Try your hand at journalism by researching and writing articles for your school paper! What issues would you like to cover? 

Advice

Write for your school newspaper!

Join a band, take a class, or learn from a friend. What instrument are you most interested in learning? Why? 

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Learn to play an instrument!

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Practice your writing.

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Collect and analyze facts about newsworthy events by interview, investigation, or observation. Report and write stories for newspaper, news magazine, radio, or television.

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Artistic

Second Interest High-Point

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Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

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Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

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Revise work to meet editorial approval or to fit time or space requirements.

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YouTube

Music Critic

♪♪ ♪♪ (female #2) Engine oil. [thunder] [rain] (female #3) I think one of the biggest things, especially in the last couple days, was seeing Candace totally come around on the music thing. (female #2)  I knew the interview  with Keith Stegall was going to make or break my interest to go further in the music industry and it totally made it. (female #3)  His name is Keith Stegall. He's Alan Jackson's producer, and he's had a lot of success there. (Keith) I grew up in a musical family, so music never seemed like an option to me, because it was so much part of my life. I never considered doing it as a living. It was something I did for enjoyment. (female #3)  We're  third years at the University of Chicago, and we're all 21 years old. This trip is about us hitting the road, going from L.A. to New York, interviewing people who've taken interesting paths because we don't know what to do with our lives. Our first question for you would be what were you like at our age, at 21? (Keith)  Oh goodness... when I was your age, at 21, I was married and I got a bachelor's of religion, with the intention to go to grad school and get a master's in divinity and then get a PhD in philosophy of religion so that I could teach. And I had this guy that was my advisor who was a religion professor there-- really smart intuitive kind of guy. And I'd been in school maybe three weeks and I just couldn't quite catch my catch my rhythm Something just didn't feel quite right, so I went and sat down with my advisor. And-- [coughs] I said, "I'm not sure what I'm doing, I don't feel settled. "I know it's only three weeks and I haven't given it enough time. I just don't feel right." And he said, "Now, what are you here for?" "I'm getting my master's in divinity and I'd like to get my Ph.D. to teach philosophy." "So you want to be a philosopher?" he said. "That's what  I'd like to do." He said, "Do you have any idea what the job market is for a philosopher?" And he said,  "Is there anything else you're passionate about? That you love to do?" And I said, "I love to  write songs." And he said, "If I were you, I'd drop out of class tomorrow and go write songs." And it's the best advice I ever got from anybody. And, probably, a lot of people would've said "He's a complete moron." But he was very perceptive, and I guess he saw, that's the one thing I was passionate about. So the next morning I was getting my drop slips and getting out of class and preparing to come back to Louisiana, where I came from, and to start making trips to Nashville. Sometimes you get those little nudges in your life in the right direction. And he's certainly-- I owe the guy a lot because I'd probably be teaching philosophy somewhere. How was it when you first started to break into the industry? It was very tough.  I think it's tougher now, but back then it was very tough. It took literally four years of meeting people and things slowly beginning to turn until you write that one song that somebody goes, "That's really good. Have you got any more?" I guess my  position is: We all go to the University of Chicago, which is a very academic school, and I don't know-- I had pressure from my parents to go into law school, do something really rewarding, but since I was little, it's always been the music, and now I've been seriously considering just trying to do something in the industry, but I don't know where to start or where to funnel my interests into. I do believe you've got to follow your dreams. If I hadn't done that, I'd probably be a real miserable person. But it's just... it's hard advice-- It's hard to give that advice to somebody because you want to go, "Be responsible!" But there's no shortcut to get there. I think what becomes more obvious as you go along-- you'll start seeing things in your life that were strengths for you, and they become like little canals that take you there. Sometimes you've gotta look right under your nose and a lot of times you don't. I don't know  what I love. I don't have a passion that I can identify. So as I approach my graduation, it's very daunting because-- Yeah, yeah. (Diana) What would your advice be in life? I think I'd look back at my life and think about the things that you did that you enjoyed doing-- that were fun, that were gratifying, that made you feel a sense of accomplishment. And there's gotta be those instances in your life that that happened, so you just try to try to look at that. (Keith) I've got three daughters, so they're all coming up into the world. I want them all to dream big, to be responsible, but while you've got the time, when it's on your side, follow some dreams, or follow one. Take the shot, try it, because you want-- 20 years down the road, you might not get it back. So go for it while you can. (Candace)  Someone not interested in the music industry could take a lot away from him too, but it's just more  personal for me. I kinda get choked up actually, I'm a little like... I don't know. It was just encouraging how you should just try it out. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. And what Sharon Lee said about the worst that happens: you'd be flipping burgers, and you'd still be doing it in Nashville. (Candace)  I always knew I was really into the music thing, but it never seemed like an option, just something I could dream about because I have to do something practical, but it's okay to just go for it. What's the worst thing that could happen? I think that might sum it all up: What's the worst that could happen? You have to go for it; you'll never have this time back, ever. I think that's what I'd walk away from-- That's a really valuable lesson. I don't know if I necessarily would have thought about that before because the environment I was in, and the pressure I was getting from other people, people don't tell you that. ♪♪ ♪♪ (female #4) Oh, they merge over,  so really slow now. [RV scrapes bridge] ♪♪ (female #4)  I've never seen buildings taller than... I want to say... I actually don't know how high, but like...  this is way beyond tall, from what  I've seen. ♪♪ This school was founded over 25 years ago by Rita Simo, a Juilliard-trained classical pianist originally from the Dominican Republic. (female #4) In 1995 the school found a permanent home in the heart of Uptown. Its building was designed specifically for the school and built with the financial contributors, donated labor, and materials of many generous supporters. Most of the students are lower-income kids who live near the school, located in the hardscrabble uptown neighborhood, and local teenagers and adults too. But there are a number of kids whose parents drive them in from other parts of the city and the suburbs, not just because the lessons are free, but because the quality of the instruction. (Rita)  I was born in the  Dominican Republic many, many, many years ago...ancient history. San Francisco de Macoris was a very nice town, but it was the Third World. We had no running water in the-- If you wanted running water you have a tank, and things like that. I mean, we were not poor, but it's a poor country. So my mother went to visit the family - my cousin - and when all of the old ladies were talking, and I just went to the piano. I'd never seen a piano! So I was  three or four... I went into the piano, I started punching, and I started playing, singing it... That's what they tell me; I don't remember anyway. [laughter] And so I started taking lessons, and then pretty soon I was giving concerts. And it went from one thing to another: I went to the  National Conservatory. And...I don't want to build myself up, but this is my life; I did a lot of concerts. Trujillo was in power, and I had to play for a lot of his cronies, which I hated it. But he was a dictator; you don't say no, you just do. And so eventually there was... there was a new palace for fine arts that was built, and they were going to have an inauguration, and they decided to do all of the concertos of Johann Sebastian Bach. And I played one for one piano, and I was one of the two piano, and one for the three piano. It turned out we saw the celebration for the inauguration of the building, but they did it as a competition, and I won the competition and the prize was to go out to study to another country. So I came to New York, the Juilliard School of Music, and I studied there. When I understood that in this country, as rich as it was... if you wanted to learn, you needed to pay. That's not fair...that's not what democracy is about. I mean, all of these classes and lessons that I had in the Dominican Republic were free because it was in the National Conservatory. And even though Trujillo was not a good man, he did believe that everybody should have a chance to develop their talents. So I promised myself I was going to do that when I got organized. People kept telling me that I needed to be involved with an organization in order to do this. I didn't know any organizations outside the Catholic Church, so I became a nun. Then when I finished the study of becoming a nun and I became a nun, they sent me to teach at Rosary College, and I kept telling the the head nun, "But what about the music school? What about the music school?" I finally realized it's not going to happen, so I left. Out of the clear blue, this Jesuit priest was going to give a course at the Catholic Worker House here and it was called, "The Theology of Hope." When I saw that, I said, "This is for me." I mean, you cannot be more despairing than, you know, putting all these years into a convent and realizing this is not going to be the way. So I told them my story and that was the first time that nobody said to me, "You're crazy." So I decided that's it; I'm going to go for it. My thing was that the classes are free, but they're not free of commitment. So you have to come prepared to your lesson, and you have to practice everyday. If you don't practice everyday, you not going to get anywhere, because nothing is coming in a silver platter. It seems there was a lot of things you had to go through, and yet you kept going. What was it about what you wanted to achieve that didn't stop you? When you have a dream, you're going to work for that dream no matter what. You cannot be too...dramatic. Well, that's the way it is. I had no idea whether I was going to survive or not. But do you know whether you know how to swim unless you jump in the water? That's my philosophy: You jump in, you try. At least if it doesn't succeed, you can say,  "At least I tried." I'm just... I have some, like... Ask! Ask and you shall receive. [laughter] Did you ever experience any fear along your path? (Rita)  I was petrified, every time. Being petrified is part of everything, but you don't stop doing it. You're scared to death, but you keep going. You fail and you try it another way. I failed! I went to the convent. I gave the convent a lot of years of my life. In a sense, that was a failure, but it wasn't a failure. It was stepping stone to the next thing, because you always learn something. You're the only that will consider it a failure. It's not a failure;  it's a change of direction. It's the twists and turns of the road. (male #1) People say all these expressions all the time: "What's the harm in asking?" And you think, "Okay, whatever; that's not really that good of advice." But then she's all,  "What's the harm in asking? You don't have it now, you ask, and they say no... you don't have it afterwards." You didn't lose anything; you're exactly where you are. But if you ask,  and you get it, you're somewhere where you need to be. I think we've known that from trying to book interviews: If we didn't ask, how are we gonna get to speak to them? (Cristina)  For me, she helped  make it more, like... Not just interviews, but it's like... If you want anything in life, just ask. (Rita) Thank you so much, guys! (Gloria) Thank you so much. (Rita) This was wonderful, thank you! (Rita) And there's nothing, for instance, that made me more furious than people that are, "Oh! You're doing such a great job for those poor kids." "Well, no sir, I'm doing a great job, but they are great kids." Don't give me this crap. I'm not a do-gooder; I'm giving them what they deserve because they're citizens of this country that said that we are all equal. ♪♪ (Gloria) But this is 51564 Disco Drive or something. [laughter] (Bernardo) Discotheque. (Gloria) See? 