Jordan Scott 2/13/14 JOR 115 Interview with a Professional Journalist

Name: Miss Meghan Kavanaugh Interview Date: 1/31/14 via telephone -Staff writer for the Valley Breeze Describe the journalism job they do: She covers the towns of Lincoln, Cumberland and North Providence, Rhode Island, primarily what is happening in the school systems. She also writes for the Living section, which is an attachment to the main newspaper. Educational Background: High School: Cumberland High school, Class of 2007 College: Boston University, Journalism major with focus in magazine writing. Also a concentration in French. Class of 2011

Job History: College: Co-founded BU Buzz-A student run magazine about Boston and Tourism Intern for Stuff Magazine- Branch off of Boston Phoneix Edited- Nutritional Alignment by Helena Collins Intern- Valley Breeze- Local Newspaper for Northern Rhode Island Staff Writer- Valley Breeze

What have they learned in their career as a journalist? There is no such thing as a stupid question. I have had to write about a lot of topics I did not know much about, and I was nervous I would get something wrong, so I had to ask a lot of questions.

Best Definition of a journalist: A person who collects facts, researches and reports the truth and is un biased. You have to be objective and its not easy.

What do you like best about being a journalist? Loves meeting interesting people and writing feature stories. And writing about other peoples passions. Most interesting story written: Regarding a former classmate from high school who protested against Bank of America and their fees. The woman, Molly Katchpoll made national news and was local.

What do you least like about being a journalist? The pressure to get the facts accurate, especially if writing about a topic youre unfamiliar with. Most significant issue facing journalists today? How news media is becoming digital and what that means for newspapers and other media sources and how they can still make money. Advice for journalism majors: Do not get discouraged about people saying there are no jobs in print and media. Do what you love and stick with it. If you can write, you can do almost anything. Also be a good listener, be nice and caring for others gets people to talk to you and open up. Awards: RI Press Association: 2013: 1st Place story in Unique category Honorable Mention for an article about a woman in Cumberland, RIs 100th birthday Reaction to interview: I really enjoyed conducting this interview. It was interesting to talk to a professional who was in a different field of journalism that I am not the most familiar with. She was easy to talk to and very open and friendly during the interview. I especially liked how she is local and I apparently have met her before while I was studying journalism in high school. I agree with her comments about journalism becoming digitalized and I admire how she is still working with print journalism despite that. I feel as though I learned a lot and it was a good experience to talk to her.