The Pinion partners with Civil Beat to give staffers professional knowledge

Jane Lavea, Web Co-Editor

Writers from McKinley High School Pinion visited the Civil Beat newsroom in Kaimuki in October to explore, compare, and get ideas for their own newsroom.
Presenting were Alia Wong, who was a long-time intern at Civil Beat before landing her position as a reporter, and Eric Pape, who is a deputy editor at Civil Beat.
Pape has worked as a journalist on five continents with publications such as Newsweek, The Daily Beast, The Los Angeles Times, and Foreign Policy
The Civil Beat newsroom was organized yet chaotic. Everything was neat except for the individual desk of each writer. The Pinion staffers took notes on how to make their newsroom look more sophisticated.
The kind of ideas that they got for their newsroom is being organized, a comfort zone, and having a lot of space for ideas and writing.
Pape advised students on how to become a great news writer. He said, “To pencil out your ideas, it’s good to get off the computer.”
Writers are often stuck to the computer. Pape said you could pencil out your ideas anywhere, on post it notes, the white board, or anything that you look at every day to remind you.
Wong also explained how each of them has their own personal space to work, allowing them to get comfortable and get their work done.
Pinion videographer Austin Watkins asked Pape what to do when the person you’re interviewing does not want to talk to you. Pape said that he should convince them that he is serious with his work, show them that he is experienced, and try to be vulnerable.
He also advised that anytime you interview someone, make sure that you are prepared. Know everything about your topic, be competitive, humorous and sensitive. “Have a game face, be professional, and be sensitive,” Pape said.