What does a pregnant 59-year-old great-grandmother have to do with journalism?
Everything.
The great-grandmother, with the help of Colleen Fitzpatrick, a career coach with the Chips Quinn Scholars program, retaught me that beneath it all, accuracy is everything.
In a small-group critique we dissected a story of a pregnant 59-year-old great grandmother. The main problem with it was that there was no verification behind it. No doctor to speak to the pregnancy. No husband, either. The bad news is that the story by The Associated Press actually ran in newspapers. The good news is that it's a perfect lesson for a beginning journalist: don't just take anyone's word.
Through this and other exercises in our small breakout groups with our coaches, I've been reminded of what to do in my internship and definitely what not to do.
This will be my fourth internship and I feel more prepared than ever to enter the newsroom in Bend, Ore., on Feb. 2. I know what my goals are and I have solid, clear ways to execute my success. And it's all because of a great-grandmother.
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