YDR Insider

Name: Sophie Grove
Age: 16
School: West York Area High School
Interests: Journalism, writing and spanish

How was your day at YDR?
My day at the York Daily Record/Sunday News started off quickly. Upon arrival, I was taken to a studio room, where photographer Jason Plotkin and graphic designer Samantha Dellinger were in the process of setting up for a fashion shoot that would soon become a spread in Smart magazine. I quickly realized that the journalists at YDR are way more than just writers. I had been expecting to learn about the writing and publishing process, so I was surprised when instead I was shown a fashion shoot.

As the day went on, it became increasingly clear that in the journalism field, either you keep up with technology… or get left behind. In just the short time that I was in YDR, I watched Kara and the majority of the other journalists working on blogs, updating Twitter and Facebook accounts and shooting video. I was even able to attend a meeting where reporters and journalists learned how to upload and edit videos.

It is obvious that a journalist’s job has changed with technology, however I did not realize just how different their job had become. Reporters can no longer just write what happened in the newspaper. In order to give people important news in a timely fashion, they must work together and use social media so that people can find out as soon as an event happens.

Another thing that I learned is that the staff at YDR does not just have their own personal job. I had assumed that the journalists worked alone and were responsible for their own articles. However, I quickly realized that the staff works together as a team, and articles usually involve more than one person. I was able to see the editors come together for a morning meeting and discuss what will be in tomorrow’s paper, so I could clearly see that YDR was not separated by sections or jobs.

By shadowing niche publications editor Kara Eberle, I learned that actually writing newspaper articles is a very small portion of a journalists day. Their jobs consist of so much more than just writing.

The stereotype that journalists and reporters sit at computer all day focusing on one article, could not be more false. Throughout the day, a journalist’s task changes often, depending on what needs to be done. Usually journalists will have more than one assignment and will help others with their articles, too. Also, working with videos and blogs are typical parts of their days. Spending just one day at YDR could prove to anyone that a journalist’s job is anything but boring.