Visit to the Chronicle

Trip to the Chronicle

 Tuesday’s trip to the Chronicle was amazing. Not only where we in the main news conference room but we also visited the room where the editors meet every day and decisions are made on what will be published on the newspaper.

 In that same room we were seating with Managing Editor of the Houston Chronicle, John Wilburn. As he explained why all the important newspapers of the United States were posted on the wall he asked for each of us to introduce ourselves.

 Professor Berryhill gave a short introduction of what we are doing in our opinion writing class and how important it is to know how to write and report. As soon as Wilburn heard the word reporting he smiled.

 “Every editorial we publish has as much reporting as possible,” said opinion director John Wilburn.

 That is when I understood why Professor Berryhill tells us in every class that the foundation of opinion writing is reporting, reporting, reporting.

 “We also use reporting from other people,” said Wilburn. After saying that he explained that in the room we were sharing with him is where the editors pitch ideas and debate about the different pieces before being published.

 For a moment I felt like a professional because that is the same method we are using in our opinion writing class. Each Tuesday and Thursday we pitch ideas during our class time and then write a piece about what we discussed.

Overall the visit to the Chronicle was a very good learning experience because we now have more confidence in our writing and understand the importance of reporting in our pieces.

 Alan Delon