an essay by Laurie Garrett

On the first day of class I was brutally blunt: “I consider this a trade school. I never went to J School, and I’m not interested in discussing high-falutin’ theories of the news business. If you take this class you will work as hard as most reporters do in a newsroom, and I will judge you by professional standards. Deadlines are serious— the dog can’t eat your homework at a newspaper, and missed deadlines get reporters fired. So no excuses. Your deadlines will be frequent, and it will get tougher as the semester wears on.”

I figured that with an introduction like that I’d have four or five daring souls to teach. But I was wrong, and my failure to initially appreciate the hardworking enthusiasm of Berkeley journalism students left me in a state of surprise and pride. Twelve students enrolled and completed the course, two regularly audited. Two of the class members now have jobs writing about science for the Boston Globe and Los Angeles Times. Another is trying to choose for which regional paper he will write. And still others are writing freelance science pieces for major publications.

There lies the source of my pride. These students are at strong beginnings in the arcs of their careers. With luck and hard, creative work their trajectories will include good entry-level new jobs, possibly with specialization as science or medical writers and reporters. Over time they will settle into the top 10 newspapers or network broadcasting, join professional societiesand build an admirable body of work.

As these students learn and grow, never ceasing to educate themselves in new and challenging ways, their work will draw the admiration (and perhaps jealousy) of colleagues. Awards will follow, providing shots to the ego and, more important, office leverage that allows pursuit of bigger, more essential stories. Perhaps one day I will stand back in admiration when I learn that one of these students has won a Pulitzer Prize.

The trajectory of journalism is winding and arduous, particularly in these times of corporate takeovers, downsizings, and declining public interest in news and against a backdrop of competitive pressures that increasingly result in abominable drivel that has no legitimate business being published. Prizes, awards, and raises can lift spirits only so high amid such negative forces.

And so the time will come for each of the successful students from my class when the batteries need recharging and careers require reflection. At the peak of my career I got my batteries charged by sharing my skills and knowledge with an extraordinary group of Berkeley students. By explaining what I do, and more important why I do it, I found a new sense of joy in the mission of journalism. I took pleasure in learning from the smart questions students asked. I grew as they did: With each improvement in their articles I gained invaluable insights into my own work.

So in the end I must thank Marie, Bob, Yuki, Odi, Jeffrey, Sasha, Jonathan, Holly, Trina, Sarah, Lori and Marni for teaching me why Journalism (with a capital “J”) still matters. Thanks, guys.

Laurie Garrett is a Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer for Newsday. She was formerly science correspondent at National Public Radio; freelance reporter for NPR, BBC, and ABC and frequent freelance contributor to numerous newspapers and magazines. She wrote “The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance.”