Extra Credit Blog Post: Eric Athas offers Sound Advice to Aspiring Journalists

Reporting on the flesh eating parasite that attacked American Military forces while abroad; the scandalous murder at a Lululemon Yoga shop in Washington D.C; the fear of Watertown civilians while a terrorist was pinned down outside their windows- this is the life of University of Massachusetts, Amherst graduate, Eric Athas.

Athas graduated from the UMass journalism program in 2008 and is currently a Digital News Specialist at NPR. But the young journalist didn’t land the impressive job right away. Athas visited Steve Fox’s Introduction to Multimedia class on Thursday, April 25, to speak to aspiring journalists about the importance of staying connected, gaining experience through internships, and freelancing in the off time.

Athas applied to UMass with a strong desire to write for the school's newspaper, the Massachusetts Daily Collegian. The eager freshman made the front page with an impressive cover of the aftermath of 9/11, but said he was majorly turned off when he rushed to pick up a copy of the paper. There it was, “UMass Reflects on Lost Colleague,” spread across the front page. Reported by, “Erica Athas.” And there that was, on the front page.

The disappointing misspelling was a buzz-kill, but propelled Athas to work harder. During his junior year at UMass, Athas ironically became Editor of the Daily Collegian. When journalism began developing an online platform, Athas joined the Amherst Wire to create the blog “UMass 101,” so he could focus on gaining online experience.

Athas graduated during the recession, but began working his at the Washington Post’s online newsroom in the fall after graduation. Fox, who worked at the Post, introduced Athas to the job. Athas would be hired as a web producer and home page editor and social media facilitator. “I was able to get the job because I was really proactive,” Athas said.

Shortly after landing his dream-job at the Post, Athas was introduced to Mark Stencel, head of all digital media at NPR. Although Athas was not hired right away, he kept in mind that every person he met and talked to could help him get a job in the future.

“Things work in really weird ways when you’re trying to find a job," Athas said, "Things will fall into place."

When Athas was eventually hired to work with NPR’s online content branch, he was working weekends, nights, and holidays with copy-editor’s that would tear his pieces apart. “I was just happy to be there. It translated to tons of experience,” Athas said.

During his summers off, Athas interned and worked at a daily local newspaper. Athas stressed the idea that potential employers look for that kind of experience. Athas said that having the "student experience" showed his interest and involvement, which got him the internship. He could then use the "internship experience" to get a job. Fox and Athas agreed that interning is “the most important thing for landing a job,” Fox said. 

Athas’s job at NPR requires him to know the proper use of social media and idealizing an online newsroom. When the news broke of the Boston Marathon Bombings, Athas was mainly in charge of organizing online content for the Boston branch of NPR, WBUR.com.

“There was a lot of pretty reckless reporting of unconfirmed events or details, and it caused a lot of damage and may have hindered the investigation and caused a lot of pain and anguish for incorrectly identified suspects…I cant think of anything where it is more important to be right, where the stakes are so high,” Athas told students.

Athas called social media a “blunt instrument.” He believes that while social media is a great starting point, it is the way that the information is used that is important. Athas reminded students of the significance of confirming information projected by social media, rather than reporting that story as it is.

After a question and answer session where Athas shared some of his most memorable times reporting, Athas offered a final piece of advice to aspiring journalists: “Always have your journalist hat on, even in unlikely places.”