MAJ Archives

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.

April 20, 2001
Rona Arato
Freelance Writer
Richmond Hill, Ontario
arato@interlog.com

I didn't really "choose" journalism, it chose me. I'd taken journalism courses in school but didn't major in it.

I'd always loved to write and when I was asked to write a series of articles for a local paper I was hooked. I then began writing feature articles for Canadian magazines including "The Financial Post Magazine", "Homemaker's" and "Canadian Living." I've been a freelance writer for over twenty years and still love getting my teeth into a story. I enjoy research and putting words together to present stories that are interesting, informative and entertaining.

I studied education at U.C.L.A. and taught in Los Angeles and Toronto for six years before turning to writing as a full time career. I currently teach Creative Writing for the Toronto Metro School Board and Publicity and Public Relations at George Brown College.

The best experience I've had as a journalist was writing regularly for The Canadian Jewish News when I first began. They assigned me to a wide variety of stories, from corporate profiles to event coverage and film reviews. I learned how to put a story together, stick to a deadline and write to a strict word count. But best of all I met fascinating people and got to write about them in all walks of life. My mentor was the staff at the paper who helped me learn the ropes.

The assignment that most fascinated and terrified me was an article on "First Love" for Homemaker's. I was inspired by my own daughter's tumultuous first experience and turned it into a very informative piece for parents and educators. It was frightening because I was borrowing from my child's emotional experiences and had to monitor where the boundary of journalism and privacy met.

I think the greatest challenge for today's journalist is to present information in a fair, equitable fashion. With so many sources of information at our disposal, people become "instant experts" on a wide variety of topics. Journalists can easily slant the stories they cover, but in doing so, they cheat the public out of unbiased viewpoints. I would like to see balanced coverage that presents both sides of difficult and controversial issues.

Good luck to everyone entering this challenging career.