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Devin Henry, left, and Pioneer Press political editor Maria Reeve
Photo: Tim Rummelhoff
A decade ago, six SJMC students walked into the St. Paul Pioneer Press to begin an advanced reporting class with an innovative approach: Place the students on reporting teams for weekly work and teach the class right in the newsroom.
Most editors were receptive, but somewhat uncertain about tackling that educational mission. Some were outright skeptical about the demands of overseeing students when ample staff reporters were available to cover stories.
Today, the “Pioneer Press class,” as it is called, has expanded to yearly crop of 16 students, who step into assignments as reporters or photographers for local news, sports, features, entertainment, business, online and politics. Since that first semester, Gayle Golden has been the instructor and the course has become a model for other SJMC practicum courses. And by now, the Pioneer Press’ editors have no doubts about its value.
“Each year, it has seemed, the students have gotten smarter, more ambitious, more productive and more valuable to the Pioneer Press,” says Thom Fladung, the paper’s editor, who underscores the mutual benefits of young talent entering a newsroom thinned by the profound changes in the industry.
“Our intent is to coach, teach and help,” Fladung says. “But we in turn expect them to gather information, do interviews, take pictures, work online and, ultimately, do journalism. That's exactly what they do. “
Many of the students step immediately into stories within days of getting their building IDs. Editors acknowledge that it does take extra time to work with the students, both on the front end and in editing. Some editors and reporters also join class sessions weekly to discuss journalism topics. Yet the payoff comes with the number of stories the class generates for the newspaper or its online site. Last year’s group produced 255 stories with bylines and 145 with credit lines as well as 39 multimedia projects and 25 published photographs.
“The Pioneer Press class is giving me a chance to get the feel for local reporting at a real newspaper,” says Alex Ebert, who is covering north suburban news for this year’s class, with stories ranging from crime to city council budget actions.
Through the decade, the students have also witnessed and joined in the reporting of major stories, including the Sept. 11 attacks (which struck during the second week of the semester), the death of Paul Wellstone and the protests of the 2008 Republican National Convention.
Sue Campbell, the paper’s senior editor for local news, recalls organizing “a mini-army” of the last year’s class to cover the RNC, sending them out on the streets where they faced confrontations, tear gas and destruction from protests. “They all did exactly what they were supposed to, calling in quotes and reporting what they were seeing,” she says. “All that was fed into an online report that was constantly updated throughout the day, and much of it also ended up in the paper.”
As news platforms have expanded, so have the students’ skills. They have produced video and audio slideshows for the paper’s Web site and have applied social networking savvy to reporting projects.
Pioneer Press editors talk with students on-site at the newspaper.
Photo: Tim Rummelhoff.
“The students really are coming to us better-prepared for "real life" in the newsroom,” says Campbell, who has participated in the program since its beginning. In turn, the paper has launched students to journalism careers locally and nationally.
SJMC graduate Bao Ong, who took the class in 2003, was eventually hired by the Pioneer Press as a full-time education reporter. Last year, he moved to New York to study cuisine and food writing and is also reporting for The New York Times’ City Room blog.
“It wasn't until I got into the Pioneer Press class that I discovered a passion for journalism.” Ong says. “I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for the class.”
Fladung says that despite the constrictions in the newspaper industry, the practicum class is about teaching “real-life journalism lessons” that will apply no matter where the students end up. For now, he adds, “we know they bring an energy, curiosity and sense of wonder that is energizing for our newsroom.”
Alex Robinson, left, and Kara Nesvig were students in associate professor Chris Ison's Star Tribune practicum class during the Spring 2009 semester.
Photo: Matt Mead
If you noticed SJMC students’ names in the Minneapolis Star Tribune last spring, you certainly weren’t alone. The school’s students contributed to more than 260 stories, photos and multi-media packages as part of the Star Tribune Practicum course—JOUR 4992—a program that allows students to work shoulder-to-shoulder with professional journalists.
The practicum course at the Star Tribune provides students with invaluable experience and professional-quality clips that prepare them for jobs in the real world. The students routinely say the practicum courses are among the most valuable experiences they receive during their time at the University.
“Every in-depth conversation I have had with someone at the Star Tribune this semester has given me a little hope about my future,” one student wrote about last Spring’s course. “When I started the semester at the Star Tribune . . . I could not have been more terrified . . . that I wouldn’t know what to do, what questions to ask, wouldn’t be able to write well, come up with my own ideas, finish stories on time . . . Needless to say, I have more or less overcome those initial fears.”
Several of the students’ 120 bylined stories landed on the front page of the state’s largest newspaper last Spring, and dozens were on the covers of various news and variety sections. Students covered state politics, local government, sports, the local music scene and fashion. They produced nearly 30 published photos and contributed to more than 60 multi-media packages, including shooting news video in the field and helping produce the “NewsBreak” broadcast on Startribune.com.
Their work gave them more than news clips, videos and photos for their portfolios. It also provided long-lasting connections with professional journalists—not to mention three capstone credits that contribute to their journalism majors.
“I have learned through speakers, editors, reporters and photographers the value of good story-telling,” one student said of the experience. “I am excited to have been a part of a class that allowed me to gain immeasurable amounts of experience in a newly transforming industry.”
“I learned from working at the Star Tribune how to become a more thorough reporter,” another student wrote. “I have worked for other papers, but I have never been required to gather so much information as I had to this semester. . . I know . . . that it’s what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
Associate professor Chris Ison with Star Tribune practicum students Alex Robinson and Kara Nesvig.
Photo: Matt Mead
Editors at the Star Tribune praised the work of the student journalists as well.
“An extremely sophisticated judge of (news) and a very thorough reporter,” was how one student was described by her editor. “She could certainly be hired today by any number of outlets.”
“He takes direction very well, pesters sources to get back to him and delivers on time and on budget,” another editor said of a student on his reporting team.
The Star Tribune practicum is scheduled again for Spring 2010 term.
