Julian Williamson

Transfer student

News-Editorial option

Department of Journalism

California State University, Chico

Q. Prior to attending Chico State, did you have any writing experience or internships that related to journalism?

A. My first journalism experience was fall 2007, at Saddleback College in Orange County, where I did my general education before transferring. I’d been interested in writing and found myself with some time, so I signed on to the college paper, The Lariat, and really enjoyed it. During that semester, I also took my first journalism classes: J101 and J260 while I was writing for The Lariat.

Q. Why did you choose to study at Chico State?

A. I chose Chico State for four main reasons: One, they accepted me, which was a big help in being able to attend classes. The second was that I had a couple high school friends who came here and they seemed to like it. I came up last spring for a week and I kind of fell in love with the small-town feel and the campus environment. Thirdly, it was a lot cheaper to live here than CSU Fullerton or Cal Poly. It’s an act of God to find an apartment in Southern California for less than $800 a month. Lastly, I heard that Chico State had an exceptional program, especially for a Cal State. When I told my journalism professors at Saddleback where I planned to transfer, they all said it was an excellent choice. Since arriving, I can attest that they were right. My classes and professors have been amazing thus far, though more challenging than I’ve ever seen.

Q. Why did you choose journalism as your major?

A. I’m mathematically inept. I loathe repetition and redundancy. I’ve always been an A English student. I love to write. I’m fascinated with learning about how the world works and I’ve always wanted a job that I can do anywhere.

Q. What is your minor?

A. Because I was without guidance or advising before I enrolled here, I didn’t have a chance to even think about a minor. However, I’m interested in the cinema studies minor, but I’m not entirely sure it still exists.

Q. What misconceptions about your journalism major (that your coursework has now cleared up, of course) did you have before you entered the program?

A. I was under the impression that it wouldn’t be all that challenging, considering I wasn’t on the Orion staff this semester. I’m currently taking "Mass Communication Law," "Public Affairs Reporting," "History of American Journalism," "Ethical Problems in Mass Media" and "Magazine Writing." I’ve written somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 papers this semester and not one of them has been published anywhere. I’ve had to study for at least two hours each and every day just to try to keep up with my work and it’s barely working. This semester has been pretty intense, but very informative.

Q. What do you hope to do with your degree?

A. I hope to write for a newspaper or magazine after graduation. I hope to intern summer 2009, at the OC Weekly back home. I haven’t quite decided what field I most prefer, so I can’t give a definite answer like “I’m going to be a columnist for the New Yorker,” or anything like that. I don’t need to be a big-name journalist or someone who’s doing hard-hitting worldly news.

Q. What skills do you think you need to get there?

A. I need more experience. That’s the most important thing for me right now. Any jackass can write well when they need to, but I need to learn how to spot stories, get solid interviews, be pushy but not overbearing, find interesting angles on issues, use creative research sources, etc.

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

A.Well, if it isn’t obvious enough, it seems we’re heading toward a paperless future. I hope this isn’t true, but the falling subscription rates across the country at major publications speak volumes. Also, it saddens me to see it, but we’re also turning into an entertainment-based news country. It appears as though it doesn’t matter what important events happen around the world or what large-scale happenings go on in Washington as long as we know about Lindsay Lohan’s driving record or Ashlee Simpson’s love life.

Information compiled by Megan Foster

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