The Life Of A Reporter English Language Essay

In life you’re always asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Picture this, a man is called from his lunch trip to McDonalds to drop what he is doing and report a triple homicide. The man drops what he is doing, gets in his car, and goes to the scene. He interviews everyone from witnesses to cops. After he gets all of his information, he goes back to the news station to prepare and edit his story to be viewed on the 6’oclock news. After a long day of reporting and editing the reporter finally gets to go home and sleep. Being a reporter seems like a really fun and exciting job because you get to do a variety of things from interviewing big names but being a reporter can also be very dangerous as well. I personally would love to be a reporter and get to experience what it would be like to be in on the action.

Reporting can be a very fun and awesome job, but it can also be very scary and dangerous. One of the many things reporters get to do is interview anyone from bystanders and witnesses to big celebrities. Many reporters get the chance to get interviews with celebrities. Some are just normal interview and some are exclusive and go deep into a certain topic. On February 13, 2011 at the Staples Center during the red carpet arrivals, Lady Gaga arrived in one of the most unique ways, in an egg. While on the red carpet one of Gaga’s representatives stated that she was “in the womb” and “wasn’t born until her performance” (Seacrest). With all of the protests going on in Egypt it’s no surprise that reporters and journalists are traveling to Egypt to report the events going on, it would also be no surprise that some of the reporters would come back a little beat up too. On Wednesday, February 02, 2011, it was reported that Anderson Cooper and two other Associative Press reporters were beaten in Cairo when attempting to cover the recent protests. Cooper says he and his crew were attacked by supporters of President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday. CNN later said no one was seriously hurt (Mirkinson). Even if reporters get to meet interesting cool new people they still risk their lives all for one reason, to get that one story.

One main thing about being a reporter is that one must ALWAYS have a story. There many ways to find a story, for example one can look at other new stations and see what their rival reporters are talking about and tell their story as one’s own. One could even analyze their story and give a different take on it (Albin). Another example would be the AP wires, somewhere out in the world, there is a reporter somewhere writing a story, and they share that story with other reporters, and that information ends up on the AP wire which one can use to generate new ideas (Albin). Reporters always need a story, even if they have to make one up on the spot.

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Being a reporter requires a lot of training and education. Many newspapers or new stations require at least a 2 year degree. According to USA Today’s Human resources, a future reporter would need at least a 2 year degree in journalism (USA Today). According to eHow for some places of employment in the journalism industry depending on what kind of reporter someone wanted to would require a bachelor’s degree in journalism and whatever other topic for example if someone want to be a weather person or and science reporter, they would need a degree in that field to (Blake). Many newspapers and news stations require some experience in journalism before they consider hiring. According to USA Today they require a minimum of 5 years of experience before considering hiring a journalist (USA Today). According ABC in New York a successful candidate will have a medical degree, 3 years of on-air experience and the ability to compose their own stories in order to be a medical reporter (Plotnik). As it is shown it is not easy to apply for a reporting job. It can take a lot of experience and education.

The working conditions for reporters can be very hectic sometimes and their wages aren’t really a lot for what they do. For most reporters they have to deal with loads of stress. For most reporters their jobs are really hectic because they have to deal with the pressure of deadlines that could put their career in the line (Career Information). Sometimes reporters even air broadcasts where they have to improvise and make up words on the spot (Career Information). Wages in reporting and journalism are not really that high especially for what they have to do. According to USA Today Human Resources, a reporter would make about $33,000 per year before taxes. That’s about $12.00 an hour (USA Today)! For all of the stress, danger, and madness reporters go through

When out reporting a story, attire mostly depends on one’s surroundings. If they are meeting the president, a suit would be appropriate. If they are at a construction site, most likely a hard hat and some jeans would be more appropriate. A reporter’s environment is where ever they choose to go. If a journalist has a computer or a cell phone then they would go off and they write a story on the scene or maybe on the way back from the scene or at home or wherever and whenever then just file the story on line. Some stories like shootings, wars, car chases, etc. are essential to be reported live on the scene (Albin). When it comes to a reporter’s look it mostly depends on the environment of the story they are reporting.

So as you can see the life and career of a reporter is really hectic and daring. Some stories are easy and flow through; some are going to be scary and a living nightmare that you don’t think you going to wake up from. In my perspective I would like to be a reporter because it would seem like a fun and exciting job and opportunity. Even if the hours are hectic and the deadlines are what mostly make the job so stressful, just the whole aspect of being where the action is. Reporting is an awesome job because any story you have could be that one story that will make you go from a nobody to well known in the journalistic community. If I had to choose what kind of reporter I would be I think I would be an entertainment reporter because I like and find things of that nature very interesting. The only challenge about being a reporter is that if you have an idea for a story you need to do massive amounts of research. Another challenge about being a reporter is that if you are an entertainment reporter you would always have to be “in the know” about the hottest celebrities and topics. If your behind and talk about something that was popular three months ago, you will look silly because you were so slow to get the information and I will tarnish your reputation. The one thing I don’t like about reporting is that you have to suck up to everyone and not contradict them or correct them. If you do, you’re pretty much over. If I were a reporter, I would only get the hard facts and not make up any rumors or imply anything. It would be the truth and nothing but the truth. No lies, no false statements. For now I guess the only reporting I can do will be on random things on YouTube.