In conversation with one of The Herald 2024 Student Press Awards winners, Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco. Josh was awarded three prizes at the inaugural awards in May; scoop of the year, news writer of the year and overall student of the year.
Josh studied Politics and Theology at the University of Aberdeen, graduating this month and was also editor of the university paper, the Gaudie.
Here, Josh answers some questions about how he achieved his accolade and tips for other student journalists. .
You have won three The Heralds Student Press Awards; How do you feel?
It’s very good. I’m happy that I’ve won them. But obviously, it’s kind of like, it’s just that work isn’t really done, you know, you have to kind of next step is getting a job and kind of get into the field.
How do you find stories? Decide what is going to be a good story.
No, I think it’s definitely a question of trying to cultivate a relationship with sources. For example, if we’re writing on something about the local council, you’re gonna really need to have at least several different people you can speak to who can give you kind of a lowdown of what’s happening.
So, whoever that might be, when it comes to stuff at the university, for example, you really want to make sure you have good connections with staff and students.
If some issues do come up, you can reach out to them for comment. You can get some sort of inside information. And so, it’s really about cultivating those relationships to make sure people know that they can trust you to tell the stories. That way, you’re able to get a bit more context.
How important is building your contact list?
It’s probably one of the most important things you can do.
Obviously, that comes in a variety of ways. If you do stuff on social media and post things on there, or you have a kind of online presence, that’s really helpful.
When you are trying to get jobs or get more work experience, it’s really about if they’ve heard of you – they’re much more likely to give you something than if they’ve not heard of you before.
That’s actually happened to me in the past. When I was kind of a young, well, I say young, I mean, like, two years ago, as a journalist, I asked people, ‘hey, you know, is there any way I can get a work experience?’ I asked all these people, and I never heard back from any of them.
Then the year after, when I’ve done a lot of work [covering] local, council stories, that sort of stuff – they then knew a bit about my work. And they’re very keen to have me in for a bit.
At the end of the day, it really is about who you know. But I think it doesn’t necessarily need to be pre-existing contacts. Like, I came here from the US, but I didn’t know anyone from anywhere.
Rejection – how do you deal with it when people you have contacted for an interview refuse or simply do not get back to you?
Yeah, that’s a really good question, because, it does happen, right? People just won’t get in touch. They’ll just ignore you.
But I guess, at the end of the day, it’s like, just trying to find a different angle, if you can, and move on. And if you can’t, well, that’s too bad.
But a lot of times, you need to kind of speak to the press and kind of get their position out there. I don’t think it’s as challenging as it may seem at first. I mean, it really depends on, again, like pre-existing contacts with people.
And if they know who you are, they’ll be a lot more willing to kind of chat to you and things. You always want people to get in touch with you and kind of share their thoughts and stuff. When they don’t, you feel a bit, oh, why did they do that? But I mean, you can’t let it get to you too much. Otherwise, you’re just going to keep kind of worrying about it. And that’s not really good for anyone.
Could you offer some advice to students who are shy and would like to become journalists?
I think it’s tricky, right? People’s personalities are different. I think when it comes to people who are a bit more shy, it’s just kind of maybe working yourself into it a little bit.
At the end of the day, you’re gonna have to kind of talk to people face-to-face, but also like phone calls or emails. You don’t necessarily have to be confrontational from the get-go if that makes sense. You can kind of ease your way into it. I mean, people just have different styles as well, but I think it’s more important that you do just have those interpersonal relationships.
It can give you a bit more connections with people. It really is the quality of your writing and kind of how you can kind of get stories and things. I think it definitely has been helpful, in my perspective.
What kind of quality do you believe to have been most helpful in achieving success?
It’s really just a question of being stubborn and dogged, if that makes sense. Like, if someone tells me, ‘oh, we’re not going to give you this information, or oh, we’re not going to tell you this’, I’m very much like, okay, I’m just going to keep working.
The pursuit of story is probably my biggest thing. Just keep digging – have a nose for what’s going on. It’s that determination, I guess, personally.
I think a lot of it is cultivating relationships with people and making sure they’re keen to talk. I mean, it’s different for everyone.
Do you have a golden rule that you like to follow?
I did my thesis on this – a kind of ethical perspective on journalists. There’s a quote by an early 20th-century journalist from America, who essentially said that journalism is there to afflict the comfortable, and comfort the afflicted. So, for those who are marginalized and need help, we’re there for them.
We’re able to provide our voices as a conduit for making their voices heard. But also, for those who are empowered and oppress people, we’re there as a big check against their negative actions, as a voice for the people.
Could you give some tips to students who would like to achieve similar success?
I think that the big thing would be – write as much as you can.
Definitely work as much as you can, do whatever you can to sort of get your work out there and then make sure you publicise it as well. Obviously, it’s really great if you have lots of work, but if no one’s able to see it, what’s really the point?
Make sure that you can post on social media regularly and have a nice online presence. People don’t know who you are, and they’re much less likely to give you, work experience.
It’s about making a really robust effort while you’re in university or at that college before you leave.
There’s always so many stories to cover. And I think that was actually something that really was good.
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