Joel O’Kane

Daily Gleaner newsroom

Where do I go from here? It’s a question you’ll face every day as a journalist.  Where do I take that story I’m working on? Where do I go to look for work? Where do I put that story in my publication? Where do I look for that source I’m missing? Where do I go after I graduate?

It wasn’t an easy question for me to answer. I didn’t become a journalist by choice. Not exactly, anyway.

I had no idea what I wanted to study in university, so I went with a job that recognizes good writing skills and feeds my insatiable desire to learn more about the world around me. It’s a job where I get to be knowledgeable about everything, but perhaps an expert at nothing. I’m the ultimate weapon in trivia games.

I graduated from St. Thomas in 2004. It was a bit of a different time then, although it wasn’t that long ago. Newspapers were still healthy enterprises, for the most part, and online journalism was still developing. A lot has changed in a few short years.

Interviewing past St. Thomas President Daniel O'Brien

I applied as a freelancer for The Daily Gleaner shortly after graduating from STU, and I never looked back. Today, I’m the Gleaner’s news editor. It’s an amazing opportunity for me, especially for someone my age. I’m one of the senior editors at a daily newspaper that is read by thousands of people each day.

Why did I want to become a journalist?

I wanted to be a journalist because it’s one of the best jobs around.

I’m part of a small group that gets to see things most people don’t get to see, to talk to people most of the public never gets to meet. I’m one of the few people who got to walk around CFB Gagetown’s bombing grounds, safely tucked behind a soldier with a metal detector, as scientists searched for traces of Agent Orange.

I’m one of the few people who get to speak to the popular musicians, the unpopular politicians and everyone in between.

When I go to the store, I look at a product that I helped to put together. Heck, I probably wrote that headline. You know, the headline that made the gentleman in front of you pick up the paper.

And five years after graduating from St. Thomas, I still feel a rush when a big story lands in the newsroom and we have to get it out before deadline.

My advice to you?

Work hard. Take every assignment you can. Ask the questions that others won’t ask. Go the extra mile.

And when the times get tough, focus on the positives. Remember that you have one of the best jobs in the world.

Short URL: http://www.newbrunswickbeacon.ca/?p=3541

Posted by Joel O'Kane, Originally published Dec.28,2009 on Nov 29, 2011. Filed under From the field. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.