new writing. I am so thankful that I did this while I had the chance.

The class wasn't so bad, as much as the idea of interviewing people who want to be left alone was. I don't like approaching people who don't know me with questions, almost always, regarding bad news.

GGC says that the course focuses on "basic news writing in a variety of media; the principles of journalistic writing and the fundamentals and techniques of news reporting and ethics" (English Electives by Concentration). While I personally agree with this description of the course, I had no idea that there would be so much that had to be put into news writing.

For example, there are six basic aspects of newsworthiness - timeliness, proximity, prominence, impact, novelty, and conflict. And there is also an entire different planet of ethics that goes into what you say on an article and/or how it is said.

In taking this course, I once again found myself having to leave my opinion out of my own writing and after learning how not to do that, it was very hard for me to revert back to ignoring everything I actually had to say through a pencil onto my own sheet of paper.

Sources:

“Catalog.” Program: English Electives by Concentration - Georgia Gwinnett College - Acalog ACMS™, catalog.ggc.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=20&poid=394.