Having never heard this term before, I pictured a Superman or Wonder Woman look-a-like who could take notes and turn a story around faster than a speeding bullet. This action hero of journalism would defend the integrity of the profession while tracking down elusive sources and filing the day’s top stories.
But what Rochelle was referring to was someone like herself — a journalist who is trained and experienced in a number of jobs. Her idea of a superjournalist was someone who is a reporter, editor, designer, photographer and producer, all rolled into one. And the best place for a superjournalist, she told me, is on the Web.
Since then, I have begun using this term to describe myself and what I aspire to become in my professional career.
I was never one to take the traditional approach to journalism, even during college. One of the reasons I chose journalism was for the variety of jobs available within the profession. A journalist can be a reporter, a writer, a photographer, or a designer. While my classmates competed for reporter and editor slots at the college paper, I explored other as many journalism-related experiences as I could. By the time I graduated, I had worked in public relations, magazine publishing, newspaper publishing and radio.
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH WEB PUBLISHING came shortly after graduation when I participated in the Voices new media project for the Asian American Journalists Association conference that year. I worked as a new media producer for Voices and was amazed at the speed at which information could be published — and updated.
Following the conference, I worked as an assistant editor for two trade publications: Greenhouse Product News and Seedworld, two monthly magazines serving the horticulture and seed industries respectively. As the assistant editor, I wrote and edited stories, laid out both magazines, and represented the magazine at trade conferences. I learned a great deal about design and layout during this time. I also realized how much I enjoyed multi-tasking.
In the past year I’ve worked as the online reporter/producer for Poynter.org, a newly revamped Web site serving professional journalists and supported by The Poynter Institute for Media Studies.
As the online reporter, I write stories for the site’s centerpiece slot, update headlines and design and conceptualize some of the packages.
ONE OF MY MOST EXCITING ASSIGNMENTS for Poynter.org was covering the 25th anniversary of the fall of Saigon this April from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. It was a series of stories that I conceptualized and lobbied for. I filed stories and pictures on a daily deadline.
The skills and interests that I’ve picked up over the past few years — business, design, writing, publishing — seemed to be disconnected, at times useless, in the traditional roles of journalism. But all these skills and interests come together when working on the Web.
I plan to continue on my career path in online journalism, to build on my existing skills, and expand my interests.
Some day, when someone asks me what I do for a living, I can say with all seriousness that I am a superjournalist.
— Tran Ha is a candidate for the web producer position available with Freep.com. She will be visiting the Free Press newsroom on Dec. 11 and 12.
