Student Profiles

Sullivan’s the Name, Media’s the Game

Being selected to participate in the Poynter Institute’s College Fellowship, one of the best-known programs in the world for young journalists, is an enormous honor. This year’s group of 40 students, chosen from a record number of applicants for ingenuity in their essays and the strongest range of skills in their work, includes S.P. (Sean Patrick) Sullivan ’10 (journalism and anthropology). He will be in residence at Poynter Institute for two weeks in May, along with other passionate young writers, photojournalists, graphic artists, designers, broadcast and multimedia journalists.

Sullivan, who grew up in Haskell, New Jersey, came to UMass Amherst for two reasons: a tall library and an independent, student-run daily newspaper. “I’d been the opinion editor and editor-in-chief of my high school paper, and my father, who’s an attorney now but worked for a few years as a reporter, always spoke affectionately of the craft.” Sullivan arrived as a declared journalism major. “I like the field for the only reason anyone should like journalism,” he says. “I like telling stories. It’s not a glamorous job, there’s not a lot of money in it, and the hours are absolutely awful. I don’t have free time. I don’t have too many hobbies. But I’m always doing what I love.”

His experience in the program at UMass Amherst has been great, Sullivan notes. “Taking general education classes as a freshman, I didn’t expect to ever be on a first-name basis with my professors. It’s a big university, but if you take the time to meet with your profs, you learn a lot more one-on-one in their offices than you ever would in a lecture.” For example, Sullivan points to his meetings with Norm Sims (journalism). “About 10 minutes are devoted to academic stuff and the next 40 minutes are spent talking about Mark Twain’s literary journalism, or how author Ted Conover combines in-depth reportage with anthropological methodology. That’s the stuff you won’t get if you just show up, sit in the back of the class, or email your professor.”

When Steve Fox, who teaches multimedia journalism and a course Sullivan took called “Politics, Journalism and the Web,”^† got an email from the Poynter Institute about the fellowship, he forwarded it to Sullivan with a one-word message: “Interested?” Sullivan responded with seven: “Definitely. Want to write me a recommendation?”

“I had to put together some clips,” Sullivan explains about the application procedure, “and I sent along the URL to my Web portfolio. Then I wrote an essay about how much of a Luddite I used to be, before I realized the possibilities the Web provided for good stories. I won’t bore you with the 500 words, but the crux of it was this: ‘I know what the future of journalism should look like and it’s tech-savvy people who have read H.L. Mencken.’ Being trained in journalism methods across platforms is an absolute necessity these days. You have to be able to do everything. I’m not there yet, but I’m working on it, and I’m hoping my experience as a Poynter Fellow will take me a step further to that end. Being one of the 40 selected means I stand a chance in the changing world of journalism. ”

Last year Sullivan interned with the Daily Hampshire Gazette in nearby Northampton. “I really got my feet wet in reporting, writing, and multimedia production. They would send me out with a small hard-disk camcorder and I would report on a story, shoot video, and then head back to the news room to write a print story for the paper and put together a digital video package for GazetteNET.com.” Sullivan also interned with Amherst Community Television during winter break. “I bought my own camcorder with money I made freelancing, and I figured ACTV was the best place to teach me how to use it. I shot a couple of community events for them, including an Amherst Art Walk and the Amherst Winterfest.”

Before Sullivan took his first course on campus, he was on staff at the Daily Collegian. By the end of his first year, he was an editorial assistant. Sophomore year he was editorial/opinion editor, and this year he is the multimedia editor. “I’m trying to drive more eyes to the dailycollegian.com with digital video packages, photo slide shows, podcasts and live blogs of events as they happen,” Sullivan says. “As great as the journalism department is here, I’ve learned some of my best lessons at the Collegian…putting out a paper daily and updating the Web constantly…you just can’t substitute that kind of experience.”

Since January, Sullivan has been operating UMass 101, a news blog on MassLive.com. “The tagline,” he says, “is ‘Everything UMass—in print, on camera and on the Web.’ I run it myself, bringing together photos and videos I produce and commentary on campus news and events. It’s neither an extracurricular nor an internship, really, but I have a lot of fun doing it.” Sullivan is also a producer for "UMass Yak Back,” an editorial talk show on UVC-TV 19, the student-run television station on campus. “The show, produced by UVC and the Collegian, was the first step in a cooperative effort, Pioneer Valley Campus Media, that brings together the Collegian, UVC, AmherstWire and WMUA, the campus radio station.” But it’s not all about the here and now for Sullivan. He also is an editor of and contributor to the ShortCuts Literary Journal, an annual collection of short fiction.

With all this work outside of the classroom, Sullivan has been on the dean’s list for most of his college career. “This isn’t because I’m such a great student,” he notes, pointing out that he’s pulled his fair share of all-nighters. “I just love what I study, and I want to make a living out of telling good stories.”

^† Now that we’re out of the election year, that course has been modified and renamed to “The Iraq War, Journalism and the Web.”

April 8, 2009