Chatwan Mongkol knows all about student newspapers. As the founder of The Nutgraf, he writes a weekly newsletter about what’s going on in the world of college journalism. We talked with him recently about how you can use the student paper to get a leg up in journalism.
Why should aspiring journalists write for the student paper?
It’s a good way to learn journalistic skills in a semi-real-world setting. Being on a college campus is like being in a small town filled with all kinds of stories. And you’re a local reporter for that community.
You can cover everything from events on campus to breaking news when there’s a police activity, daily news pieces on student government and even investigative reports when your administration is doing something sketchy.
When you’re in college for four years, you get to build your sources and get to know the community. When you report, you’ll have to research, interview, ask the right questions, outline your articles and write it out on deadline, These are things professional journalists do.
I said it’s a semi-real-world setting because it’s still an environment where you can afford to make mistakes. The stakes are lower. You still have support from your peers, advisors and professors — who I’m sure would defend and stand by you if something goes wrong. It’s a good learning environment.
Plus, you’ll get clips and you’ll have experience to talk about when you apply for an internship or a job. I wrote for three years in my undergrad. A few pieces were award-winning. One of them was an investigation I spent four months on. It could have been stronger, looking back. But I learned a lot during that reporting process and it was the story I talked about when I was seeking my first job.
What are some good examples of high-quality journalism from student papers that attracted national attention?
Two stories that came to mind were reporting by big-name papers The Stanford Daily and The Daily Northwestern that resulted in Stanford's ex-president’s resignation and the firing of Northwestern's football coach.
But I wanted to point to lesser-known papers that are making an impact in their own communities too but didn’t get national attention.
The Clock’s advocacy around New Hampshire’s “right-to-know” law led to policy changes within the student government at Plymouth State University.
The University Star’s stories on the history of sexual assault allegations against a star quarterback at Texas State University prompted the player to withdraw from the school.
The Famuan at Florida A&M University covers local stories in Tallahassee through its “SJGC Capital Bureau” course. Some of the stories produced by The Famuan aren't even found on local news sites, (according to my quick Google search that could be wrong).
If you're a student journalist already, how can you make sure to get the most out of the experience?
If you can afford to, try to work on as many types of stories as you can. Try everything: TV, podcast, newspaper, digital, data and radio.
Student media is also a place where you try writing stories beyond your typical beat. You’re a hard news person? Try writing a music review. Never written an opinion piece before? Try writing one to see how you articulate your ideas. You’re not a sports person? Try to cover a game to see what it’s like. (Full disclosure: I never did it, and I still haven’t written a sports piece in my career yet.)
But when you’re at your professional job, while there are opportunities, it’s hard to jump to another section or work on another medium.
Apart from doing the journalism, what are some other things that student journalists can do to get the most out of their experience?
One thing that helped me was reading a lot of student reporting from other schools and thinking about how to pursue that kind of reporting in my own paper. One thing I wish I had done more of was to connect with other student journalists and professional journalists beyond my campus bubble.
Sometimes it’s easy to tell student journalists to attend conferences, but the reality is that not everyone has a chance to go. It’s usually just top editors, depending on the school’s or the paper’s budget. And it’s expensive to go on your own.
I’m gonna say that there are free journalistic skills workshops and conferences out there. They might be hard to find but they’re there.
Shameless plug: This is why The Nutgraf exists. I want to create a supportive community for student journalists who otherwise wouldn’t have that community beyond their school program because they couldn’t afford to. At the end of each issue, I include virtual workshops, cheap or free conferences by different press groups and internship/job openings in the featured opportunities section.
What advice do you have for breaking into journalism?
Find your niche. Try to develop your beat. Be adaptable and flexible. Have a story or two to tell when you’re at a job interview. While I think it’s still a “who you know” industry, if your clips are good, they will speak for themselves.
Another shameless plug: I compiled advice and tips from 10 journalism professors across the country for student journalists who are looking for their first job. That’s here.