Essay: My Struggle to Become a Future Business Columnist

As a young girl, I always dreamed of writing for my city’s local paper. Everyday, I told my friends that someday, they would see my name in the newspaper on the front page. They would generally laugh or make comments about my head being in the clouds. After hitting a hurdle in high school, I thought I would never be a columnist or journalist. However, I returned to high school and began pursuing my dream of writing for young children or teenagers. Now, I am earning an Associate Degree in Business Arts. After graduation, I plan to pursue a Bachelors Degree in Business Communication and continue to work on fullfilling my childhood.   

It is a Way of Life

          Honestly, journalism and columnist jobs require that the employee to be available on a moment’s notice, especially when news is breaking around town. in addition, the job will require many hours of research, whether I am writing an article or an advice column for the public. I will need to continue my education, in order to improve my grammatical and writing skills. That way, I can excel in my personal life and professional goals with the newspaper. This job is perfect for someone like me, who loves to learn something new every day. Futhermore, the extra benefits that are available, will help me build a successful future.  

It is a Career

          Actually, I could build fulfill the company’s need for motivated columnist and add more experience to my resume. The “competitive” (Robins, 2005) company wants responsible, honest, and hardworking individuals, to train as journalist or columnist. This newspaper is known for its “aggressive” advertising and “stability” with it loyal readers.  As demand increases, the local newspaper has fulfilled the changing needs of today’s society.  I also dream of writing a few books, so as a columnist I would have plenty of story ideas to choose from each day.  I can only hope that the newspapers daily readers, will like my style of writing and the advice I give. The readers will decide in the court of public opinion, who becomes a full-time columnist and who will be looking for another job.

It is an Adventure

         Each day is a new day to get in the middle of the action and bring the truth to my readers. My teammates would encourage me to creating innovating article, by taking risks daily. The editor will teach me how to “pay attention to details” (Robbins, 2005), even the little ones that seem unimportant. The newspapers overall “mission” is to “provide news to the public” and “offer world class customer service” (Florida Times Union, 2007).  Their strong organizational skills and diverse culture, has led them to success with their daily readers. The company has expanded from small newspaper, into the “essential and irreplaceable” (Florida Times Union, 2007) part of the local residents daily routine.

Conclusion

          Becoming a columnist is a once, in a lifetime opportunity for me or any other freelance author. However, I would serve my readers first, because they are the reason that the newspaper is still circulating. According to the Florida Times Union (2007), they value their customer’s opinion and all employees, who work for them. In addition, as a columnist, I can start out at the bottom and work my way up. Maybe, in the future, my family and friends will see my name in the local newspaper, but I must work hard to get there. Therefore, until then, I plan to purse my dream of giving advice to small business owners.

References:

Florida Times Union (2007) Mission Statements & Benefits           
Retrieved on the World Wide Web on September 30, 2007
http://jacksonville.com/aboutus/missionbene.shtml

Robbins, S. (2005) Organizational Behavior, Eleventh Edition        
Published by Prentice-Hall
Pearson Education, Inc.
ISBN: 0-536-98810-2