Column: The life of a student journalist
(Zoey Lawrence | CM Life)
Write a story, make an enemy.
Read the day’s headlines, and wonder if the college newspaper you work for is next on the chopping block.
Take photos at a protest, and worry that the guy who brought a gun sees your credentials and decides to use it.
These are the realities of being a student journalist in 2025.
I’ve been working as a bona fide journalist for a bit now, and everything that I just listed is something my peers and I experience all the time. Even in the last few weeks alone.
While freedom of the press is enshrined in the First Amendment, it sure as hell doesn’t feel like it these days.
Ever since U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration took over, it seems like someone (I'm sure you can guess who) took a big red pen to the Bill of Rights.
This ongoing battle between the press and the current administration has gone from a light shower to a brewing storm. Journalists and media producers are being booted from the White House, forced to abandon their posts in the Pentagon and subjected to witch hunts when they criticize the wrong political figure.
As a student, it’s terrifying to watch your role models be persecuted and your job opportunities become more scarce.
More than that, witnessing and experiencing the lack of trust people have in the media is disheartening. We see these problems every day, too. The absence of ethics, the intentional spread of misinformation — all of those fears are as real to us as they are to you.
While those things are absolutely something you should be wary of, there is another thing you should keep in mind: Student journalists aren't invincible. The mistakes and improprieties some big media platforms can get away with, we can't.
What I mean by that is we're taught to hold ourselves to the highest of standards, because when you're trying to enter this industry, every opportunity you get is rooted in your reputation.
One major blunder, and you're pretty much cooked.
So everything we do, from running interviews to publishing stories, we do in the best interests of the community we serve.
To be honest, the worst part for us, news junkies, isn’t how all of these things affect us, but how they affect you.
If you were to ask student journalists why they do what they do, I can almost guarantee you that they’ll say something along the lines of “I want to help people.”
Journalism is a service industry. Reporters, photographers, broadcasters — we dedicate our careers to making sure that our audiences have the information they need to positively impact their communities.
Sure, getting your name on a front page is cool and all, but we’re not in it for the recognition. We want to uphold democracy and make sure people know how they’ll be affected when the president decides he can be king for a term.
And if we can’t do our jobs, everyone suffers.
But if there’s anything I’ve learned about student journalists, it's that we’re as stubborn as a mule. Our passion for what we do is relentless.
We don’t bend our knees to an institution; we’re not interested in working in public relations. If someone tells us no, we just ask a different question or a different source.
I can promise this audience that, despite the obstacles we face, we as student journalists have no intention of giving up on you. And I hope you won’t give up on us.
So do your friendly neighborhood journalists a favor: Read the paper. Listen to the radio. Follow press accounts on social media.
We need your support, now more than ever.
Cristin Coppess is a news reporter at Central Michigan Life. She is a sophomore at Central Michigan University, majoring in Photojournalism.
