Print News Reporting

My name is Latoya Burgess, I'm 24 years old and I am from Overtown. I come from a place where people getting shot happens on any regular day and selling crack on the corner is an occupation. I've been studying journalism at FIU for about 2 years now and I have yet to see more than 3 black students in my classes. I am a rarity. I want to be a journalist because I want to make a difference. I am an example of how everyone in overtown does not have the same agenda. We are a capable race of people. When I took professor Reisner's Multi-Ethnic Reporting class last Fall I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was pushed into a whole new world and I am glad I was. I knew I always wanted to be a reporter, but this notion is something that never occured to me before: "You don't have to 'be one' to cover 'one" [Reisner, Multi-Ethnic, 2009]. A good reporter can do this. As a journalist, we shouldn't be afraid of stepping outside of our comfort zones and covering unfamiliar communities. Now, I'm taking Print New Reporting and I love this class because it allows students to do just that: report. I am able to get hands-on experience in the real world without the sting of being chewed out by a super grouchy editor or being fired from the only job that pays my bills. Sure, Reisner is tough on us sometimes, but it only makes us better students and better reporters. Right now we are covering Liberty City and although I am not from that city I am from a very similar neighborhood. I'm excited to be able to dissect the inner-workings of this urban area and view the city through the eyes of those people who live there and want to see a change in the way their community is being portrayed through the press. I am thrilled with the way things are going in the class as well. Everyone in the class always has fresh idea's to bring to the table and we all have a thirst to do good reporting. Right now, I am the only African-American in my class and it's good to see that the students here are as passionate as I am to see this project unfold.