My First Byline

My First Byline: Ann-Marie Alcántara

My First Byline: Wajahat Ali

My First Byline: Daisy Alioto

My First Byline: Jenna Amatulli

My First Byline: Steven Asarch

My First Byline: Cary Aspinwall

My First Byline: Emily Atkin

My First Byline: Kimberly Atkins Stohr

My First Byline: Billy Ball

My First Byline: Molly Ball

My First Byline: Ross Barkan

My First Byline: Ryan Barwick

My First Byline: Isabella Basco

My First Byline: Adam Bass

My First Byline: Laura Belin

My First Byline: Samuel Benson

My First Byline: Thor Benson

My First Byline: Alexis Benveniste

My First Byline: Ben Berkowitz

My First Byline: Jillian Berman

My First Byline: Nora Biette-Timmons

My First Byline: Molly Bilinski

My First Byline: Keri Blakinger

My First Byline: Igor Bobic

My First Byline: Jacob Bogage

My First Byline: Julie Bogen

My First Byline: Erika Bolstad

My First Byline: Kait Bolongaro

My First Byline: Kerra Bolton

My First Byline: Christopher Bonanos

My First Byline: Ali Breland

My First Byline: Makini Brice

My First Byline: Kailey Broussard

My First Byline: Rachel Brodsky

My First Byline: P. Kim Bui

My First Byline: Courtney Bublé

My First Byline: Katie Camero

My First Byline: Madeleine Carlisle

My First Byline: Julia Carpenter

My First Byline: Adrian Carrasquillo

My First Byline: Em Cassel

My First Byline: Christina Cauterucci

My First Byline: Anne Marie Chaker

My First Byline: Victoria Chamberlin

My First Byline: Stacy Chandler

My First Byline: Mark Chiusano

My First Byline: Jon Christian

My First Byline: Chris Cillizza

My First Byline: Dana Coffield

My First Byline: Marin Cogan

My First Byline: Kevin Cortez

My First Byline: Tim Crino

My First Byline: Jack Crosbie

My First Byline: Hayley Cuccinello

My First Byline: Seyward Darby

My First Byline: Sopan Deb

My First Byline: Eric Deggans

My First Byline: Katie Deighton

My First Byline: Natalie Delgadillo

My First Byline: Matt Dempsey

My First Byline: John DeVore

My First Byline: Jason Dick

My First Byline: Ej Dickson

Your First Byline: Maggie Neal Doherty

My First Byline: Philip Eil

My First Byline: Christian Elliott

My First Byline: Robin Epley

My First Byline: Amelia Ferrell Knisely

'I Signed Up to Do Album Reviews to Get Free Music'

My First Byline: Madeline Fitzgerald

My First Byline: Alex Fitzpatrick

My First Byline: Gabe Fleisher

My First Byline: Emily Flitter

My First Byline: Orlando Flores Jr.

My First Byline: Stephen Fowler

My First Byline: Piper French

My First Byline: Alex Gangitano

My First Byline: Eric Michael Garcia

My First Byline: Leigh Giangreco

My First Byline: Macy Gilliam

My First Byline: Medea Giordano

My First Byline: Taylor Giorno

My First Byline: Sonari Glinton

My First Byline: Jose R. Gonzalez

My First Byline: Jefferson Graham

My First Byline: Ruth Graham

My First Byline: Taegan Goddard

My First Byline: Reese Gorman

My First Byline: Cassie Hager

My First Byline: Colleen Hagerty

My First Byline: Setota Hailemariam

My First Byline: Saba Hamedy

My First Byline: Claire Hao

My First Byline: Tamar Haspel

My First Byline: Erika Hayasaki

My First Byline: Kelsey Hayes

My First Byline: Danya Henninger

My First Byline: Laura Figueroa Hernandez

My First Byline: Nicole Hertvik

My First Byline: Jonquilyn Hill

My First Byline: Emma Hinchliffe

My First Byline: Jennifer Hlad

My First Byline: Claire Hogan

'I Was the Only Applicant for the Internship'

My First Byline: Emily Holden

My First Byline: Katie Honan

My First Byline: Marcel Honoré

My First Byline: Ayurella Horn-Muller

My First Byline: Brooke Leigh Howard

My First Byline: Kerry Howley

My First Byline: Katie Hyson

My First Byline: Umair Irfan

My First Byline: Bethany Irvine

My First Byline: Heather Mayer Irvine

My First Byline: Rebecca Jennings

My First Byline: Kathryn Jezer-Morton

My First Byline: Sasha Jones

My First Byline: Emily Joshu

'I Wrote About People's Weddings'

My First Byline: Ilana Kaplan

'I Submitted the Edit Test 10 Minutes Late'

My First Byline: Sam Karlin

My First Byline: Annie Karni

How a Writing Coach Can Help You Improve

'I Asked If I Could Interview Public Enemy'

'They Needed Someone Who Spoke Russian'

