My Shadow Day at The Buzz Magazines

Since I was a child, I was always fascinated with words and how they were put together to form a bigger meaning. I excelled in my reading, writing, and spelling classes and it soon became one of my passions. As I grew up, I wanted to learn more about different forms of writing. This is the main reason I applied to write for School Buzz. I knew that I loved fiction, and was actively pursuing that side of my writing through my creative writing classes, but I never experimented with non-fiction writing. When this opportunity presented itself, I jumped on it.

To get the full experience of what journalism and non-fiction writing is like in the real world, I asked The Buzz Magazines if I could participate in a shadow day at their office. They happily arranged a shadow day for me recently and I’m excited to share my experience.

The first person I met was associate editor Jordan Magaziner Steinfeld. We sat down in her office and looked at the most recent magazines. She reviewed each article and explained how the story evolved into a published piece. I learned just how much time it takes to create a whole magazine. I knew conceptually that it was a process, but learning about just how much effort the team at The Buzz puts into all of their magazines every month really inspired me to want to work harder on my writing. 

While I was still in her office, I met Joni Hoffman, editor of the Buzz Magazines. She talked to me about how the magazine was created. I found it really interesting that the team produces four different magazines focused on major neighborhoods in Houston. Being able to cover stories about so many neighborhoods in Houston is impressive. 

The last thing I was able to do was attend an editorial meeting. The Buzz team gave me some great ideas and tips on how our team at Village can improve our editorial calendar and process.  

I learned a lot from my time at The Buzz office. I discovered how many great people make a living out of the construction of words and the finding and shaping of stories. I gained a wealth of knowledge about writing and the business side of it versus the creative side. I also explored my personal desires towards future career paths and writing styles, which is the most valuable to me. I loved being able to see the behind-the-scenes of what a true magazine looks like and learning all about a different world of writing. Thank you to the Buzz Magazines for giving me a behind-the-scenes look into journalism and the opportunity to explore a different style of writing.