From staff reports Journalism doesn’t look anything like it did a few decades ago. It’s constantly changing, with the rise of ESPN, the internet and other outlets ushering out the golden age of newspapers. However, there still is high demand for quality journalists and the journalism industry is one that, in the years to come, should provide ample career opportunities for those who chose to take on this labor of love. With that in mind, Glory Days Magazine is launching its “Student Scribe” program. This program is the brainchild of the magazine’s publisher, Dave O’Sullivan, and aims to give current high school students some real-world experience in sports journalism. O’Sullivan cut his teeth in the journalism business as a teenager with his father’s general interest magazine, Jersey Shore Magazine, in the 1980s in Ocean County, then went on to earn a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from Pfeiffer University in North Carolina. “I think it’s important for high school students who have a love of sports and an interest in writing to be able to have an outlet where they can gain hands-on experience. You can study the business all you want, but no learning tool is more effective than actually being out there, on the field, directly involved with the sports as they are happening. It’s much different than being a fan,” O’Sullivan said. “I hope this program will allow some students who are motivated and have a passion for sports to gain some perspective about all the things that are involved with sports journalism, and what a sports journalist is responsible for on a daily basis.” Glory Days Magazine will bring on interested candidates to work on a variety of tasks, and those students will, in effect, be high school sports insiders for their respective schools. The program is open to sophomores, juniors and seniors who are in good academic standing, with a limit of one per school. Students from any of the 10 schools we currently cover (Ocean City, Mainland, EHT, Atlantic City, Pleasantville, Holy Spirit, Cedar Creek, Absegami, Oakcrest and Atlantic Christian) are eligible to apply. If accepted into the program, Student Scribe reporters will be doing such things as Q&As with athletes and coaches, feature stories, and season summaries, among other tasks. Scribe reporters also will work directly with O’Sullivan on such tasks as producing story ideas and coordinating photos, and their work will be edited by O’Sullivan and Managing Editor Giuseppe Ungaro. “I think the unique part about this program is it puts responsibility on the shoulders of the reporter, much as is it in real-world journalism,” O’Sullivan said. “Sports journalism is a fast-paced world, and I think for young reporters the most difficult part of the business to get acclimated to is the responsibility involved with generating your own story ideas and working with photographers and editors. I think this program will give students an inside look at what it is like to actually be a sports reporter.” If you are a high school student who is interested, or if you are a parent of a high school student who might be interested, here is what you do: email a brief letter of interest with the words “Student Scribe” in the subject line and give us some background and why you are interested in joining the program. (Email address: sully@acglorydays.com). Candidates the magazine staff feel are serious about the program and will benefit from it will then be personally interviewed by O’Sullivan, and if accepted into the program will get right to work on producing copy that will appear either on our website, acglorydays.com, or in our print editions. “I really hope there will be some students who will be interested in this program. It’s a great opportunity to get out there and get a taste for the business,” O’Sullivan said. “It really is an exciting career and can be very rewarding. I wish a local publication had a program like this when I was in high school.” [adsense]