journalism – MEMORANDUM

There’s More Than One Way to Become a Journalist

By Casey Marley

Reporting notes

I did not come to college with the intention of majoring in my native language. I knew I wanted to work with media, and I found journalism through working at and eventually becoming the editor of our campus newspaper. By learning the trade outside of the classroom, I found that my English classes were actually helping me more at my job than any other classes.

With hard work, your English degree can help you work towards your goal of becoming a journalist in ways you might not realize:

Core literature classes teach you how to examine and question.

By studying literature, you learn how to break apart and examine word choices, question an author’s motives, put pieces in context and simply ask questions. Not only will you start to see stories in daily life, but you learn how to question those in charge of your community—a curiosity that’s necessary to become a good journalist.

Those papers you write constantly will make you a great writer.

Journalists write constantly, so if you have an interest in journalism you need to have a command of the English language, the ability to produce multiple 500-word articles each day and an understanding of the editing process. By having professional rhetoricians and English scholars critique your work while in school, you become a skilled writer, the core component of any job in journalism.

The professional writing program gives you practical experience.

Do you want opportunities to become published and learn how to code? The Professional Writing program does just this. In “Writing for Popular Periodicals,” my final project required me to write an actual magazine article, which was later published. In “Digital Publishing,” UAB students learn how to apply their writing skills in an extremely marketable way: learning how to code HTML and CSS to build their own portfolio while building and managing the Memorandum website and newsletter.

Brandon Varner is the current Kaleidoscope Editor-in-Chief and Community Blogger for AL.com. The soon-to-graduate English major has proven that the Professional Writing program can prepare you for this career field.

“I think that I couldn’t have accomplished my goals without the professional writing program,” Brandon said. “The layout and design training I gained in the program has been invaluable in my time at Kscope, and through my position at Kscope I attracted attention from AL.com. I wouldn’t be where I am today without Dr. Bacha and the program at UAB.”

If journalism appeals to you as a Professional Writing student, you’ve come to the right place. The supporting community of faculty members and peers will help you in your career-discovery journey.

Dubble Trubble

By Alex Wright

mortarboard on top of books and diploma — Image courtesy of Adobe Stock

Choosing a college major can be one of the most stressful and important decisions that you will make in your life. A large percentage of students choose a traditional route through college and complete a single major and often a minor.

However, studies have indicated that in recent years we have seen a significant rise in double major students. The option to double major is available at UAB, and sometimes you can complete both majors within a four-year plan.

As a current double major (English with a focus in Professional Writing, and Communications with a focus in Journalism), I have taken a multitude of writing courses that have assisted me throughout my college career.

One Communications class in particular, 210 Newswriting and Reporting with Dr. Shaia, helped me build a knowledge of journalism law and for my publishing classes required for my English degree.

With a strong focus on grasping the finer rules of the English language, Dr. Shaia’s class taught me many “do’s” and “don’ts” commonly seen throughout journalism. Dr. Shaia’s newswriting class also helped me notice many of the careless errors made by young journalists, and the proper steps to prevent said errors.

Newswriting and Reporting helped myself and many writers in the class to recognize exceptional writing from insignificant writing. Learning to recognize quality writing is one of the most useful merits in any journalism-focused major and career. Recognizing a difference in quality is essential if you would ever like to succeed in working for a magazine or newspaper. This recognition of quality is essential, as it enables you to better yourself and develop your writing talents.

Good Grit Magazine: Opportunity on the Rise

The Good Grit office

By Peyton Chandler

The experience gained from internships and fieldwork is proving more and more valuable in our professional world full of high expectations and an unapologetic, competitive nature. For many, these “real world” business opportunities can be hard to come by.

However, Birmingham’s English and Professional Writing students have more access to quality work experience than they may realize. Nestled in UAB’s own backyard on 2nd Ave. N, Good Grit Magazine is a young, promising publication focused on illustrating the true character of the new south. Good Grit manifests its vision through the creation of original print and digital content.

I was fortunate enough to work at Good Grit as an editorial intern during the time of its onset in the summer of 2015, and the following fall semester as its Digital Managing Editor. Since the summer—in less than a year’s time—the magazine has seen tremendous growth: it’s now available on shelves in six states throughout the south and southeast.

Throughout my time at Good Grit, I gained valuable work experience in a sometimes hectic, but always rewarding environment. My bosses and coworkers provided me opportunities in which to utilize my strengths and improve upon my weaknesses, all while helping the magazine grow and develop.

This upcoming summer, Good Grit hopes to continue its relationship with ambitious, motivated students looking for quality experience at a company on the rise. The magazine is searching for a potential full-time digital editor to assist with the success of its website and various web outlets. Additionally, this summer Good Grit is offering editorial internships, event planning internships, art internships and web/social media internships for current and graduated students.

I strongly encourage UAB students to take advantage of these opportunities at one of Birmingham’s most promising young companies—one that molds inexperience into professionalism.