Josh Croup is a sophomore Broadcast Reporting major at Point Park University. A former Campus Celeb, Croup is now the Editor-in-Chief of Point Park’s newspaper, The Globe. Find out more about his position, and how he became involved with The Globe below!
How did you initially become involved with The Globe?
A friend of mine told me the paper was looking for sports writers and that I should check out their first pitch meeting. I ran up seven flights of stairs after my class ended at 2:30 to make the 2:40 pitch meeting. (We still have weekly Monday meetings at 2:40 in 712 LH by the way). I had the option to cover cross-country or rugby. I chose Rugby, a sport that I knew nothing about. The Editor-in-Chief at the time, Jon Andreassi, wanted a season preview story done by Friday. My high school paper was monthly, not weekly, so I was not used to the tight deadlines. I thought at first that I wanted to ease into college, but The Globe made me dive in headfirst. I ran back downstairs to the student involvement fair to introduce myself to the Rugby Club members. They looked like they could squish me, but they were the nicest guys that I had met so far on campus. They invited me to their first meeting and I began traveling to all of their games and writing about the team on a weekly basis. I continued that for the whole semester and transitioned to the Sports Columnist role in the Spring. It is rare for a freshman to have his or her own sports column. I studied other sports columnists like Dejan Kovacevic to try and figure out a format. I loved writing freely about whatever Point Park sports topic I wanted to that week. That led to stepping into the Sports Editor role to begin the 2015 fall semester. I was in the position for three weeks before the Editor Elect at the time stepped down and I stepped up into the position. As Editor Elect, I served under Kristin Snapp, the 2015 Chief, and learned what it took to run a newspaper.
What does your position entail?
There’s so much that goes into being Editor-in-Chief. It’s a non-stop job. We do layout for the week’s paper on Monday nights. That’s when the Chief essentially “steers the ship.” I put out little fires, help solve problems, and make sure everything is running smoothly. During the week, I’m responding to emails from potential advertisers directing them to our business manager, along with students who want to write for The Globe, trying to prepare the newsroom and staff for the upcoming issue, and meet with different members of administration to make sure we are all on the same page. The role of Editor-in-Chief is more of an administrative role and is a constant job. I’m still doing the same amount of writing as previous semesters, including my sports column, but I’m in my office almost every day. I’m helping update our social media accounts, I’m organizing and sorting last week’s leftover newspapers, and I’m answering the constant flow of emails that seems endless. It’s non-stop craziness and I love it. I have an incredibly supportive and helpful editorial staff and if it weren’t for them, there wouldn’t be a newspaper on newsstands every Wednesday.
Do you feel like your classes over the past few years have helped you in your position?
Since I’m a broadcasting major, I haven’t really had that many writing classes. The most journalism I ever learned came in high school. I wrote about the impact my high school newspaper teacher, Herb Thompson, had on my in my first letter from the editor. He taught me really what journalism means and what it can do. I thought having a print background was pointless in high school, but he opened my eyes to the possibilities of a good writing background. I’ve had some great professors in the School of Communication so far who have taught me more than anything that I will learn the most by doing. You can only do so much inside the classroom. You have to get out and apply yourself. I was the Drum Major of my high school’s marching band, and that taught me how to be an effective leader. Music and I have a special relationship. It changed my life and taught me more than I can even imagine. As strange as it may sound, without music, I wouldn’t be the Editor-in-Chief of The Globe.
What’s your favorite thing about your job and being a part of The Globe?
My favorite thing about the job is my staff. I love that weird, dysfunctional group of people that comes together every Monday night to piece together a newspaper. I’m constantly reminded about how lucky I am to have a dedicated, talented, and loving group of people around me doing their job every week. They probably don’t even realize how much it means to me that they show up every week and dedicate so much time to The Globe. Running the paper is a stressful job. But the great group of people that make the magic happen keep me sane every Monday night, no matter how insane the night may get.
How do you think your position will prepare you for your future?
If anything, this is going to teach me how to work with and manage such a large and diverse group of people. I’m a broadcasting major. They don’t teach you how to lead people and how to work with almost 50 people every week. Broadcasting classes teach you how to look pretty on camera and how to properly deliver the news. This position will help develop my leadership and people management skills but will really test my time management. Like I said, it’s a non-stop job, but I love every second of it– even the seconds where we screw up. It happens a lot. Sure, we accidentally misspell names and screw up headlines. This is the time to make mistakes. College is the time to experiment and learn. This position will teach me how to deal with and move on from mistakes. If we’re not making mistakes and not trying to improve, there’s no reason to continue. Once the paper is perfect; once I’m perfect, there’s no more purpose. Our goal and my goal is to get better every week in all aspects imaginable. That will help me in my future for sure.
What other clubs and activities do you participate in?
I think I do too much sometimes, but then again, nobody ever said they wish they had slept more or done less in their youth.
On the broadcasting side of things, I work ten hours a week in Student Production Services (SPS) in the library, am a reporter on U-View’s “Pioneer Sideline,” the sports show, and “Daybreak,” the morning show, host two radio shows on WPPJ – one for The Globe and one of my own – and am a member of Point Park’s chapter of the Broadcast Education Association (BEA). I am apprentice in the Athletic Department and assist in the coverage of Pioneer athletics. I do play-by-play of Point Park sporting events on the Point Park Sports Network, public address announcing for basketball games and anything else that needs done on game days. I also serve on the Student Advisory Board for the Pittsburgh Center for Sports Media and Marketing on campus. I’m a new-student mentor in the Honors Program and a member of the Honors Student Organization. I also volunteer at prospective student open houses and the Point Park High School Media days. I spent this past summer as a Production Intern for the West Virginia Power – the Class-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. I will spend the 2016 season as a Media Relations Intern for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
How can students at Point Park become involved with The Globe?
Seriously, just come check us out. We’re in 710 and 712 Lawrence Hall every Monday from 2:40 until around 10 or 11 p.m. every week. If you can’t make it to any of our 2:40 pitch meetings or layout nights, I’m always willing to make time to meet with anybody. If you would rather text me or email me, I’m easy to find. If you want to write absolutely anything that’s related to Point Park, go for it. News, features, opinions, and sports are our four sections. Each week, I send out an “unclaimed pitches” email to everyone on my email list with all of the stories that need written for that week. I can put you on that list. It’s really simple. We’re a student-run newspaper. Without student contributors and editorial staff members, this doesn’t happen. It’s a great portfolio builder and gets you great, real-world, hands-on experience.
Be sure to like and follow The Globe’s social media!