Nine year old reporter Brennan LaBrie started his own newspaper
This youngster renews my passion for journalism and my job
By Kris Scheuer
I have been a reporter and editor for 11 years and I love journalism.
But I have to say I have good and bad days like everyone else when it comes to feeling inspired.
My focus in on Toronto politics, people and news but I just had to tell you about nine-year-old Brennan LaBrie who lives in Port Townsend near Seattle in Seattle in Washington State.
It was a joy on Sept. 5 to come across a posting on the National Public Radio site about LaBrie’s hand written, self-published paper The Spruce St. Weekly.
I read the story by Ned Wharton about this young journalist LaBrie who interviews people, writes their stories and includes a section called This Day in History, plus fun facts and a hand drawn comic strip. He photocopies his weekly 2-page paper and sells it for a quarter to over 100 subscribers.
But it is watching the You Tube Video of LaBrie talking in his own words about why he enjoys being a reporter that really made me smile. I am not so cynical that I have forgotten why I became a journalist. I too love telling people’s stories. It sounds cliche, but I do learn a lot interviewing people and it is a privilege to “tell” stories for a living. But we can all do with some reminding of why we fell in love with our chosen professions.
Even if you are not interested in reporting or journalism as a profession or are still trying to find out what profession drives you to get up daily, I encourage you to see watch LaBrie’s video as a way to inspire you to follow your dreams.
Kris Scheuer 