My First Byline: Maya King

My First Byline: Miles Klee

My First Byline: Kate Knibbs

My First Byline: Steve Knopper

My First Byline: Maggie Koerth

My First Byline: Tal Kopan

My First Byline: Holly Korbey

My First Byline: Marina Koren

My First Byline: Joshua Kosman

My First Byline: Olivia Krauth

My First Byline: Maris Kreizman

My First Byline: Matt K. Lewis

My First Byline: Krista Langlois

My First Byline: Fortesa Latifi

My First Byline: Alex Sujong Laughlin

My First Byline: Jill Lawrence

My First Byline: Samantha Leach

My First Byline: Lauren Leffer

My First Byline: Carrie Levine

'I Made $25 for Each Article'

My First Byline: Taylor Lorenz

My First Byline: Sierra Lyons

My First Byline: Katie MacBride

My First Byline: Arthur MacMillan

My First Byline: Tim Mak

My First Byline: Patrick Malone

My First Byline: Vivian Manning-Schaffel

My First Byline: Erin Mansfield

My First Byline: Kirsty March

My First Byline: Jane Marie

My First Byline: Natasha Mascarenhas

'It Was the Dream Job I Never Knew Existed'

My First Byline: Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

My First Byline: Molly McCluskey

My First Byline: Chuck McCutcheon

My First Byline: Francine McKenna

My First Byline: Cassie McGrath

My First Byline: Seema Mehta

My First Byline: Irving Mejia-Hilario

'They Were Aghast at the Bold Request'

My First Byline: Anna Merlan

My First Byline: Olivia Messer

My First Byline: Julia Métraux

My First Byline: Sam Mintz

My First Byline: Tanvi Misra

My First Byline: Kylie Mohr

My First Byline: Parker Molloy

My First Byline: Leigh Munsil

My First Byline: Amna Nawaz

My First Byline: Amil Niazi

My First Byline: Tina Nguyen

My First Byline: Scott Nover

My First Byline: Osita Nwanevu

My First Byline: Simon Owens

My First Byline: Steven Padilla

My First Byline: Amie Parnes

My First Byline: Allison Parshall

My First Byline: Sarah Parvini

My First Byline: Anna Peele

My First Byline: Robyn Pennacchia

My First Byline: Joe Perticone

My First Byline: Eve Peyser

My First Byline: Andres Picon

My First Byline: Luke Plunkett

My First Byline: Polina Pompliano

My First Byline: Emily Pontecorvo

My First Byline: Rachel Premack

My First Byline: Lauren Puckett-Pope

My First Byline: John Patrick Pullen

My First Byline: Nicole Pyles

My First Byline: Sophie Quinton

My First Byline: Emily Ramshaw

My First Byline: Laurén Razzaq

'I Started at a Newspaper for the Homeless'

My First Byline: Damaso Reyes

My First Byline: Nick Riccardi

My First Byline: Skylar Rispens

'I Covered My Family's Barn-Raising'

My First Byline: Amie Rivers

My First Byline: David Roberts

My First Byline: Kylie Robison

My First Byline: Jesús Rodríguez

My First Byline: Lex Roman

My First Byline: Tricia Romano

My First Byline: Laura Rozen

My First Byline: Hannah Ruhoff

My First Byline: Michelle Ruiz

My First Byline: James Salanga

My First Byline: Alexandra Samuels

My First Byline: Samit Sarkar

My First Byline: Ted Scheinman

My First Byline: Jamie Schler

My First Byline: Heather Schwedel

My First Byline: Grace Segers

My First Byline: Danielle Sepulveres

My First Byline: Ruth Serven Smith

My First Byline: Mallory Shelbourne

My First Byline: Brittany Shepherd

My First Byline: Adrienne Shih

My First Byline: Amanda Silberling

My First Byline: Mark Simon

My First Byline: Scott Simon

My First Byline: Akanksha Singh

My First Byline: C.J. Sinner

My First Byline: Paige Skinner

My First Byline: Jen Rose Smith

My First Byline: Zanny Merullo Steffgen

My First Byline: Josh Sternberg

My First Byline: Joni Sweet

My First Byline: Charlie Sykes

My First Byline: Emily Tamkin

My First Byline: Byron Tau

My First Byline: Kat Tenbarge

'I Was Someone Who Didn’t Give Editors a Headache'

My First Byline: Mc Nelly Torres

My First Byline: Rebecca Traister

My First Byline: Karen Tumulty

My First Byline: Kate Tuttle

My First Byline: Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton

My First Byline: Kristen Van Nest

My First Byline: Julio Ricardo Varela

My First Byline: Dawn Vaughan

My First Byline: Lindsay Lee Wallace

My First Byline: Brittany Wallman

My First Byline: Aaricka Washington

My First Byline: Kelsey Weekman

My First Byline: Casey Wooten

My First Byline: Ashley Jean Yeager

My First Byline: Jenny G. Zhang

My First Byline: Arielle Zionts

Interviews by How They Did It

made a cringey YouTube video of 17 reasons she should get the internship

started a radio show in college

worked as a copy editor for an e-commerce site

flew across country on his own dime for a job interview

turned his college thesis into a magazine article

applied for a job with an alum of her college

wrote a very weird cover letter

moved to Europe

a fellow intern recommended her for a fellowship

blogged

started a Substack

got a recommendation from a teacher

got a job producing a news editor’s blog

moved to a small town to work at a respected local paper

started a newsletter about food with her mom

wrote for her high school paper

wrote for the local paper in college

worked at an alternative paper

ran into a local sports editor at a stoplight

freelanced

applied for a job that was then canceled but the editor put her in touch with other editors in the same chain

