Our 200th University Post student reporter

2015 was a milestone year for the University Post.

Since we started in 2009, new student reporters have been introduced to the University Post through the so-called Crash Course.

This year, the 200th reporter passed through this Crash Course, meaning that we have had a grand total of 200 student reporters who at some point have been on the University Post team.

Selection in the field

Most of these reporters have now graduated, and I regularly hear back from former reporters who refer back to the lessons learnt on this course and the experiences that they had on the University Post.

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How does the University Post decide what to report?

So what is it all about?

We open up for University Post applications twice a year. We get hundreds of applications, and we call the most promising of the applicants in for a short interview. But the actual selection takes place out in the field, where reporters prove their motivation and skill with a reporting assignment.

Interview technique, Twitter, news feeds, Instagram

The approved reporters are invited to be a part of the University Post team and to take part in my Crash Course.

At the Crash Course, reporters are taught how to be the eyes and ears of the University Post. They are taught how to interpret events as news, how to decide what is news, and how to report the news. Reporters are taught how to write and photo report effectively, how to find good stories, how to craft a headline, subheader and lead paragraph. They are taught the inverted news triangle.

Our reporters have never ceased to surprise me with fresh concepts, new angles and novel takes on old stories.

At the end of most editorial meetings, there is a mini-course: This could be a 15-minute brush up on Twitter, or it could be a few tips on Instagram. It could be a refresher on how to tailor news feeds, or it could be a reminder on interviewing technique. It could be search engine optimizing, it could be taking a good portrait photo for a story.

Privilege

Since 2009 I have worked with student reporters whose interests span from cognitive science to cell biology, from post-structuralism to dark cosmology. They have each brought their particular personality to the University of Copenhagen stories in the form of images, graphs, reports and features.

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How to share stories with the University Post

Our reporters have never ceased to surprise me with fresh concepts, new angles and novel takes on old stories. It is a privilege to be in daily contact with this select group of academic talent.

And as I reflect on those 200 reporters who have each brought their particular skill and interest into play, I can’t help but think how lucky I am.

miy@adm.ku.dk

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