Last week, senior journalism major Rachel Kossman spoke in two of my classes to encourage what I would call journalism entrepreneurship. Kossman urged students with a passion for writing to join Northeastern’s branch of the nationwide Her Campus website.
The online magazine for college women (tagline: “A collegiette’s guide to life”) has more than 100 branches at universities and colleges around the country, which can be found under the “My Campus” tab. Emerson College, Boston University, Boston College and Emmanuel College are a few Boston schools that have established My Campus sites with content specific to each campus. Articles focus on a variety of subjects, including style, health, love, life and careers. Three undergraduate students from Harvard University created the online magazine in September 2009. One year later, Kossman and junior journalism major Jenn Sinrich launched the Northeastern site together.
“I love it because it is a niche market that isn’t really being explored right now,” Kossman said. “There is all this media directed toward high schoolers … and working professionals … but none for college girls. It’s nice to have things dedicated to just us girls.”
I became familiar with Her Campus last fall when my roommate began contributing articles to Northeastern’s site. I was particularly interested in some of her story topics – scenic routes to take while running around the city and the top five websites to avoid during finals. Though I haven’t written for the magazine, becoming a contributor seems to be a smart and innovative way for students to begin (or to continue) compiling a portfolio of writing samples for co-op and post-graduation. Also, gaining writing experience for an online medium can only help those students frightened by the shrinking world of print news.
Story angles focus on topics we might not otherwise find in other campus publications. For example, this month, a writer for the Northeastern My Campus site wrote about fashion at the Golden Globes.
Along with writing for the Northeastern My Campus page, Kossman also writes for the nationwide website. She recently wrote about style resolutions for 2011, 10 ways to save money as a college girl and how to invest money in a savings account – a process people might be embarrassed to admit their lack of knowledge in.
Contributors not only gain experience writing, but they also pitch story ideas at weekly meetings every Sunday at 6 p.m. on the bottom floor of the Curry Student Center.
“I encourage girls to write about anything and everything,” Kossman said. “It’s a good time to be doing something like this. … I know for me it’s going to be a phenomenal thing for my resume, and for my writers, too.”
Kossman said she encourages writers to post about Her Campus on Twitter and Facebook to gain publicity for both their stories and the site.
“The page views aren’t as high as I want them to be,” Kossman said. “I’m really hoping the word will get out. We would love new involvement.”
Kossman is currently in the process of working to make the group an official student organization. Without the university’s recognition, the group of about 10 Northeastern writers neither set up a table at activities fairs, nor post flyers around campus. But, instead of growing bitter at the global online news platform, these students took the fate of journalism into their own hands by leading and writing for this new and upcoming site.
And for the guys out there? They’re “more than welcome [to contribute],” Kossman said.
– Michele Richinick can be reached at
[email protected].