freelanced while bartending

worked at a small local paper

freelanced until she was friends with the editor

read an editor’s social media feed to find that he hated bus delays and emailed him about that

a coworker from the student newspaper put her in touch with her internship manager

roommate from a journalism program recommended her for a job

freelanced for a local paper … worked for a small local paper

applied through an online listing

sent clips to recruiters

reached out to famous college alumni in journalism … networked with a family friend

had an editor recognize her military experience as an asset

worked at a trade publication

editor DM’ed him after reading a story

applied to a lot of internships

wrote for a gaming blog

got a job as a legislative analyst

got an internship paid by her college

landed a job in part because she was the only candidate who had waited tables

worked as a stringer

met a recruiter, didn’t impress him, met with him again a year later

wrote for a publication run by a theater ticket broker

wrote obits for a local paper

took a post-graduate program through the Press Association

worked as a bartender while applying for entry-level jobs everywhere

got a job working in Montana

met anyone who was paid to write for coffee to get advice

worked as a freelance reporter in college

wrote a column for the local paper when she was a teen-ager

wrote to the editor of a small-town paper

talked to an editor through Twitter

freelanced

used her deep knowledge of the local arts scene to write a coverage plan

bartended at the Cheesecake Factory until he landed a newsroom assistant job

applied for every entry-level journalism job she could find

worked at D.C. area think tanks

worked as a newsroom assistant through a temp agency

had a journalism professor recommend him to an editor … had a journalism professor recommend her to an editor

went to a career fair … went to a career fair … went to a career fair but didn’t get the spot she wanted, so she followed the recruiter onto a shuttle to the airport and struck up a conversation

took an editing test

made a spreadsheet of job applications

wrote for a small weekly newspaper

worked on the college newspaper … worked on the college newspaper … worked on the college newspaper … worked on the college newspaper

worked in a publishing house for bookazines

met an editor who came to speak at her college

started blogging about local bars and restaurants

applied to more than 50 jobs

had an editor see her do on-stage storytelling

an editor thought she had a writerly sounding name

made a spreadsheet of editors she wanted to meet

worked as an editorial assistant for a vegetarian news publication

worked for an English-language publication overseas … worked for an English-language publication overseas

used Twitter to make connections with other freelancers and editors … replied to a tweet

wrote for her hometown paper during winter break … freelanced stories for her hometown paper until a full-time position opened up

wrote a brief for the alt-weekly in her college town

wrote about TV on a Tumblr blog that got noticed by an editor … started tweeting about her expertise in accounting and got noticed by editors … started his own political news site as a side hustle before turning it into a full-time job … made a connection with a newspaper through a friend from LiveJournal … wrote capsule reviews of movies for a DVD news site

worked as an intern … worked as an intern … worked as an intern … worked as an intern … worked as an intern … applied for an internship but was turned down … applied for an internship but was turned down … applied for an internship but was turned down … had an editor from her internship recommend her … worked as an intern … worked as an intern … worked as an intern … worked as an intern

got a fellowship … got a fellowship … got a fellowship

took a wire service writing test

started as a weekend reporter

randomly met an editor at a bar

worked on social media in a newsroom … worked on the calendar listings for an alt-weekly … worked as a fact-checker

figured out a music editor was a fan of a band he knew and pitched an interview with them

a coworker at TGI Friday’s posted a job listing on Facebook

applied for a newsroom assistant job and almost lost it because of a dumb joke in the interview … used spare time in a job as an editorial assistant to pitch stories

had a mother who was the deputy Washington bureau chief

worked at an in-flight magazine

went to grad school in journalism

emailed a joke to a sportswriter who used it in his column

went to a startup after applying through a job board

had an editor who thought that New Mexico is not that different from Texas

cold emailed the editor of a publication she liked and did well on an editing test … spent the summer cold emailing journalists on LinkedIn … found a sketchy job listing on Craigslist for a website reviewing cell phones and sent in an unhinged cover letter … started at a content farm for health information

knew a little bit of HTML and CSS

did well on a job test that was basically just LSAT questions … had a story he wrote on a tryout land on the Drudge Report

worked as a pastry chef before using that knowledge as a freelance food writer

made a newspaper with a friend for his sixth-grade class

a friend of a friend was looking for someone … a friend who went to Yale forwarded her an email sent by an alum to a college listserv … a friend in college asked if he would help George F. Will fix his computer

worked in the communications office at her college

was editor of his college paper … worked at his college paper