My Day at the New York Times

Posted By Gauri Mangala on Apr 13, 2018 | 1 comment

(Photo Gauri Mangala/The Gettysburgian)

By Gauri Mangala, Co-Features Editor

On Monday, April 9, my fellow journalist Maddie Neiman ‘21 and I entered the New York Times headquarters on 41st Street and 8th Avenue in New York City for “Inside the Times,” the student newspaper editors workshop. The New York Times HQ, a building that I have passed in awe since I was a toddler, did not disappoint. The lobby, grand and bold, was filled with the sound of the digital teletypes clicking as screens display the words of journalists all around the world, mimicking the sounds of newsrooms of the typewriter era.

Up we went to the conference hall on the 15th floor; the excitement was visibly buzzing. The walls lined with pages from ‘The Gray Lady’ and the people that made it all possible. Also featured on the wall was every Pulitzer the publication has ever received.

Joined with editors and writers of college newspapers around the country, Maddie and I had the privilege of meeting directors, reporters, and graphic designers of the New York Times.

Pultizer-winning, political reporter Nicholas Confessore spoke to us about the need for investigative journalism in between running to meetings about an impending lawsuit about his own work. Odd as it may sound, watching Confessore run out in the middle of his presentation was one of the coolest things that happened. In high school, I went to these type of conferences all the time, and it always struck me as curious that these investigative journalists were able to so easily clear up their schedule for an entire day. When Confessore ran out, it made it clear that not only did he take his job seriously, but he loved what he was doing. Publishing “all the news that’s fit to print” seems like a lot to manage, but with the drive and courage to put it all out there, it easy to see why Confessore has received the recognition that he has.

In a time where journalism connotes fake news, many of us wondered what we could do to keep our readers engaged. Confessore urged us to keep a “bright flame of outrage in your heart.” He told us to fight through the misconceptions that many hold about reporters, because they are often wrong, and to remember to write for your readers, rather than other writers.

After all the amazing presentations, A.G. Sulzberger, Publisher of the New York Times, stopped by to speak to us about the future of journalism. Simply put, he reminded all of us that “An informed society, is a better society.”

Coming back to Gettysburg College, and more specifically to my desk in The Gettysburgian office, I am more than ready and confident to push forward and continue to work for journalism, “without fear of favor.”