The Fieldston News Club doesn’t just write and publish the Fieldston News, it is also a learning experience that teaches its members about journalism and hopefully, prepares its writers for any future endeavors they may have in journalism. Two recent editors of the Fieldston news are now fully involved in the newspapers at their respective colleges/universities, and have utilized their writing and editorial experiences at The Fieldston News to become prominent journalists.
Eleanor Paasche, a previous Editor for the Fieldston News, graduated from Fieldston in 2016, and currently attends Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Eleanor immediately knew she wanted to write for the Bowdoin Orient because it is the “nation’s longest running weekly collegiate newspaper.” Eleanor was hired as both a news reporter and a section editor. “I am responsible for coming up with and producing creative content as well as reaching out to community members and assigning articles” she said. Although Eleanor described the workload to be immense, she also said, “it is actually a really fun, intense environment.” For her, the Fieldston News served as a gateway to college journalism, as she learned how to conduct interviews and take notes. “The Fieldston News, but mainly Bob Montera, taught me that journalists should never apologize for exposing the truth and using journalistic integrity,” Eleanor said. “If you are writing an important or controversial story, someone is always going to be offended, that’s just the nature of the trade.”
David Fishman, class of 2015, was another Editor of the Fieldston News. He is now a student at Northwestern University and is the assistant city editor for The Daily Northwestern. As assistant city editor, he is responsible for covering everything that happens in Chicago and Evanston. When asked about the difference between The Fieldston News and a college newspaper such as The Daily Northwestern, he specified the main differences to be how often the papers are published as well as their size. “The Fieldston News is published biweekly, while we put out a newspaper every single weekday. Our operation is also significantly larger, with about 80 active members and two full-time paid employees who help put out a paper,” he said. The Fieldston News was extremely influential in David’s choice to pursue journalism in college. When writing under the guidance of Mr. Montera, he “learned how to write objectively, question everything and capture all perspectives.” These are skills that David now uses not only when writing for The Daily Northwestern, but also when doing freelance work for outlets like USA Today, U.S. News & World Report and the New York Daily News.
