Bryce Benson

December 2008 graduate

News-Editorial option

Department of Journalism

California State University, Chico

Q. How have your perceptions of journalism changed between when you started the program and now?

A. Coming into to the journalism program I thought the state of American journalism was despicable. Having been in the program at Chico state for three years--all the while becoming more interested in the field and following current events more rigorously--those beliefs have only been strengthened. We live in a country that sponsors terrorism around the world.  We live in a fascist state laying the foundations for one world government and martial law, yet the headlines are about Hollywood whores and steroids in sports. What about the corrupt political whores selling this country to the central banks and the steroid-using police that taser grandmothers? Journalism is pathetic. 

Q. Was journalism what you expected it to be?

A. No. I thought I would be in classes full of inquisitive students hoping to make a difference in the world. Instead I found myself surrounded by the same apathetic "Good Germans" you’d expect to find in a business class.

Q. How have your goals changed?

A. My goals haven’t changed. I want to be president or dictator, whatever the title is by the time I’m old enough, of this God-forsaken place.

Q. What has been the most beneficial course in the journalism program, and why?

A. "Writing for Mass Media" is the only journalism course necessary. After that, the coursework is redundant and common sense learning. Good writers should take writing for mass media and then major in history, political science or economics.

Q. What course had the most surprising impact on your potential career options?

A. "Writing for Mass Media." The first story I ever wrote was published as a cover story for the Chico News & Review in June, 2006. I’ve worked for them ever since.

Q. If you could change one thing about the journalism program at Chico State, what would it be?

A. I’d create an admissions test to get into the journalism program and set the bar real high. Journalism has too important of a role in society to have university journalism programs teaching students things they should have learned in middle school. So, make a test that allows students who already know how to write become good journalists.

Q. What extra-curricular activities (e.g., clubs, internships, study abroad) have helped shape your worldview and preparation for the “real” world?

A. I’ve worked for the Chico News & Review and the Fort Myers News-Press. Neither helped shape my worldview.  My worldview has been shaped by the Internet and reading what the news corporations won’t print. For example: www.infowars.com

Q. What is your minor and how does it fit with your employment goals?

A. My minor is political science. 

Q. Do you feel equipped to go into the workforce?

A. Yes. I felt equipped before I came to college. Four years in college has only delayed that process, but I understand that you have to prove to the Man that you fit in his decrepit fascist state.

Q. What qualities does a journalist embody?

A. A journalist is an independent thinker and knows the difference of learning what to think versus learning how to think. They are skeptical. They are a patriot not a pathetic jingoist.

Q. What are your perceptions of the future of journalism?

A. The Internet is a wonderful tool and society’s best tool to fight the New World Order. Corporations are so engrained in society that journalism will always be corrupt and weak. Things aren’t going to change. They will get a lot worse before they get better.

Q. Where do you see yourself in five years?

A. A working stiff.

Information compiled by Christina Bullock

Cat Bytes is a student-produced publication of the Department of Journalism / California State University, Chico