The Perks of Being a Student Journalist
I’ll be honest, working for The Crimson, Florida Tech’s student-run newspaper has its perks – perks that you simply just don’t get with most other clubs on campus.
One of my favorite advantages of working at The Crimson is the free food provided by the Rat (an on-campus restaurant) each and every staff meeting – Thursday nights at 6:30 in the basement of Grissom Hall if you were wondering. The paper’s advisor, Dr. Ted Petersen, probably won’t like reading that one of his editor’s main sources of motivation is free food, but hey, it’s true.
Speaking of being an editor, there’s a whole slew of additional goodies that comes with being one of the top guys (or girls) at Florida Tech’s only campus newspaper. Think of it as level two in The Crimson’s benefit package. Case in point: I’ll be traveling with Dr. P. and two other editors to New Orleans at the end of October for the annual National College Media Convention. For free. You can definitely expect a blog post about that later.
But, believe it or not, you’re not reading these words today because I want to brag about free food or fancy trips to The Big Easy. That’s because there’s actually a third level – the highest level – in the benefits package. That, my readers, is being the sports editor for The Crimson (just don’t tell my editor-in-chief that). Seriously though, being the sports editor is awesome. We’re talking on-field/floor access to all sporting events, press box access, invitations to press conferences and special events, and just being “the guy” on campus when it comes to any sports-related news.
Case in point: I was recently able to fly with our football team to Cleveland, Mississippi for their in-conference matchup against Delta State. For free. Tagging along as a member of the media, I was able to document every step of a college football road trip. From arriving at the airport too early in the morning, to flying on a plane packed with a bunch of nervous first-time flyers, to (safely) landing and riding a charter bus to the stadium. When it was actually time for kickoff, my ALL ACCESS press credentials allowed me to watch the game from a two-story press box – which, I’d like to add, came complete with stacks of pizzas and a refrigerator filled with drinks. Again – and I cannot italicize this enough, for free. After the game I was able to walk the field before doing everything again in reverse for the trip back to Melbourne.
Yes, some students may think their campus newspaper as “just the school paper,” and not take it seriously, but those students need to realize something. It was “just the school paper” that took me out of the state and allowed me to provide professional coverage for a collegiate sports team. Let that sink in for a moment…and then pick up a copy of The Crimson, available on newsstands across campus and online.
