Opening Blog Post

After graduation, I hope to work for a missions organization or non-profit in their communications department. I believe that this course, JOUR 485, will be beneficial to my future, because projects in almost any profession require some form of in-depth research. Whether it be gathering consumer opinions and trends to inform a specific media project, or researching a community and culture before writing a personal impact story, the kind of research that this course requires will add depth to my future work.

Additionally, the course syllabus states that, “This course will teach the student to focus on a story idea, develop a story through research, and concentrate on possible impact to the community.” This skill will be incredibly beneficial when writing stories for a future non-profit, because focusing on story ideas and effectively developing them is integral to any communications position. While I will likely focus on the impact a specific story has to an organization and their audience rather than a larger community, keeping a specific audience in mind is sill beneficial.

In this course, I would love to learn more about the process of uncovering a investigative piece and how to even begin this process. Do investigative journalists just go around, looking for stories to uncover? And how do journalists ensure that their research and reporting is planned and methodical when the journalist might not even be sure what kind of information they are going to uncover? I don’t know if that makes sense, but I would like to know more about the processes and research that goes into this type of journalism, because it always seemed to me that investigative journalists sort of stumble upon information or wildly uncover information by whatever means necessary.

I think that this course will develop my storytelling skills abundantly, because investigative reporting focuses on not just observing an event and reporting on it shortly thereafter, but really taking the time to research and develop something more in-depth. Also, any opportunity to write these types of stories is an opportunity to become a better storyteller, so I am excited to see that skill grow. I am also excited because few other stories in journalism have as much impact as investigative pieces. Developing stories from the perspective of their impact, as we will do in this course, will be a very beneficial skill when I am writing for a non-profit or missions organization that impacts people immensely.