I woke up today ... A letter from the editor
I like to wake up early on the weekends. After a long week, sometimes I’ll reward myself by sleeping in until 9 or 10 a.m. Sleep is refreshing, but excessive amounts are just wasted time.
I like to wake up early on the weekends. After a long week, sometimes I’ll reward myself by sleeping in until 9 or 10 a.m. Sleep is refreshing, but excessive amounts are just wasted time.
Sure, my friends poke fun at me sometimes for it, but I love the mornings. Even during the week I’ll wake up earlier than I have to just so I can start the day off right.
Two weekends ago, I decided to take a break from my normal routine and walk to a coffee shop on Smithfield Street for breakfast. The line was long, and the customers in front of me were impatient with the small staff that morning.
One of those staff members in particular gave me a reason to smile that morning. While dealing with groggy and impatient businessmen, the woman hustled back and forth taking care of customers while smiling from ear to ear and greeting everyone as they walked through the doors.
She greeted the customer ahead of me and took his order. Once he paid with his debit card, she asked how he was doing, as she did with each customer before him. He replied with the standard, “Good, how are you?”
As she hustled to pour his coffee and grab his donut, she continued to smile as she answered his courtesy question.
“Well I woke up today, so I have a lot to be thankful for,” she responded.
She has a point.
Her simple reply stuck with me. I’ve borrowed her response a few times since on days that don’t seem like they’re going my way.
We don’t have the promise of tomorrow. All of our simple and petty struggles don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. Just waking up in the morning is a reason to be thankful.
Every time I set foot on the seventh floor of Lawrence Hall and make my way to the Globe offices, I remind myself how lucky I am. This small college newspaper that prints 1,000 copies once every week for 14 weeks during a semester means so much to me.
I honestly considered transferring during the spring semester of my freshman year. I was involved on campus, but not to the extent where I was satisfied. It’s a long story.
I went back to my Thayer Hall dorm one Thursday night last year after a frustrating day and filled out a transfer application to Kent State.
I researched its broadcasting program, the cost and the whole nine yards. I almost gave up on Point Park.
I decided to sleep on it and didn’t hit send. I was encouraged not long after that to join the Globe’s editorial staff as the sports editor in the fall. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew, I was the sports editor and then the editor-elect a few weeks later.
I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, but I can say how thankful I am for this entire experience. Say what you want about Point Park, but I absolutely love the people here and the city it’s at the heart of.
We’re just getting started here at the Globe. I’m halfway through my term as editor-in-chief and will return in the fall for another semester. When you come back to Point Park in the fall, you’ll notice some subtle changes to the Globe that I’m really excited to premiere.
The fall semester includes some major events, including the opening of the Center for Media Innovation and the 2016 presidential election. Who knows what other stories will pop up during the fall semester?
I do know that I will remind myself every morning when I wake up earlier than I should how lucky I am.
I have a lot to be thankful for. We all do.
The Globe staff is dedicated, supportive and entertaining. I don’t tell them how much they actually mean to me as much as I should.
I struggle to even find the words to describe my appreciation for everyone and anyone that has contributed to the Globe in some capacity this semester.
We tried to do real journalism this semester. That was the biggest promise that was made to me before I came to this school, and it sold me on Point Park more than anything else besides the ability to get involved right away.
Did we miss things? Sure. Did we cover everything I wanted? No. Did we make mistakes? Every week.
As a perfectionist at heart, there’s no worse feeling than opening my email and seeing a complaint or correction request. With every mistake comes a new lesson. Isn’t that the point of college?
Am I satisfied with everything we did this semester? No, of course not. Am I thankful for everyone that was a part of this small college newspaper and proud of what we were able to accomplish over the last 14 weeks? Absolutely.
We tried to write stories that mattered to our readers and that mattered to us. I hope to continue that next semester as we continue to serve the Point Park community.
I don’t know what the future holds. I do know that I will never forget that early morning walk down Smithfield Street.
I do know that I woke up today and have a lot to be thankful for.
Because, why not?
Josh Croup
Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief
----------------------------------
This was my letter from the editor in The Globe to end the semester. I was going to paste a link here to it, but figured I'd just copy and paste the whole thing in its entirety here. It sums up the past few months pretty well.
It was a rocky one, but I made it out alive. I ended the semester with a 4.0 in my 7 classes and have a career 3.97 GPA with only three semesters left at Point Park. I'm proud of that. With as much as I'm doing outside the classroom, I was relieved, thrilled, and shocked to learn of my 4.0 this semester.
I remember calling my mom from the laundry room on my floor last semester when I told her I was considering taking over as Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper, on top of taking seven classes and working in the athletic department. I later added a separate 10-hour/week work study job to the semester.
I remember thinking of all the ways I was going to make the semester work. I didn't stress over it too much, because I knew it would get done.
My secret: Lists, sticky notes, and one day at a time...then one week, then one month.
I was more organized this semester than any of the previous ones. I had to be. My friends teased me for it sometimes, but I always had to-do lists and daily schedules mapped out by the hour. It kept me sane and showed myself that I could accomplish everything I set out to do that day. I have daily, weekly, and monthly lists. It helps.
I learned what I could handle last semester. Next semester will probably be similar as far as my time commitments go, but I don't think it will be nearly as crazy as last semester. I'm taking six classes for 18 credits instead of seven for 17 credits, and one of those classes is online, allowing more flexibility in my schedule this semester. I'll still have my 10-hour/week work study job at the TV station, apprenticeship in the athletic department, Pirates internship, classes, honors program stuff, Globe stuff, etc. it's FINE, it's all fine, I'll be fine.
I'm going to add onto what I wrote in my letter from the editor now.
I'm so proud of what we did this past semester at The Globe, and I'm proud of what I was able to do too - something I don't usually say.
Warning: rant
Journalism is not "top 7 things I wish my ex-boyfriend said to me" or "15 reasons you know you're from Pennsylvania."
THAT IS NOT JOURNALISM. THOSE THINGS AREN'T GOING TO GET YOU JOBS.
I mean, hey, if students want to write that stuff and do that kind of work and nothing else while in college, then there's less competition out there when we all graduate. There are some genuinely good writers at Point Park and at other schools around the country that are either afraid to get out of their comfort zone, or honestly too lazy to do real journalism.
Here's what I mean by real journalism: Stories that matter to readers and actually make an impact. The purpose of journalism is to strengthen our democracy by informing the electorate. Journalism keeps those in power and our leaders in check. It's the cornerstone to our democracy.
Stories like "7 secrets all best friends have" are going to get people to your website. They're called 'clickbait' stories. Those are all fine and dandy until you get to your senior year and realize that's all you have in your portfolio.
The problem with journalism in 2016 isn't the lack of good journalists or the lack of in-depth reporting. The problem with journalism is you need an audience. [A great piece from Gawker in January]
That's exactly it. When people say, "real journalism is dead," I vehemently disagree with them. There are amazing journalist out there that still believe in the first amendment and what it stands for.
 |
| Our photographer's shots of the presidential candidates in Pittsburgh |
We had reporters and photographers at each political rally in Pittsburgh. Four candidates visited the city in the weeks leading up to the primary election. Bernie Sanders was first to hold a rally, followed by Hillary Clinton and then Donald Trump. John Kasich made a quick visit to Market Square, where another one of my photographers was there to capture the moment. She was the one who actually told me Kasich was in town after the event happened. I didn't know he was coming until she sent me pictures of his visit. She just happened to be in the area with a camera and worked her way through the crowd to get the shot. That made me proud as an editor.
I was fortunate enough to cover Donald Trump's rally at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. I do not support him for president whatsoever, but that conversation is for another day. I think we had eight total reporters/photographers at the Trump rally, both inside and outside the event.
I'll start inside the Convention Center. You can watch his speeches online. This part of the rally got my blood pumping, and not because I was angry or scared, but because I was concerned.
He went on a rant about the media and the liars that we all are. At that time, all 4,500 people in the room turned to our small stage in the back and proceeded to boo and yell at us with hate in their eyes. Trump doesn't feel like the media treats him fairly. He's entitled to his opinion. Yes, some media organizations have their own agendas.
No, we are not monsters. No, we are not villains. No, we are not liars. No, we are not dishonest. No, we are not the worst people on earth.
We do our job. Journalists keep those in power in check. I'm going to stop typing about this now before I start something.
Anyways, the real drama of the night came outside the Convention Center where protesters clashed with Trump supporters outside. There were fights, there were arrests, there were police in riot gear, and anything else you can imagine. People argued afterwards that the protestors were the ones causing problems and others argued it was the Trump supporters. It was both sides. The police did a commendable job at keeping the peace. Click here for my raw footage from the evening.
I was still a journalist outside. A few of my reporters and photographers left as soon as the rally ended. Myself along with a few others stayed back and captured the madness that ensued. Journalists outside the Convention Center were no different then from the protestors in the eyes of the police. We don't have any special protections or get special privileges. It was a tense atmosphere and not for the faint of heart.
At the end of the day, Point Park student media had the best coverage of the protests outside that rally than any of the other media organizations there. Two of my photographers were pepper sprayed by people in the crowed. One was sprayed five separate times. Another photog was hit by a police baton. Another showed me the bruises she had the next day just by trying to get out of the situation.
That's a little more real than "35 tweets about millennials that will make you LOL," don't you think? Is the reporter that put herself in danger to get impactful images and interviews to put together a fair, balanced, and accurate story going to get the job over the senior sitting in her room writing list stories? You bet.
I don't completely discount those types of stories. You can do those and still do real journalism. My point is doing only stories like that and only writing about your opinions isn't going to land you a job, let alone an interview.