'Cause there's houses on top, but how do you get to them? (Bernardo) Hi! Jim, it's me, Bernardo. (Bernardo) Hey, um, I think we're a little bit lost. What was your address again? 3512, 'Mana! So we're what? Two blocks off? Three? Four? (Gloria) We're never going to find that one. (Gloria) 28...22. (Bernardo) It's gonna be, like, right there. (Gloria) It goes down  by fives. (Bernardo) There it is. (male #2) I was always a passionate music fan. I bought millions of CDs,  I listened to music voraciously, I played in a rock band, I played records on college radio, and I wrote about it. To me it was all part of the same impulse. I was a fanatical fan, I had fanatical opinions to inflict on somebody. When I was younger than you guys - when I was a senior in a Catholic high school in Jersey City, New Jersey - I had a journalism class, and I was driving my journalism teacher crazy with all these questions about, you know: How do you become a critic as opposed to a journalist? What is investigative reporting in the wake of Watergate? And finally he said, "Look, you're driving me crazy. "Stop coming to class. "Go interview a hero in your chosen field, write it up and...and you've got your A." So I picked this guy named Lester Bangs, and I spent a day interviewing him. He was a hero of mine who was probably the best rock critic I'd ever read. If you guys saw "Almost Famous," Philip Seymour Hoffman  plays Lester Bangs, And Cameron Crowe, the director of that movie, he's the young kid in the movie, and he met Lester when he was 17 years old, in 1972, and we had very similar experiences, where this guy who was a hero of ours encouraged us to follow our dreams and do the same job he was doing. And from that moment when I was a senior in high school on, I knew I wanted to write about rock 'n roll. The first five years I was a reporter I had to write about city council meetings, and more dramatic stuff like watching dead mobsters get fished out of the river. But I was writing, and so I wasn't necessarily lucky enough to be writing what I wanted to write about; I wanted to write about music, but I was getting paid to write, and that was enough of a thrill. And I stuck with it. You'd said you always knew that you wanted to be involved in being a critic. Did you have goals set or did you just take steps in that direction? Well, I just started writing. I didn't care that I wasn't gonna get paid or wasn't going to get published. [emphatically] "I love this music, I want to write about it. "I'm going type it up myself and go to Kinkos and make copies and put out this little sheet and hand it out." And that's how I started. So when kids say to me - and I get a lot of email from high school kids and college kids - you know: "I want to do this, how do I start?" I just tell them,  "You just start. What's stopping you?" You start emailing your friends reviews of the album you just bought, or you email your friends reviews of the show you went to last night, you know? Don't wait for somebody to tell you, "Yes, you can do this." You just do it. It's pretty cool the way you were able to reach out without any direction. After you spoke with Lester...he didn't give you any directions as far as like what you needed to accomplish, just that you could do it? No, he just said you start writing, you know? And that's how he started. In 1968, '69, Rolling Stone was a brand new magazine, and he was reading it and thought most of the reviewers sucked, and he wrote them a letter that said, "You're publishing piles of crap. "I'm a hundred times better than anybody you're publishing. You should publish my stuff." And at that point, Rolling Stone was still an open-- today they're never going to publish you. It's a horrible place. I worked at Rolling Stone  for a year. I was an editor there; it was the worst job I ever had. Theoretically I was supposed to be at the top rung of my profession. I was making a ridiculous amount of money: $85,000 a year, and I was back in New York. I was the Deputy Music Editor of Rolling Stone, but I hated my job, because theoretically I had the power as an editor to send the best writer of my generation to Iceland to live with Bjork for three weeks and write the ultimate Bjork story, but instead we're covering crap like Art Garfunkel's album. I mean, success is relative, you know? That's a bigger publication, and I was making more money but I didn't enjoy what I was doing. At the Sun Times I love what I'm doing. Anyway, Lester just said start doing it and don't take no for an answer, and you send in your reviews-- If the first six magazines reject you, you send it to the seventh. So when you had your interest in music and you knew you wanted to do something as far as writing, how did you make that connection into doing music...critic? Well, like I said earlier, I was obsessed with music. To me, it seemed obvious that I was much better at writing than I was at playing music.  I played music for enjoyment, and I write, and I enjoy and love my job,  but that's what I know I'm better at.   Nobody's ever going pay me to play the drums the way they'll pay me to put out a book, but I don't mind. I get as much pleasure playing the drums-- I've got a gig tomorrow night at the Double Doors with a band called Vortis. And the frontman is a 65-year-old political philosophy professor at Purdue University who's written 23 books...  65 years old. On paper he's not supposed to be fronting a rock band, but if you're going to live by those rules of what you're supposed to do, you know... let somebody tell you what you can't do, then there's... there's not much point in living. Whenever you told people you were gonna start doing street performance, did they say, "You can't make money off that?" Basically, it was just me sticking to what I wanted to do and not let nobody else change my mind. You're doing a great job just exploring so many options, and that's probably what you should be doing. (male #3) I used to feel I was deprived growing up because nobody told me what to do. But then I realized, as I got older, how blessed I was because nobody told me what not to do. (female announcer) To watch more interviews from the road, and listen to the music that keeps us driving, visit www.roadtripnation.com. Online you can learn more about the Movement, and how to bring the Experience into your classroom. ♪♪ ♪♪ 

