Joining The S&B as a staff writer was the culmination of an interest that started in middle school, when I covered the Bears, Cubs, national politics, Star Wars movies and whatever other random things caught my attention that week for the Coonley Chronicle.
At my high school, only juniors and seniors were allowed to join the newspaper staff, so my career went on hold for two years, which became four once COVID hit. I continued to write what I could when I could, including a satirical news page, but by the time I got to college, other obligations kept me away. Last August, with a year to go before graduation, I realized it might be my last opportunity to do one of my favorite things.
I want to thank Sarah and Taylor for taking a chance on someone whose main journalistic experience on his resume was scriptwriting for a Minecraft YouTube channel by allowing me to write, interview and do what brings me joy in my last year of college. I want to thank the students, staff, professors and residents of Grinnell for giving me the opportunity to tell their stories and keep the public as informed as possible. I want to thank all the section editors I worked with to refine my work, the copy editors who helped a guy who wouldn’t know a predicate from an independent clause if the fate of the world depended on it, and the photographers who not only gave depth and color to my stories, but sometimes asked questions of my interviewees that I never would have thought of.
I also want to thank the staff of the Chicago Tribune, most of whom have been laid off since my childhood as the paper’s slowly been eaten alive by private equity, but who taught me to love writing over the thousands of mornings I spent reading their articles.
Newspaper journalism is so incredibly important. Among countless other things, local politicians (and college administrations) need a watchdog, local arts organizations need a spotlight on the wonderful work they do, and local sports teams deserve coverage.
Without a local newspaper, where can we find a common source of civic information to base our opinions on, rather than an algorithm feeding us what we want to hear? Working for The S&B and being immersed in the journalistic process, from pitching stories and tracking down sources to interviewing, writing and editing, gave me a heightened appreciation for the work journalists do every day. I hope that over these past two semesters, I did my small part to keep real news alive.