I was incredibly proud of the work my staff did at those political rallies. We did real journalism inside Point Park too.
One of my writers did a story on our student government essentially running out of money due to miscommunication. Another wrote an in-depth piece about the city's stance on marijuana and the university's policies, and interviewed a member of City Council for the story, along with members of Point Park's administration. We had a story about a robbery by inside a freshman dormitory where the suspects weren't Point Park students, shedding light on the possible security failures by our front desk staff. They have since changed some of their security and door policies. Click here to view our news section from the first semester which ranges from pages one through five.
Those things made me extremely proud to be an editor of this paper.
Along with those stories, I reported on four different hard news stories that challenged me and pushed me to the limit.
1) Point Park is in the process of switching food service providers. This was on my radar before I took over as editor-in-chief, and is something I wrote two separate stories on. I was able to break the news over social media (we had already printed our last issue when I could confirm) that Aramark, Point Park's previous food service provider, would not be returning in the fall and would be replaced by CulinArt, who currently serves Carnegie Mellon University.
2) I reported on Point Park's tuition increase for the 2016-17 school year. The university did not announce the tuition hike this year as they did in previous years. I was able to get the numbers and compile the data from the last 16 years of Point Park's tuition and then confirm those numbers with the university. We informed students that their tuition was going up - not the university.
3) A student government senator resigned after complaints were received by other student government members about his conduct at a party. The freshman allegedly used racial slurs and was taken to a hospital after consuming too much alcohol at a party and was facing impeachment, but chose to resign. I interviewed the senator and other members of the student government and people who were at the party to tell a fair and balanced story. Our social media was attacked when news got out that we were reporting on the story. Some didn't believe that one person's bad night should be reported, but others believed it was a story that needed told because this student represented members of the student body. I was personally harassed for multiple weeks as we received a lot of pressure to not run the story and pull it from our website. We stood up for what we believed was a fair story and held our own. The backlash was only met by praise from both students who were happy about the story and members of the student government who felt that we did a tasteful job with the story.
4) Adjunct professor resigns amid university’s response to dispute. This was by far the most challenging story I've ever worked on. It was one that took nearly a month of research, interviewing and fact checking. It was something I lost sleep over, missed class time for, and put myself in a tough position for. This story detailed the university's possible mishandling of a dispute between two professors - one adjunct and one full-time tenured professor - that led to the resignation of the beloved adjunct professor. I won't go into detail about the story here, so just click the link and read it for yourself. It's lengthy, but it is detailed and in-depth. It is fair and balanced. I told every side of the story possible. Some of the people involved with the story also directly handle my grades, scholarships, and on-campus housing. It's one thing to be harassed by other students for a story, but to be told that I was walking a fine line and that stories like this could be grounds to cut my paper's funding and possibly reprimand me, that was intimidating. It was a story that students deserved to know. The story received a lot of praise for the way that it was done, and is something I am incredibly proud of. Read the story. I thankfully did not receive any threats or backlash from administration, as I told a fair and accurate story and did so respectfully. I was told before I committed to Point Park that I could do real journalism at the school. They're doing a pretty good job training good journalists, which can be a blessing and a curse for the university. On one hand, they can say, "look at our great students!" On the other hand, they know that they are under a microscope - which they should be.
When the school year was all said and done, I received multiple awards and scholarships for my work during the year.
- Myron Cope Memorial Scholarship
- Margy Snyder Memorial Scholarship
- Society of Professional Journalists Region 4 (Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania) Mark of Excellence Award for column writing.
- Point Park Athletic Communications Staff Member of the Year
- WPPJ Unsung Hero Award
- Dean's List for the 4th straight semester
I'm proud of my work at Point Park this past semester. I really am.
On top of that, my travels last semester took me to Bradenton, Fla. and New York City to do incredible work and meet even better people.
I also had the incredible chance to freelance an ESPN3 broadcast of a Pittsburgh Riverhounds game. I ran cable in the hours leading up to the broadcast and ran the low midfield camera during the broadcast. I had a lot of cool experiences and opportunities and can only imagine what's next.
 |
| My view every day from the press box at PNC Park |
I love what I'm doing right now. I'm doing everything. What do I want to do when I graduate? I have no idea. Absolutely no clue. Everything will work itself out, and I'll figure it out eventually. I do know that I'm not limiting myself to just one or two options. I have a lot of different paths I can choose at this point in my life. That's both exhilarating and nerve racking. Everything will work itself out.
I'm in a good place as I enter my 20's. I'm thankful for all the opportunities I've had in my life, and can't wait to see what happens next.
I have some big plans and some big aspirations for the next 7 or 8 months. We're just getting started here, folks.
I have a lot to be thankful for, and I remind myself of that every day.
Because, why not?
Josh
No comments:
Post a Comment