<p>Continuing in Nashville, the Southern Route team interviews Keith Stegall, singer/songwriter/producer. In Chicago, the Central route team interviews Rita Simo, founder of People's Music School and Jim Derogatis, pop music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.</p>

Nashville - Chicago

I was always a passionate music fan. I bought millions of CD's. I listened to music voraciously. I played in a rock band. I played records on college radio and I wrote about it. To me it was all part of the same impulse. I was a fanatical fan. I had fanatical opinions to inflict on somebody. When I was younger than you guys, when I was a senior in high school in a Catholic high school in Jersey City, New Jersey, I had a journalism class. And I driving my journalism teacher crazy when I was a senior with all these questions about how do you become a critic as opposed to a journalist? And, what is investigative reporting in the wake of Watergate? And finally he said look, you're driving me crazy, stop coming to class. Go interview a hero in your chosen field, write it up, and you've got your A. So I picked this guy named Lester Bangs. And I spent a day interviewing him. He was a rock critic who was a hero of mine. He was probably the best rock critic I'd ever read. If you guys saw Almost Famous, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays Lester Banks. And Cameron Crowe, the director of that movie, he's the young kid in the movie, and he met Lester when he was 17 years old in 1972. And we both had very similar experiences where this guy who was a hero of ours encouraged us to follow our dreams and do the same job he was doing. And pretty much from that moment when I was a senior in high school on, I knew that I wanted to write about rock and roll. The first five years I was a reporter, I had to write about city council meetings and some more dramatic stuff like watching dead mobsters getting fished out of the river, but I was writing. So I wasn't necessarily lucky enough to be writing about what I wanted to write about, I wanted to write about music. But I was getting paid to write, and that was enough of a thrill. And I stuck with it. >> You had said that you always knew that you wanted to be involved in being a critic. Did you have goals set or did you just kind of take steps in that direction? >> Well, I just started writing. I didn't care that I wasn't gonna get paid or that I wasn't gonna get published. I love this music, I want to write about it, I'm gonna type it up myself and go to Kinko's and make copies and put out this little sheet and hand it out. And that's how I started writing about it. So when kids say to me, and I get a lot of email from high school kids and college kids, you know, I wanna do this, how do I start? I just tell them, you just start. What's stopping you? You start emailing your friends reviews of the album you just bought. Or you email your friends reviews of the show that you went to last night. Don't wait for somebody to tell you, yes, you can do this. You just do it. >> It's pretty cool that you were able to reach it without any direction, well I guess after you spoke with Lester, that he didn't give you any direction as far as what you needed to accomplish just that you could do it? >> No, he just said you just start writing, you know? And that's how he started. In 1968, 69, Rolling Stone was a brand new magazine and he was reading it and he thought that most of the reviewers sucked. And he wrote them a letter that said, you're publishing piles of crap, I'm 100 times better than anybody you're publishing. You should publish my stuff. And at that point, Rolling Stone was still an open. Today, mind you, they're never gonna publish you. It's a horrible place. And I worked at Rolling Stone for a year. I was an editor there. It was the worst job I ever had. I mean theoretically I was supposed to be at the top rung of my profession. I was making a ridiculous amount of money, $85,000 a year, and I was back in New York. And I was the Deputy Music Editor of Rolling Stone. But I hated my job. Because theoretically I had the power, as an editor, to send the best writer of my generation to Iceland to live with Bjork for three weeks and write the ultimate Bjork story. But instead we're covering crap like Art Garfunkel's album. I mean, success is relative, you know? That's a bigger publication. And I was making more money. But I didn't enjoy what I was doing. At the Sun Times I love what I'm doing. But anyway, Lester just said you start doing it and you don't take no for an answer and you send your reviews. If the first six magazines that you send them to reject you, you send it to the seventh. >> So when you had your interest in music and you knew you wanted to do something as far as writing, how did you make that connection into doing music critic? Well, like I said earlier, I was obsessed with music. To me it seemed obvious that I was much better at writing than I was at playing music. I play music for enjoyment. And I write, and I enjoy and love my job, but that's what I know I'm better at. Nobody's ever gonna pay me to play the drums the way that they will pay me to put out a book. But I don't mind, I get as much pleasure playing the drums. I've got a gig tomorrow night at the Doubledoors with a band called Vortus. And the front man is a 65 year old political philosophy professor at Purdue University who's written 23 books. 65 years old. I mean on paper he's not supposed to be fronting a rock band, but if you're gonna live by those rules of what you're supposed to do and let somebody tell you what you can't do then there's not much point in living. [MUSIC] 

