Job Shadows: What You Saw, Part 2

Here's a sampling of some of the various job shadows done by you all. Take a look and see what you can learn from everyone's visits. There's a lot of good stuff here to help you decide what you want to do with your lives; what you need to be doing to get there; and what to expect when you do get there.

We will add more job shadow reports to the blog as they are completed. Please give each one of these a quick read, will you?

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On March 10, 2017 I had the pleasure of job shadowing Eric Woodyard, the sports journalist for MLive’s Flint Journal.

I arrived at MLive at about 10:30 a.m and from there we talked about his everyday life and what it takes to be a great journalist overall. Although their work area was not very big, Woodyard still took me on a tour to meet everyone in his workplace and learn their names.

I initially learned who Woodyard was from his twitter account. He writes in newspapers as a career, but his twitter is what really kept me engaged. He keeps his followers on twitter updated on scores of some of the biggest games, making us feel like we’re there with him! I was also referenced to him by a person who has heard almost all of his speeches.

Woodyard was educated at Western Michigan University where he gained most of his experience interviewing Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen, and rapper J.Cole. While in college, he also interned with ABC12NEWS and had his first story aired. Woodyard said he wanted to gain so much experience in college that it would be hard for anyone to tell him no when he applied for the job. Since then he has been professionally writing for six years.

The day I went to job shadow Woodyard he didn’t have much on his schedule until later that night, when he had to go to Claressa’s Shields boxing match in Detroit. He explained to me how he could come to work basically whenever he wanted working there. He said he could lay in the bed the entire day if he wanted, but that wasn’t an option for him. Woodyard said he has plenty of freedom at MLive, but in order to grow you have to be self-driven and determined to be great.

Woodyard and I talked about everything it takes to be a great journalist from a listening ear and just writing what is real. He said people often questioned some things he wrote about, but he just wants to write the truth about things people often look over. Though Woodyard is a journalist, he is also an author and gathers with the Flint community to give uplifting spirits and raise money for scholarships.

When I asked Woodyard what were his keys to success he said work ethic, persistence, integrity, and developing relationships. He said this field requires a person to be self-motivated because there’s no one over your shoulders telling you what to do every day. Woodyard also said engagement is key in order to share other people’s stories. He said you should know how to talk to different people in different ways and just get the feel of a person. The last thing Woodyard said was very important was getting things right. He said having integrity will help you develop relationships and gain that trust so people will start coming to you to give a story.

Woodyard said the one thing he wish he knew in college was to join the campus organization National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). He later joined in his junior year, but he said he wish he would have joined it earlier because of all the opportunities they gave to meet sports reporters like Jemele Hill and Steven A. Smith. He also said he wish he knew that this is what he wanted to do in high school. Woodyard said if he knew this was what he wanted to do, he would’ve joined the yearbook or something to give him an early start.

Overall this job shadow experience has taught that I have to be my own motivation and critic as a journalist. This is a field where you have to want to improve yourself every day and do so by working on your own time.