Brian Duggan - Fall 2006

Brian DugganDespite my best efforts, I figured the best way to explain why I’m working as an intern for the Scripps Howard Foundation Wire is to begin with a cliché: They say you rarely find journalism – it finds you.

So as I sit behind a desk in a newsroom overlooking downtown Washington – the proverbial journalism capital of the world – I think to myself, “How did I wind up here?”

To tell you the truth, I don’t have an easy answer. But I might as well try to rummage one up.

I’ve always enjoyed writing. When asked why I chose to study journalism, I tell people that writing is my only marketable skill. I never really got the hang of the whole number thing, anyway. From starting a neighborhood newspaper for childhood friends when I was 9 years old to becoming the managing editor of my student paper at the University of Nevada, Reno, journalism has always been a part of my life.

Perhaps it was my parents who faithfully had a newspaper on the kitchen table every morning before I headed to school. I often blame my dad for making me such a cynic – ask him about politics and he’ll write you a novel. (I’ve had experienced journalists tell me that cynicism just means having a critical eye. They’re probably right).

It was most likely my interest in politics that got me involved in journalism. But as I began writing at my student newspaper, The Nevada Sagebrush, three years ago, I found that journalism was a much more noble cause. With the power of writing, I could change things for the better – anything from installing a much-needed stoplight near campus to giving those with no voice in society a chance to speak. Journalism, I’ve learned in this short time, is more than just a political watch dog – it watches out for everybody.

So despite long, grueling hours at my campus newspaper and plenty of sleepless nights, I decided to stick with journalism throughout my college career. My friends often question why I decide to stick with journalism, and I usually just tell them I enjoy it. They just raise an eyebrow and chuckle. But as I overlook the streets of Washington and think about what is to come, I know I made the right choice. You know, they also say avoid clichés like the plague. I’ve got lots to learn.

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