WJI Blog 2022, May 25 AM - Summarizing a 12-Hour Workday

A text message woke me up. It was my mom’s daily “Good Morning” text, bringing a smile to my half-awake face. We talked for a bit. I filled her in on the day’s schedule and how I was feeling. “I’m tired,” I croaked. After all, I had been working, on average, for 12 hours a day for 5 days straight.

Around 8:30am, we finished our call. I set down my phone and walked over to my dresser.

“What do I wear?”

I decided on a dress, even though the weather wasn’t necessarily appropriate for it. I considered our upcoming press conference, simulating remarks and questions about an upcoming Supreme Court case regarding freedom of speech. Afterwards, the lawyers explained what they liked about out questions and what we could improve on.

We then focused on Biblical Objectivity during our Les Sillars lecture from 10am to 12pm. He taught that, as Christian journalists, we not only strive for actuate, impartial stories, but also stories that are morally sound.

Lunch was exciting! Dordt President Hoekstra and his wife, Dr. Barb Hoekstra, joined us. Our conversations consisted of the typical getting to know you questions. “What’s your name? Where are you from? Do you have any siblings?” Towards the end, Mr. Hoekstra spoke about his time at Dordt and how he convinced Professor Pitts to move to Iowa. He recalled his excitement when Professor Pitts asked if the WJI program could move from Asheville, North Carolina to Dordt University.

After lunch, the delirium kicked it. I think food does that to you. Forcing my eyes to stay open, Professor Sillars reviewed the principles of concise writing. He explained many editors give new journalists three chances to correct spelling grammar, and inconsistent structure. Every publication has it’s own stylebook mainly for consistency in writing style (I see a pattern here). Basically, if you’re not consistent, your story will come across as unsound or confusing.

Myrna Brown’s lecture about broadcasting explained how stand-ups add another element to your story. If you don’t cater to your audience or choose a location that doesn’t match your story, then your story won’t make as large of an impact.

The news huddle is always entertaining. We played “Guess Who,” which is an ice breaker/getting-to-know-you game where we match fun facts to people in the class. Then, Mr. Pitts dressed up as Robin, Batman’s sidekick, to talk about the obituaries we wrote before arriving to WJI.

My favorite part of WJI are the professors and experts who willingly share their knowledge with us. During group editing exercises, they point out areas of improvement but also tell us what we did well.

To be honest, 12-hour workdays sound extremely difficult. But I’d say my experience with WJI, so far, has taught me that hard things are often the best learning experiences. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the program plays out.

- Evie Holland