Student Stories

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Noah Dalton

Noah Dalton

Degree: Associate of Science Transfer

Graduation Year: 2019

Role: News Reporter (Bedford, Indiana)

Employer: Bedford Times-Mail

I just want to say that I am incredibly grateful for everything that I learned in VU's journalism program. I had such a great time working for the student newspaper and I truly enjoyed every moment in the newsroom there.

What does an average day in your job look like?

Typically, an average day for me begins with me checking police incident reports from the previous night looking for anything that would be a newsworthy story. From there, I'm generally responding to emails and contacting sources for stories that I'm working on. I usually try to use the front half of my day to conduct interviews and gather information, so I can catch people while they're working. Sometimes I'm going to events to speak with people in person and take photos, other times I'm just making phone calls. After I've done that, I'm writing up the articles that I've been working on previously. My schedule is often forced to change, based on public meetings that I cover for Times-Mail, but those are my usual tasks.

What do you enjoy most about your position?

I love the variety of the work that I do. Working for a small-town local newspaper with only a few reporters , our staff must cover a lot of ground to get to everything going on, so I'm not just limited to one subject all the time. I primarily cover education, but I'm doing everything from police and court coverage to local business profiles and everything in between.

How did VU help prepare you for your career?

Prior to me attending VU, I had never even written a news article. My education at VU gave me all the skills needed to begin working in the field right away. Working for the student newspaper (The Trailblazer) at the school, I learned firsthand how to conduct interviews, write articles, take photos and even design pages.

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