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Maybe he’s the ego-buster journalism students need. About a month ago, a parody account called “Guy at your J-school” began tweeting insights into life, with posts that range from delusional to chokingly smug.
No doubt, “Guy at your J-school” hits notes that can make any jaded reporter sneer. The caricature might even cause some to reflect on their own rosy beginnings. Either way, the account’s 5,630 followers suggest it’s resonating with at least some portion of the Fourth Estate.
What would society be like without story-tellers? Just a disparate set of people, confused, unable to interpret reality, bumping into stuff
— Guy at your J-School (@JschoolStrytllr) March 30, 2016
#Pitch: my story on the Mediterranean’s ecosystem requires me to go to St. Tropez, Ibiza, Mallorca, Naples. All for 6 weeks each, preferably
— Guy at your J-School (@JschoolStrytllr) April 21, 2016
*spends 1st semester of J-School exclusively writing articles about dry city council meetings in the “gonzo” style of Hunter S. Thompson*
— Guy at your J-School (@JschoolStrytllr) April 4, 2016
Anyone who’s spent time at a J-school may have endured this painful lack of self-awareness, in themselves or others. It’s not that journalism students are foolish or narcissistic. Rather, the decision to go into debt for an unstable and taxing career demands an extraordinary belief in journalism’s power to better the world. It’s a wonderful conviction, and one that bonds the members of this tribe. But that sense of purpose may be a bit inflated on the college campus, where the harsh realities and limitations of the business are mostly conceptual.
My Mom says that as a baby my first words were a mesmerizing anecdotal lede about the remarkable journey of life I was about to embark on
— Guy at your J-School (@JschoolStrytllr) March 30, 2016
Saddest day of my life was my grandma’s funeral. Halfway through my tascam ran out of battery and wiped my data. A journalistic catastrophe
— Guy at your J-School (@JschoolStrytllr) April 12, 2016
It’s so arduous concisely describing the complexity of my job to people at parties. Sometimes I just say “I’m in the truth industry”
— Guy at your J-School (@JschoolStrytllr) April 19, 2016
“Guy at your J-school” is at his best, though, when he discusses the disenfranchised communities he covers. In those ramblings, he’s the savior of the helpless.
I give voice to the voiceless. The voiceless find perfect articulation in my writing. They do not need their own media. Simply my columns
— Guy at your J-School (@JschoolStrytllr) April 13, 2016
I’m not working class, but through my stories on poverty, I basically am. That’s how it works. I know their pain. I have written about it
— Guy at your J-School (@JschoolStrytllr) April 6, 2016
I walk into an destitute community. The people see me. They weep with joy. They know their story will be told, in a four-part podcast series
— Guy at your J-School (@JschoolStrytllr) April 11, 2016
That nails-on-the-chalkboard display of ego reinforces the importance of humility. And that’s a good refresher for any journalist.
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