By Michael Pedro & Ella Poudrier
On Wednesday, February 19, Western New England University alumna Payton North returned to speak at The Westerner’s guest speaker event. Settled in their seats, many people eagerly awaited North’s presentation, “From Campus to Career: Breaking into Journalism.” North aimed to inspire the audience, many of which were journalism students or members of The Westerner.
Recently moved to her new position as Director of Communications for the District Attorney’s Office and Hampden County DA Anthony Gulluni, another alumna with two Western New England University degrees, North expressed her long-loved passion for journalism.
Recalling her initial experiences with The Reminder, North discussed the ups and downs that come with the journalism industry, including her interview with The Reminder during her senior year at Western New England University.
“I started working for the Reminder during my senior year of college, and I began as a freelancer. I also had the opportunity to work for the team… I didn’t get the job.” North said.
Not long after, Michael Dobbs of The Reminder, who was her boss, reached back out to her, realizing he had made an error in hiring a different applicant. The Reminder was willing to wait for North to be available when she graduated.
“I was offered an assistant editor position after graduation,” North said. “From there, I grew from being the Assistant Editor to the Assistant Managing Editor, to the Managing Editor, and to the Executive Editor, and I was given so many opportunities to grow not only as a journalist but as a person during my time with the company.”
Although the pursuit of such a career sounds glamorous, it is not for the weak. North made it abundantly clear there is more to journalism than the pursuit of storytelling. Exposure to financial instability threatens the livelihood of many media outlets beyond just journalism. In her presentation, North displayed statistics of companies laying off astounding numbers of employees to keep up with inflation and the decrease in paper media consumption.
It can be a challenging field. North’s speech wasn’t meant to dissuade, but rather inspire students to step up to the challenge. In such a competitive field, forcing oneself out of one’s comfort zone to achieve one’s goal is one significant change North aimed to instill within the audience. The balancing of one’s work life, low starting salaries, harsh criticism, and rejection play a hand in the struggle of maintaining a journalist’s position.
But when asked what keeps her going, North said, “You find that you want to continue working.” North aspired to be a watchdog for the community, giving the people the news they needed to know. As awkward as it sounds, the news is designed to be raw and unfiltered. When the community needs to know something, the paper is there to tell them what happened. North admits it’s an exciting career since you are among the first to know important news in the community, and you aren’t sitting behind a desk all day.
The ties North has to Western New England University run very deep. This past year, she was nominated as the Outstanding Alumnus of the Year by the University. This is just one of the ways North keeps finding herself back around campus.
“I love coming back to Western New England University. I say frequently that Western New England University is like home. I owe so much to this campus, especially Professor Brenda Garton, so every time she asks me to come back and speak to some students, I always say yes,” North said.
North comes back relatively often to speak, although not always on this scale.
“When I was in my former role at The Reminder, I came back a couple of times a year in [Professor Garton-Sjoberg’s classes]. It is great to see students on a similar career path as I am,” North said. “I always get students reaching out for writing opportunities, and it’s always really fun.”
Students were eager to jump on the opportunity to engage with a successful figure such as North, asking questions to better their interviewing prowess and assess the state of journalism. Many walked out with smiles on their faces, and none were without inspiration.
