Journalism students in a brainstorming session. (Photo by Jason Torreano)

By Alexa Lewis

Trey Williams fondly remembers the feeling of seeing his first article published in January in the Essex News Daily. His story covered efforts at Essex County College in Newark, New Jersey to address educational gaps faced by immigrants and refugees.

“It felt really great to get that article published,” said Williams, a junior at the Bloomfield College of Montclair State University. “I got to interview the president of Essex County College and talk to him about these educational gaps.”

This student reporting opportunity is facilitated by Jason Torreano, instructor of Media Communications at Bloomfield College and a faculty champion for student-led news stories with the Center for Community News, based at the University of Vermont.

The flexible, hands-on reporting experience offered through the program allows students like Williams to build a portfolio of news clips before graduating college, and teaches them important skills that can only be imparted through experiential learning. 

“It’s definitely taught me patience, and how to take rejection,” Williams said. “There are a lot of emails we send out where people just don’t want to be interviewed. And when we get interviews, we’re learning interview skills and how to speak to people in a professional manner. It prepares you for the work world ahead.”

The goal of the program is not only to provide hands-on reporting experience for students interested in media careers, but also to fill crucial gaps in local reporting. Students report for Essex News Daily, which serves as Bloomfield College's local media partner. Torreano’s Media Communications classes allows for more flexibility than a traditional extracurricular internship, and still provides the opportunity to be published with a local newspaper.

“Many of the students that work with me have two to three jobs outside of classes, so having an unpaid, time-consuming internship really isn’t possible,” Torreano said. “It’s great to be able to do it through existing classes that they’re already taking. It’s been a really enriching experience for the students.”

Students work closely with Torreano and Joe Ungaro, the editor at Essex News Daily, to publish news stories at a high editorial standard. The program, which began this school year, is typically small in numbers;  seven students participated in the fall and three in the spring. The limited number of students allows for focused attention on individual students, helping their development as a journalist.

There are opportunities to cover a wide range of topics through these classes. According to Torreano, sports coverage has been a popular area of coverage among students. Covering sports events has taught students valuable lessons about quick turnaround times for stories with fleeting relevance.

“We’re focused particularly on local environments and local contexts,” Torreano said. “We’re about 12  miles outside of New York City, so we’re trying to cover hyper-local stories for folks who might benefit from something that isn’t covered by a big news outlet like CNN.”

One such story Torreano recalled was about a local “bulk pickup day,” where community members in Northern New Jersey would post online the articles of furniture they would be placing on the curb for free pickup. Hyper-local stories like this are not of interest to large New York City papers, but it was relevant to those living in the participating community.

Williams also spoke to the various stresses he’s experienced as a student journalist, and how this experience has helped him overcome obstacles and feel more prepared to face them in his future career.

“The main stresses are not getting interviews or not getting replies when you have a deadline coming up,” Williams said. “Sometimes if my deadline is tomorrow, I’ll get a reply today, so I have to quickly find a way to work that new interview into the story.”

These skills are part of the unique benefits offered by a news-academic partnership.  “[The program] provides students experience while still in school, and editing from someone who has many years of experience,” Torreano said. “I’ve always wanted to provide as many real-world opportunities for students as I can.”

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In-text image caption: Trey Williams speaking with Joe Ungaro, editor at Essex News Daily, about his story. (Photo by Jason Torreano)