A Reflection on My Career in Journalism
Growing up, I was never a passionate reader or consumer of journalism. My strongest skills were in technical fields, picking up math concepts quickly and exploring the depths of statistics and data analytics. So if you told twelve-year-old me that I would dedicate three years to my high school’s newspaper and ultimately become an editor-in-chief, I wouldn’t have believed a word.
The first lesson I learned was that these two skills – technical analysis and literary prowess – aren’t mutually exclusive; in fact, they’re complimentary.
I originally joined Denebola, Newton South’s online newspaper, as a sports reporter. Ever since middle school, my longtime friend Nick and I would spend hours each week discussing our fantasy football teams – who we liked or disliked and why, who was getting lucky or unlucky, and of course, trying to fleece each other in trades.
So it made sense to write my first published article in collaboration with Nick, as we essentially put our conversations onto paper. Our weekly piece organized our insights by highlighting four players each – a boom, a bust, a buy, and a sell – and backed up our choices with statistics and analysis.
I loved this type of writing – being able to communicate through numbers and facts. Nick’s interests drifted elsewhere, but I continued the column myself, and I soon found writing about fantasy football to be just as engaging as playing.
Although my investment in sportswriting was expanding, I struggled to create interpersonal connections in Denebola. I had seen my older sister find her closest friends and advocates from clubs and organizations, but in 10th grade, this wasn’t yet the case for me. The editors knew my name and my writing, but that was it. And I didn’t know the other sports reporters at all.
So when my sports section editor suggested that I interview to become an editor myself, I was hesitant. On one hand, I had found a club that I was interested in and enjoyed working on. But on the other hand, I didn’t feel like part of the group and was concerned about committing even more of my energies to an activity that often felt solitary.
Ultimately, I took a leap of faith and applied.
My experience as an editor was wildly different. I embraced the new responsibilities with open arms. I began reading more professional journalism to get a sense of what strong writing sounded like. I became more involved in Newton South athletics, getting to know coaches and captains and familiarizing myself with the teams’ stories and culture. And most importantly, I recruited anyone who showed the faintest spark of interest in sports or writing. Throughout the volume, I edited dozens of articles written by an all-star team of sports writers, and together we built the camaraderie that the section lacked when I almost quit the club myself the previous year.
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I’d love to attribute this vitality to my hardworking nature, but in reality, the reason why I dedicated so much of myself to Denebola and the sports section was because of the support provided by the rest of senior staff. I worked under Editor-in-Chief Leah Blum who took me under her wing and helped me see what I could offer to new staff writers. My other two editors-in-chief, Tae Hong and Abby Hepner, showed me what it means to dedicate my all to something. To do something because you love it. To foster a community that you adore. Every editor was recognized and appreciated for their contributions to the publication. Even now, I’m still in weekly touch with almost every 2023 grad on that Volume 62 editorial staff. They continue to advise and support me through senior year.
By the time Volume 62 was wrapping up, applying to become Volume 63’s editor-in-chief was a no-brainer. From my first sports articles to the tens of thousands of words that I edited the following year, I had fallen in love with journalism. But that wasn’t the main reason I applied. I saw an opportunity to give back, to mentor and help other aspiring journalists see the powerful rewards of working in media, shedding light on our high school community and the larger world. I felt that continuing the path that Leah, Tae, and Abby had blazed for this club was now my duty.
When I was appointed editor-in-chief of Volume 63, my mission was clear: to continue building the Denebola team to provide the same enthusiasm and support that Volume 62 provided me. In our first meetings with new senior staff, my co-editor-in-chief and I prioritized discussion of recruiting and community-building. Each editor set two goals for the year – one goal for the group and one personal goal. My goals were to create a strong foundation of engaged and excited staff writers and to venture into other fields of journalism that I hadn’t yet explored.
Ten months later, I’m proud to say that I’ve achieved both of these goals. With most of our writers having graduated last year, Denebola has had to build a whole new team of journalists. I’ve worked with dozens of students from every corner of our large school who now comprise our staff. The photography section has been completely rebuilt with a talented young group and our Features and Opinions sections are stronger than ever. And most importantly, each incoming journalist has unique perspectives and stories to tell. Two writers from Brazil use Denebola as a platform to compare their experiences back home to their first year here in the U.S. One writer is an art fanatic and writes about its history and role in society. Another uses Denebola to engage with U.S. politics and social criticism. One of my favorite things about our newspaper is simply reading all this stuff.
And personally, I have succeeded in branching out as a journalist myself. As discussed in my portfolio, I have begun to explore other forms of media than just writing. I’ve learned the basics of photography and editing and have begun to explore stories through visual tellings. I have taught myself about social media and marketing and have explored the outreach and business side of journalism. And I have explored writing beyond the sports articles I used to limit myself to, covering a range of topics that appeal to a Newton reader. All of this culminated in a seismic event for our school district this winter: a 15-day strike by the teachers union, the longest walkout in Massachusetts in over 30 years. I’ve been fortunate to have a front-row seat to this citywide firestorm – researching the issues, interviewing participants, covering 2,000-person rallies, and writing and assigning articles. I’ve made decisions about how and when to publish breaking news about negotiations, court decisions, and the biggest story of all – the settlement. Our readership has spiked, and my team’s work has drawn the largest audiences and social media engagement in our publication’s history. It’s been deeply rewarding to help my peers make sense of the chaos, and to amplify student perspectives for any adults inclined to listen.
In five weeks, I will turn Denebola over to a new team of editors who will take Volume 64 in their own unique direction. My hope is that the next volume will embody the values that I worked hard to bring to Volume 63: writing for the love of writing and creating a community that enables young journalists to thrive.
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-Miles