It's a Catch 22!

Everyone has a dream of where they want to be, and since I was 15, mine was to be a journalist. Not just because I wanted my name in print, but because I had an opinion on almost everything and a way with words (or so I thought). But, over the years I never really pursued my passion as much as I should have; a culmination of laziness and not knowing where to go. I ended up in situation where there was a big dream but NO experience, NO contacts and essentially NO skills. All I knew was that I wanted to be a journalist. With a massive passion for music I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and I will show how with a few simple equations :

Music + Journalism = Music Journalism

Roxi + Music Journalism = A VERY happy bunny!

So I luckily got onto a course at a magazine (Catch 22), which I was hoping would give me some insight on the industry, get me a little experience and a few contacts. I didn't even know the magazine existed until I got a free copy at the Carhartt Store - I opened the first page and the first line jumped straight at me:

"Passionate about journalism, but lacking experience, confidence and contacts?"

I sat there thinking my prayers had been answered and I read on to see that this was everything I was looking for, a 12 week course that I could complete over the Summer holidays that would help me get into the industry and get my work published in the magazine at the end of the course. Oh and a potential internship working at one of their media partners; from The Economist, to BBC Magazines and Nat Mags (Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar, Good Housekeeping) What more could I ask for?

Let's just say that my understanding of journalism has been challenged from the very first day - as far as I knew there were only a few roles you could have and they were: journalist, editor and chairman (I had obviously ignored everything I'd learnt from watching Ugly Betty) I mean I never knew there was a difference between an Art Editor and Arts Editor? Well, thank god now I do, or else I could have walked into an interview for a placement thinking that I was about to start reviewing music and embarrassingly found out that the position was to help out with the publication's design.

That's not to say that we had it easy as Catch 22 students, I remember how lost I felt when the order of the morning was to go out on the streets with a dictaphone and get "some news". I paused for a moment and thought, "What on earth am I doing? I'm in Seven Sisters with no contacts in the area, and no ideas of what to write!". I contemplated going to the police station and even tried to eavesdrop on a local arrest but my covert surveillance failed. The adrenaline rush however made it an easy task and lucky for me we are based in the Bernie Grant Arts Centre and I didn't have to go very far to get news. There was so much going on in the Seven Sisters area ranging from plays, new book signings and dance shows. But it was a sign about a play called 'Lost in the game' which grasped my attention; it was written by local youths which just made it ideal to write about. Within 5 minutes I was on the phone to the organiser having a chat about how it all works and my news piece was sorted.

I can happily/worryingly say that I have learn more in the last 7 weeks than I have in two years of university. Catch 22 has opened my eyes , pushed my expectations and got me out of the lazy mindset I had been stuck in for way too long. Hopefully a day will come when I'll have my name printed in a number of publications and that I can give advice to aspiring journalists. Until then I have to give thanks to all the wonderful people at Catch 22; from Jenny (the multi-tasking wonder woman), Simmy and Kate (our trusty teachers & media insiders), Sharon (our fabulous co-ordinator) and Tokz (the brains behind the magazine). Last but not least this has been the best experience, I've made some great friends and finally got an idea of what journalism actually is!