Interview

Well like I said earlier, I was obsessed with music. To me it seemed obvious that I was much better at writing than I was at playing music. I play music for enjoyment. And I write, and I enjoy and love my job, but that's what I know I'm better at. Nobody's ever gonna pay me to play the drums the way that they will pay me to put out a book. But I don't mind, I get as much pleasure playing the drums, I've got a gig tomorrow night at the Double Door. It's with a band called Vortice, and the front man is a 65 year old political philosophy professor at Purdue University who's written 23 books. 65 years old, I mean on paper he's not supposed to be fronting a rock band, but if you're gonna live by those rules of what you're supposed to do, and let somebody tell you what you can't do, then there's not much point in living. 

Talent

Obsessed With Music

When I was younger than you guys, when I was a senior in high school, in a Catholic high school in Jersey City in New Jersey. I had a journalism class and I was driving my journalism teacher crazy, when I was a senior, with all these questions about how do you become a critic as opposed to a journalist? And what is investigative reporting in the wake of Watergate? And finally he said, look you're driving me crazy. Stop coming to class. Go interview a hero in your chosen field. Write it up and you've got your A. So I picked this guy named Lester Bangs. 

Determination

Interviewing A Hero

But, anyway, Lester just said, you start doing it, and you don't take no for an answer and you send your reviews. If the first six magazines that you send them to reject you, then you send them to the seventh. 

Perseverance

Just Start Doing It

When I was a senior in high school, I had a journalism class, and I was driving my journalism teacher crazy, when I was a senior, with all of these questions about, you know, "How do you become a critic as opposed "to a journalist?" and "What is investigative reporting?" in the wake of Watergate. And finally, he said, "Look, "you're driving me crazy. Stop coming to class. "Go interview a hero in your chosen field, "write it up, and uh, and you've got your A." So I picked this guy named Lester Bangs, and I spent a day interviewing him. He was a rock critic who was a hero of mine. He was probably the best, uh, rock critic I'd ever read. Pretty much from that moment, when I was senior in high school, on, I knew that I wanted to write about rock 'n' roll. I just started writing. You know, I didn't care that I wasn't gonna get paid or that I wasn't gonna get published. You know, I love this music, I wanna write about it, you know, and you don't take "No" for an answer, and you send your reviews. If-if the first six magazines that you send them to reject you, you send them to the seventh. 

Jim DeRogatis

Music Critic

Videos

Jim DeRogatis

Milestones

Education

Career

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

My work combines:

Journalism

Music

Being Creative

Interviewed By

Beyond Comfort