Pam Pritt, the senior editor at University Relations, details her career and a few of the tips she will share in this week’s media workshop, hosted by Her Campus at WVU. Join us this Thursday, Jan. 24 at 6:30 p.m. in the Downtown Library Classroom 2036.
HC: What do you do at University Relations? What does your day-to-day routine look like?
PP: I’m the senior editor in University Relations. My days are filled with editing what other people write and make sure that WVUToday and E-News are up-to-date. I’m also a research writer and interview WVU professors about their work.
HC: How did you end up at WVU? What did you do before?
PP: The road to Morgantown was long for me and included a stint as a weekly newspaper owner/editor/CFO, a brief time at a domestic violence prevention non-profit and a three-year gig at one of the state’s largest daily newspapers covering the statehouse, politics and economic development. I was fortunate to get a heads up about the job I have, so I applied for it.
HC: What is your advice to students hoping to become editors in their future?
PP: Read the news. Find news writers you like and know there’s a good editor behind them. Pay attention to style changes and new words and phrases. Edit every story like it’s 1A above the fold.
HC: What is your favorite story you’ve worked on?
PP: I have several favorites, but one that truly stands was a feature about the seven firefighters at Alderson Women’s Prison. All of them had compelling stories to tell about why they were imprisoned, but also were upbeat about what they’d accomplished to become firefighters, which included all the training every firefighter completes. For hard news stories, I liked covering court because I always learned something new about forensic science or the law.
HC: What do you hope students will learn from the writing workshop?
PP: I hope that young journalists understand that their work is more important now than ever. Only the truth defeats allegations of “fake news.” And the only way to report the truth is to do the hard work of research and nailing down every detail of a story.
HC: What is your number one advice for people wanting to improve their editing techniques?
PP: Read it aloud. If you read it out loud and you stumble, so will readers of your publication.
HC: Outside of work, what are your favorite hobbies or activities?
PP: I like hiking and genealogy. I’m from West Virginia, so often the two things combine nicely. I also read a lot.