Meet a Journalist

A journalist's profile, stories and career in the field of journalism. Know a journalist who should be profiled here? Send an e-mail to Janet E. Bardon

February 18, 2000
Harvey Schachter
Writer/Editor
his@his-writing.com

Rules for Young Journalists
(Developed specifically for Print Journalism Students)

• Read voraciously.
• In addition, read every word of your own newspaper - and most of your competitors'.
• Listen.
• Make every story your best.
• Write vigorously, with colour. Be creative. Grab your readers by the throats. Don't let them put your story aside.
• Don't just meet your deadline. Beat it! And be equally dependable for your appointments and your arrival for your shift.
• Challenge the conventional wisdom of the newsroom. If everybody thinks a certain way on a story, play with the possibility it's wrong and consider what stories that notion suggests. Follow them.
• In an era of spell check, there is no excuse for spelling mistakes.
• Don't be overly cute. Don't write for yourself or your friends (or your editor). Write for the reader.
• Learn every day. Be curious. Chat people up. No matter how much you know - or think you know - there is much, much more to be learned.