This year, the Reynolds School of Journalism launched the pilot program of its Journalism Writing Center, a new resource for journalism students looking to advance their writing skills.

Offering mentorship from five coaches with a wide range of industry experience, the Journalism Writing Center provides students an opportunity to receive feedback on assignments and one-on-one support from coaches.

Visiting Lecturer Jim Scripps is the director of the center and instructor for the introductory media writing course, Journalism 107. Scripps noticed that many students in his class were finding it a challenge to take a journalistic approach to their writing rather than a narrative style, and wanted to find a way to support students outside the classroom.

“Part of the mission with the writing center was to create better connections between our students and the community, but it's also useful to have professionals who are working in the trades currently to be able to give students feedback,” said Scripps.

Over the year, students have benefited from one of the most notable features of the writing center: the coaches. Scripps saw the importance of incorporating professionals who understand the demands that come with a career in journalism. Arianna Bennett, a reporter and anchor for KTVN news, dedicates her mornings twice a week to help students learn and practice the journalistic building blocks needed when developing a story.

Coming from a career in broadcasting, Bennett understands the pressures that often come with producing quality stories under tight deadlines and high stakes, and hopes to pass that experience on during coaching sessions with students.

“The biggest challenge that I am seeing from students who are relatively new to journalism is learning to adapt from the traditional essay style writing to journalistic style writing, which is a completely different format,” said Bennett. “But I’ve been very impressed with the students I have worked with. They’ve all had great attitudes and a willingness to learn. It’s been a pleasure.”

The Reynolds School is hopeful this program will provide students personalized support as they head towards a career in journalism.

“Right now, it’s solving a problem. Our students come into the program at different skill levels,” said Scripps. “It really helps students make the leap forward to catch up. And it allows students who are more skilled to refine their assignments.”

Currently, the Journalism Writing Center is only open to students enrolled in introductory journalism writing courses, but Scripps is hopeful it will become a permanent fixture and available for all journalism students in the coming semesters. 

The Journalism Writing Center has been made possible thanks to funding provided by the Hearst Foundations.