Staff Q&As: Meet multiplatform journalist Caryn Rupert
To help you get to know our newsroom staff a bit better, a series of question-and-answer posts with each journalist will run on Mondays. This morning, meet Caryn Rupert, a multiplatform journalist on the night news and digital desk. You might have seen her posts on Book Buzz, Twenty & Change or FlipSide.
Name: Caryn Rupert
Lives in: York
Hometown: York
Position at the YDR: Multiplatform journalist on the night news and digital desk
Years with the YDR: Almost 3
Graduated from: Shippensburg University, with a double-major in English and journalism
Twitter: @crayolacrayonnn
Facebook: Search for Caryn Rupert
Email: crupert@ydr.com
Whatever you’d like to tell us about yourself: I’ll do anything once. I love to read, knit, run and watch terrible movies with my work buddy, Dan.
1. What made you want to become a journalist? Originally I went to school for teaching. When I couldn’t pursue a degree in teaching without sacrificing my other hobbies, I decided on journalism and fell in love with it. I don’t regret switching my major for a minute. Teachers have it rough these days.
2. How do you see journalism changing? I’m seeing our priorities shift a lot from the print product to the web. I’m also seeing a lot of citizen journalism out there. I think it’s important for people to be literate, competent media consumers and realize what is and is not a reliable source of news.
3. What do you like most about your job? The least? I love every waking moment of my job (though you probably can’t tell sometimes.) There isn’t a single thing I dislike. I’m always learning new things about journalism and about the world. I get to impress my friends with my knowledge of current events, and I get to read the news all the time. Who wouldn’t love that?
4. It’s 9:30 a.m. on a day off. What are you doing? I’m one of the oddballs on the night desk who is actually awake most days at 9:30 a.m. Usually I’m eating breakfast or knitting and seeing my husband off to work at his job with normal hours. Sometimes I’m getting ready for work at my part-time job.
5. What’s been your favorite project or story recently? Why? I wrote a story about knitting for the holidays where I visited Uncommon Threads, the yarn shop in the Queensgate Towne Center and talked to a bunch of knitters. Since knitting is an obsession of mine, I felt confident talking to them, already knowing the lingo. The ladies at Uncommon Threads were really happy with the story, too.
6. The drink that’s on your desk right now is: Tazo Zen tea. I usually drink at least three cups of tea during my shift.
7. Your favorite Twitter feed you follow: I really like @nprnews. I listen to NPR sometimes on the way to work and it always has the most interesting perspectives on the day’s news.
8. What’s your favorite movie? Book? The English nerd in me loves any film adaptation of a book, but especially Jane Austen novels. I own three different adaptations of “Pride and Prejudice,” and I can’t wait to see “The Great Gatsby,” “Anna Karenina” and “Les Miserables” this winter in theaters. My favorite book of all time is “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte. “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy is a beautifully written story that everyone should enjoy at least once in their life. I write about book series on the Book Buzz blog, and my favorite series recently has been the “Song of Ice and Fire” by George R.R. Martin. Romance novels are a guilty pleasure of mine. After reading hard news all day, it’s great to sit down after work with a sloppy romantic story.
9. What’s your favorite place in York County? Anywhere I can take a walk or run. I really like walking at Rocky Ridge and John Rudy Park.
10. What’s one piece of newsroom jargon that had to be explained to you? The difference between “main art” and “lede” stories. The lede is always the biggest headline on the page. The main art is the one with the giant picture, but isn’t necessarily the biggest headline on the page.
Last week, we ran a Q&A with multiplatform journalist Will Hanlon. To read all of the staff Q&A interviews we’ve done so far, click on the “Staff Q&As” under “About us” at the top of the homepage.