By GRETEL PAYNE | Intern
As my time as a Palisadian-Post intern comes to an end, I begin to reflect on the impact that the paper has made on not just me, but also the community around me.
The Post is a way for the people of the Palisades community to connect with each other, whether it be through the coverage of a local parade or the final score of the last high school football game. People read the Post to feel like a part of something.
The stories running in our newspaper are ours only, a little part of a community that can never be taken away. It seems as if almost every week we have someone from the community come in and talk to us.
Some thank us for writing a certain story; others are less happy. Others have suggestions about possible future stories. But whatever the reason is, we love talking to the people of the Palisades community. It gives us insight into what the people really want, and whether or not we have to change something to make the paper a little bit better.
Personally, the Post was a breath of fresh air and a place to learn.
While my love for journalism might have started not long ago, I feel like I have learned so much in such a short period of time.
Working at the Palisadian-Post has taught me what working in a real newsroom feels like. A newspaper is not only composed of major breaking news, but also smaller pieces that might be just as important to other people.
I have learned that there is no such thing as a “small story” or a “big story,” but instead the magnitude of a story depends on the effort put in by the journalist. I have learned just how much goes into the printing of a newspaper.
You have to have the perfect photo to run with the story and make sure the story isn’t too long or too short, and make sure the font looks good, and decide what to make bold and what to leave in the regular font. I have learned to open myself up and talk to strangers, which is an essential skill a journalist must be able to master in order to get to the bottom of a story.
But the most important thing I have learned is that you can do anything you set your mind to.
Before the Post, I had only ever written fiction stories and poetry. I was not used to the straightforward writing that makes up a news story, and at first I was not sure that I would ever be able to write like a real journalist.
But the Post gave me the opportunity and confidence that I needed to be able to write like a journalist. It’s hard for me to part with something that has become such a big part of my life throughout the past couple of months, but I know that no matter what happens I will always remember my time at the Palisadian-Post.
And while I may have a ways to go to get to the level of a professional journalist, I will always be grateful to the Post for allowing me to grow as journalist through their paper.
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