Debra Mcaughey Journey To Journalism

Debra McCaughey Visits TSU Communications Department

On Last Wednesday, April 24^th, Ms. Debra McCaughey visited Texas Southern University’s Journalism Class as a guest, sharing her years of experience and her immense knowledge in the field.  She has been on television as an anchor also a field reporter, so this visit was very motivating and inspiring.  She spoke very well about the career, telling us what qualities or characteristics we should have as journalist; who we should talk to, and how to talk to them and when to be pushy and when not be.

One of the most important subjects she touched on is knowing how to write properly.  “If you can not write then you will not succeed” said Ms.  McCaughey. This basically means that if you can not write a story, a blog, a journal, or article, you should not expect to be a journalist.  Journalism is all about getting your point across and stating the facts to get your point off.

  Being your own boss or owing a business of your own should be one of the routes you take to journalism. Working in TV can be one of the best gigs out there because you can call your own shots, learn professional editorial skills and manage creative people.  You can connect with the community better to, because everybody watches TV.  If you can create something to put on TV to capture the minds of the community or a broader audience, you would have a better chance in reaching people or changing the way people view society.   Working with public relations at the Houston Community College (HCC), she learned marketing and advertisement play such a big role in any field or study.  The way you market and advertise will literally make or break a business.  You put out what you want people to see. The way you introduce your idea or point is what grabs the audience and then keep the audience, and this is the whole meaning behind advertising.  Debra McCaughey went into the field hungry, ready, and matured Regarding urgency and passion, McCaughey  stated “pushy, you must be pushy, know when to be pushy, when not be, and who to be pushy too”.  She meant you have to be driven in this line of work.  You must go out and get a story or do an interview etc. and if you shy and timid how do you expect to get the job done?  You need to go out and create a story out of nowhere and report it or shoot it, all these helpful points to make anyone a good journalist. 

Ms. McCaughey also talked about Internships.  We all know what these are.  Internships are made for you to learn something about the business you want to invest your career in.  For example, an internship at New York Times, going in and learning how the ropes work, seeing how the senior editor approves work, just a firsthand looks on how the New York times became the New York times gave Ms. McCaughey her needed experience as a journalist. “I know most people are reluctant to join internships because of the whole no pay asset, but that goes back to being pushy and determined. If this is something you want, then you would need to look past the “no pay” part and grind your way to the top,” Ms. McCaughey said.   She also reminded us that there are 100s of other students’ same credentials who also want that spot.  They are determined and they are pushy which is why those people might become better. You too can be better.

-Barek McCann