A VOICE FOR ALL AGGIES
Texas A&M Student Media serves campus, students, offers learning opportunity for future journalists
With alumni working at publications such as The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News, CNN and more, Texas A&M’s student media programs offer students an opportunity to learn practical journalism skills — and have some fun, too.
Consisting of The Battalion, the newspaper, and The Aggieland, the yearbook, Texas A&M Student Media offers students the opportunity to work for either publication — or both — in a variety of functions. The staff is made up of students from all different backgrounds, across every major and classification. Both publications are entirely student run, with final approval being left entirely up to the editorial staff and the editor-in-chief.
Editor-in-chief of The Battalion for the 2017-2018 school year and English senior Josh McCormack said working for the paper offers students an opportunity to learn and practice journalism.
“Working for The Battalion, especially if you would like to pursue journalism as a career, gives you the opportunity to practice what you are learning in the classroom,” McCormack said. “Whether it is interviewing, writing on deadline or simply working in an office setting, gaining practical application is something that couples wonderfully with your studies. When you look towards the next step in your career, you get to walk away with a respected addition to your resume and physical samples of your work.”
Beyond writing stories, The Battalion hires photographers, videographers, graphic designers and more to work on staff. The editorial staff of both publications are considered student leaders on campus and the leadership opportunity helps students learn valuable skills, 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 Aggieland editor-in-chief Anthony Pangonas said.
By Sam King
“Working as the editor-in-chief of the Aggieland
and being a student leader on campus has helped me work with so many people across campus and has opened many doors to relationships I’ve made with students, professors and my staff members.
We all work together to create a book and product that we are proud of and through this we learn, connect and share skills that we can put forward to our lives in the future.”
No experience is required to work at either publication and editors are ready to help instruct and guide students as they learn the skills required to put together a compelling publication, said Alexis Will, 2016-2017 and
2017-2018 multimedia editor for The Battalion and telecommunication media studies senior.
“At The Battalion everyone is learning, even the editors, so new members can expect step-by-step instruction on how to write new stories, take photos or create a video,” Will said. “The Battalion also provides other valuable skills like professionalism, time management and communication skills.”
Students can work on a variety of desks and write or photograph a variety of subjects. One of the most popular desks is the sports desk, which covers everything from football to baseball throughout the year. Angel Franco, 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 sports editor for The Battalion and telecommunication media studies junior, said the best part of working for the sports desk is the coverage opportunities.
“Getting to cover elite teams on a daily basis,” Franco said. “You get to experience a lot of the high profile games. I remember being in awe when Tennessee came to town during football season and being able be on the sidelines in the overtime madness was just amazing. It’s honestly like that for every sport not just football. The exposure is huge for aspiring sports journalists.”
In addition to sports, reporters can write for the
news, life and arts and science and technology
desks, or work for the photography or multimedia desks, which handle the visual aspects of The Battalion, including videos, photos and a podcast.
For The Aggieland, staff members come together to capture the moments that shape every year at Texas A&M. Students of every background and major come together to write and photograph the sports, traditions and student life that happens everyday on campus.
Both publications have been an important tradition on campus for more than 120 years and have won numerous state and national awards, including the College Media Association’s Best Four-Year Paper of the Year in 2016 and the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association’s Overall Excellence award in 2016.
Student media adviser Doug Pils, Class of 1992 and former Battalion editor, has worked at several media organizations including The Associated Press and the San Antonio Express News. Pils said The Battalion provided him with more than just practical skills.
“Working at The Battalion gave me confidence to do many things, including interviewing people, covering news events and how to take that information and put it all together in a story,” Pils said. “The nuts and bolts of producing journalism came with practice, but one of the best things I took away from The Battalion was the relationships with those I worked with and how being part of The Battalion family gave me contacts that helped me find jobs five, 10 and 15 years after graduation.”
Applications for both publications can be picked up in the MSC in suite L400. Any questions regarding working for The Battalion can be emailed to editor@thebatt.com, and any questions about working for The Aggieland can be emailed to aggieland.yearbook@gmail.com.
Interested in working for
The Battalion?
Fill out this application and bring in the requested documentation to L400 in the MSC. Any questions about applying should be directed to editor@thebatt.com. The Battalion is always taking applications.