Melanie Marie

Storytellers. At the end of the day, that is the heart of what journalists are. We look at a situation and figure out how to best present it in a coherent, creative way. It’s a public duty, but I think for the most part people forget that it’s an art.

There is something beautiful and interesting about the way a journalist puts a story together. There’s a talent involved, whether it’s for print or broadcast; it’s putting together the pieces of a puzzle. Researching, learning, arranging, rewriting and reorganizing until the perfect flow is mastered and the story is told in the best possible way.

Everyday a newspaper or a news broadcast will leave people with a bit of knowledge that they didn’t have before. I love this detail and major factor in journalism. As odd as it may sound, as a kid, I wanted to be something similar to a human encyclopedia.

This is what journalists do. Everyday is a new topic to explore, research and to gain new perspectives through interviews. As a journalist, you have to know a little of everything to be an active member in any newsroom.

When I was younger, my books would take me places that I couldn’t go in real life. My love for reading books turned into writing and telling my own stories. Whether it was short stories or poetry, it carried me and inspired me in a way I never felt before. I delighted in the feeling of being able to develop a character and their story and with an instant be able to change that direction completely. Journalism is like that because from one interview to the next, a story can change completely. With every interview, a piece of the puzzle is filled.

Journalism combines everything that as a kid, I loved to do. As I grew up, I realized that there was a career that allowed me to learn new things everyday, to teach people what I learn and to put the pieces of a puzzle together to tell a story.

Nowadays, there are many platforms available to tell a story. The goal of any story is to have an impact, to reach the most people that can be measured by circulation, ratings or views. As a journalist, it’s our job to make our story available and appealing to people who enjoy reading and people who enjoy visuals that only broadcast can provide. At Queens College, the journalism program is all about print, which I enjoyed while working as an editor on the student newspaper. Through internships at PIX11 News and NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams,