Eager to learn a new copy desk

I cannot wait to work in a newsroom in which copy editing is separate from pagination. I don't know whether such a copy desk model is necessarily better. I just know it will be different to concentrate on either only editing or only designing within a shift.

And I cannot wait to introduce myself to everyone in the newsroom at the Poughkeepsie Journal. In my previous internship, I made the mistake of waiting for people to introduce themselves, but newspaper people are super-busy -- they are not going to make time to greet and meet some punk copy editor in the corner. Instead, I have to take the time to approach them, say hello and show that I am someone worth knowing.

Gaining new energy

I was the only participant to hear CQS alumna and Baltimore Sun copy editor Faith Karimi and I enjoyed my time with her because it was unlike any previous conversation I've had with professional copy editors. Talking about copy editing can get dry at times, but Karimi kept our session fresh by offering a human element. Before we discussed ethics or pored over sample sentences, we touched on how easy it is for us editors to feel burned out on the day-to-day routine of reading copy and writing haiku-like headlines. I told her my level of concentration had been worn down to a nub after a year of copy editing three to four nights a week, and I was worried that my fatigue would carry over to the Poughkeepsie Journal. She shared that she had been in a similar situation a few months ago.

"What did you do to re-energize yourself?" I asked.

Karimi said she moved to the sports copy desk and immersed herself in the world of scores and game rules. Occasionally getting out of one's comfort zone and learning new things is key, she said.

We'll all be getting out of our comfort zone soon, and I think the work we'll do this summer will be far from fatiguing.

Required training

If we want a job with today's news outlets, we cannot rely on our youth alone. Though we come to the newsroom with reporting and editing skills, and although we've charted the waters of YouTube and MySpace, we young journalists don't necessarily come with audio and video experience, so our segue into multimedia positions is far from automatic. I realized today that if I want to maintain my marketability, multimedia training is not optional.

Hoping for empowerment

The Chips Quinn Scholars program is not the first diversity enhancement program in which I've participated, and my experience with similarly poised programs makes me apprehensive about orientation this week. Churning my stomach about the other programs was their backwardness. Our race defined who we were, and tortured stories about overcoming hardship were expected. Behind the closed doors of our conference halls, guest speakers felt at liberty to talk about "The Man" and warn us that we would be the first people of color some Nebraskans had seen in person and we should not be surprised if a white girl or boy tried to stroke our brown skin or pet our curls.

I am resentful. But I don't want to be, because I strongly believe in the CQS program's mission to increase newsroom diversity. I have seen firsthand that different backgrounds bring different sensitivities to a paper, thus getting us journalists closer to the truth. I hope to leave CQS orientation empowered, not further embittered. And judging by the amazing people I've met at the introductory dinner, I think my hopes will be fulfilled.