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When I was in sixth grade, I would play news reporter while my father videotaped my pretend newscasts. Now, I do it for real. I am a television news reporter for WLNE-TV in Providence, RI. I love my Job, but it took a lot of hard Work and determination to get here.

High school.
I was lucky - my high school had a  

journalism

  program. We were able to produce
weekly newscasts, which was a great hands-on experience. I also wrote stories for the school newspaper. This really gave me a taste of what being a reporter is all about. When I was looking at colleges, I knew I wanted to find a school that had a strong communications program, and offered internships for its students.

College.
I headed to New York City's Fordham University as a communications and media studies Major. While in college, I wanted to focus on building a résumé that would help me land a job after Graduation. I decided to give myself an advantage and do more than the average student. By my senior year, I had already completed three internships with "Dateline NBC," "Medialink," and a public television station. I also wrote news stories for the school radio station.

The job hunt.
News stations want job candidates who are well-rounded. I made sure to not only learn how to write, but how to shoot and edit video, too. When applying for a broadcast reporter job, I needed to showcase my 10-minute résumé tape featuring my best work. I did several documentaries and news stories for class projects, and used that material. I sent my tape to television stations across the country. It took a while, but I was finally offered my first on-air job at a station in New Hampshire. It didn't pay much, but it gave me the experience I needed to get my Career going.

My big break.
I didn't really want to move to New Hampshire, but I needed to make sacrifices in order to attain my career goals. Just several weeks after starting, a big story broke. A New Hampshire father was accused of murdering his two children. It was a story that made national headlines, and I was the reporter assigned to cover it. It became such a big story that CNN and Fox News Channel asked me to do reports for them. I did, and soon I had enough experience to land my next gig.

The scoop.
Broadcasting can be a lot of fun, and every day is so different. You're always on the go, chasing the next news story. My advice? Start on your journalism career now. Work on your writing skills, get involved with debate clubs or public speaking, and write letters to local TV personalities asking them for advice. See you on air!



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Paul D. Rosevear is a frequent contributor to The CollegeBound Network. Learn more about finding a school that's right for you.

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