The Important Skills of a Successful Journalist

Julianna Casey, Student Feature

Have you ever read an article published by your local newspaper and thought about just how these writers are able to publish such polished articles day after day? After speaking with three local journalists, Shane Fitzgerald, Marion Callahan, and Phil Gianficaro, the secret to creating a successful career in journalism has been uncovered. Fitzgerald is the executive editor of The Intelligencer and The Bucks County Courier Times, where Callahan and Gianficaro both write. They all have been in the field for many years, and are very experienced.

The first and most important skill you need to have to be a successful writer, is to write for your audience. In order to do this, there needs to be some kind of relevance of the topic to the reader. According to Marion Callahan, the best way to do this is by, “throw[ing] energy, enthusiasm, and emotion in everything you do.” When you look back on your writing pieces, you want to make sure that you can say you did everything you possibly could to report on this subject. Plus, an article with heart and emotion is going to be way more appealing to readers than an article with a flat and boring tone. Similarly, it is also important to highlight those small stories for readers about things that are going on in their hometown. Gianficaro says, “ talking to regular folks is both informative for the reader and rewarding for the writer.” Bringing relevance to the reader is one of the most important things you can do as a journalist

The second skill that is essential to becoming a successful journalist is social media literacy. According to Fitzgerald, “you can not get jobs anymore if you don’t know how to connect with people on social media.” More than ever, people are getting news from their phones. This can be through social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or from news apps. It is also important to know how to shoot quality photos and videos right from your phone. In today’s world of quick gratification, a picture or short video attached with a story on social media is much more likely to grab the reader’s attention. Fitzgerald says, “It’s important to learn how to deliver news while people are waiting in line.” Whenever you look around on the train, at the airport, or in a coffee shop, people are looking down at their phones. Journalists are now adapting and learning how to deliver quick news to all of these people via their mobile phones. After all, half of the traffic on The Intelligencer site is on mobile.

The final skill needed to become an influential journalist, is simple passion for what you are doing. As Marion Callahan said, “In journalism today, you can spark change in your community. As a journalist, it is important to me to help bridge the community with resources that are available to them.” At the end of the day, journalists are here to bring important news to the forefront of the public narrative. The most effective way to do this is to make sure you are presenting information that is helpful and relevant to the community. Hopefully with this information, you can jump-start a career in journalism, just like these three individuals have. Happy writing!