Disability Writing Gives Teenage Journalists a Head Start

By Adam Modzelesky
Epilepsy Foundation staff
Updated: January 31, 2006

Most coaches don't subscribe to it, college professors advise against it, and editors ignore people who practice it. If there's one thing that hurts the aspiring journalist most, it's specialization.

The days of being a successful one-trick pony are long gone. In today's market, only those who have a healthy array of subject matter in his or her portfolio will gain entry into the journalism profession. Editors demand more from their reporters, hiring only those who demonstrate intelligence, tenacity and versatility.

Therein lies the primary reason why it's of great benefit to teenage journalists to start broadening their portfolios early. Straying away from mainstream subject matter and taking a challenge from time to time is highly advisable. Try reporting on a subject that gets limited amounts of attention, a subject that allows the writer to learn new things and help set a standard for coverage - like disabilities, such as epilepsy.

Writing about disability issues is virtually ignored by rookie and veteran journalists alike, which, in effect, works to a young reporter's advantage. The writer has more room to grab exclusive features, the opportunity to become more marketable for other writing professions and the occasion to discover the negative connotations surrounding those citizens who suffer from disabilities are normal people - not social outcasts.

A teenage reporter has every opportunity to stand out and succeed in his or her journalistic endeavors by writing about disabilities. Just imagine how much more favorably a hiring editor will view a portfolio that not only demonstrates versatile reporting, but is also loaded with exclusive stories.

Or rather, envision a day when a new career path is in store. Having already written about disabilities, numerous other jobs in national voluntary heath organizations, like the Epilepsy Foundation, would be a challenge unlike writing for a news publication. It all comes down to experience, and if a teenager gains that experience early there is no holding him or her back.

It never hurts to be knowledgeable, either. The young reporter, early in his or her career, has a unique opportunity. Not only can he or she study these aliments in a real-life setting, but he or she will also be able to learn more about the people who live with these disabilities on a daily basis. Negative opinions surrounding disabilities, like epilepsy, are laid to rest by way of such methods. Once readers take the opportunity to get to know some of the people affected by a disability, they are more apt to realize that individuals with disabilities are not all that dissimilar from the rest of the population.

These types of experiences give the teenager real-life experiences to draw on later in their careers, which might set them apart from their peers. After all, their writing is being used on a national scale to educate the minds of those who are similar in age. There is no better feeling.

These experiences also look phenomenal on a resume, and should give the novice writer a sense of pride.

The opportunities to learn new things and successfully enter the journalism field are out there, and they exist in the form of challenging subject matter - like disabilities. As the Latin saying goes, "Carpe diem!" - Seize the day.