#DISPATCH COLUMBUS FULL#
The goal is for our reporting to be full but concise. Again, it’s important to research the subject you’re exploring so you can ask better questions.įinally, we write. Then we interview our sources to gain insights into what readers should know or would find interesting.
Other times it’s about combing through public records or traveling to the place where an event occurred. Sometimes this is as easy as calling the number on a press release. Next, we identify the sources we need to speak with to tell those stories. For best results, a good bit of research is required for better story development. These can come from press releases, the calendar, simple observation while venturing around the city, other news sources, talking with (or possibly eavesdropping on) other people, analyzing data or about a thousand other places. While the topics vary, the general task is always the same.įirst, we find stories. After all, who was I to disagree if Holly Zachariah thought I was ready to be a metro desk intern? The day-to-day Still, when the call came from Holly Zachariah, Dispatch internship coordinator and all-around amazing journalist and person, I accepted the position. I had news writing experience through my major program and working for The Lantern, but we’re talking about covering all of central Ohio! I was a former college dropout in his mid-30s. I was nervous for pretty much the entire selection process. None of it would have happened if I would’ve stayed in my comfort zone. The opportunity to tell these stories and more was afforded to me by my summer internship with The Columbus Dispatch.
#DISPATCH COLUMBUS HOW TO#
Some stories are harder to tell than others, but the only way to learn how to be a journalist is by telling as many of them as best you can. about what dog owners should do to prevent canine influenza, and if he’s seen an increase in cases, after a neighboring county’s shelter had a dog flu scare.Ī few days later, I’m creating a database from information on file with the Social Security Administration to figure out what the most popular baby names in Ohio for the last 60 years have been (Michael and Jennifer, if you were wondering).Īnother day, I’m in Columbus’ North Linden neighborhood, talking to loved ones and neighbors of the victims of a double homicide so readers might know them a little better for who they were, not merely the city’s 51 st and 52 nd homicides of 2019. One day, I’m in the Franklin County Dog Shelter, asking assistant director Dwayne Young Jr. In what other field does the working environment change as rapidly as journalism? Metro Reporter Intern at The Columbus Dispatch Getting there