Written by Caileigh Morrison
Trent students, staff and alumni gathered at the First People’s House of Learning Gathering Space on Thursday evening for a lively panel discussion on journalism with three Trent Alumni Journalists. David James ’68, Steve Lukits ’68, and Paul Schliesmann ’77 provided the audience with insights and advice on working as a journalist and shared their thoughts on the rapid changes that are occurring in media in the digital age. The event was a partnership between the Trent-Loyalist Journalism Program, the Development Office and Alumni Affairs.
David James completed his BA in history and politics at Trent and a graduate diploma in Journalism at the University of Western Ontario. He credits Trent with teaching him the critical thinking skills required to be a journalist. Now a sculptor, David was a broadcast journalist for CBC Radio for a decade, moving through the ranks to become CBC’s Paris correspondent. David’s advice to journalism students was to keep pushing: find stories anywhere you can and submit them as often as you can to build up your CV and foster relationships with editors. He is also particularly excited about the magazine industry and sees it as a great place for students to start; magazines offer chances to write as well as produce online audio and video content.
Steve Lukits graduated from Trent with a BA in English and went on to earn MA and PhD degrees in English Literature at Queen’s University. “I fell into journalism through academics,” Steve says; he started writing freelance for the Kingston Whig-Standard while he was working on his doctorate as a way to blow off steam. After writing for the Whig-Standard for a decade, he was appointed editor in ’99. He left the paper after winning numerous awards to teach at the Royal Military College of Canada. “The worst thing you can be as a writer is predictable,” Steve shared. He also advised journalists that the most important thing they can do, especially as smaller media outlets are bought up by large companies, is to know their standards and stick to them because their integrity is everything.
Paul Schliesmann is a history and English grad from Trent, and completed the print journalism program at Georgian College. He has been a journalist for the Kingston Whig-Standard for 25 years and was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for his work. Paul’s new book Honour on Trial: The Shafia Murders and the Culture of Honour Killings is based on his coverage of the Shafia murder trial in 2011-2012. Paul has high hopes for the new Trent-Loyalist Journalism Program; he believes the critical thinking skills acquired at university are a perfect complement to the technical skills learned in a college program. Paul advised budding journalists to stand up for their stories and demand more time to do in-depth research if that is what the story requires. He also encouraged journalists to see themselves as extensions of democratic institutions: “even a small City Hall beat is rewarding.”
The evening was well-attended by students and recent grads. More than half of the first Trent-Loyalist Journalism class was present, along with a number of writers and a co-editor of Arthur Newspaper as well as representatives from Trent Radio. Participants were encouraged to Tweet about the experience; a selection of the Tweets can be found at http://www.qnetnews.ca/?p=26043. The discussion continued informally over a tasty dinner catered by Aramark.
Posted on Tuesday, February 12, 2013.