Alum
MJ Slaby
Bureau chief for Chalkbeat Indiana
MJ Slaby, BAJ'12, Bureau chief for Chalkbeat Indiana.
“When I was here, it was still the School of Journalism, and I think what I really liked about it is it took this really big place – going to IU with thousands and thousands of students – and made it feel small. I really feel like I had the best of both worlds in terms of going to this huge state school and all these things that IU offers, but having that sort of smaller, more intimate school where people knew you by name, and so I just feel really grateful to have had both experiences.
I also lived in the Media LLC and was an Ernie Pyle scholar. A lot of the Ernie Pyle scholars are some of my best friends still. It was really nice to have that small group within this school to do those big classes with.
Our professors, they set really high bars for us. Like, if you misspelled something, you failed the assignment or you had to redo this or that. I think that really helped us go into the professional world. Some of my professors were tougher than the editors I had later on in my career.
I was on the IDS my entire time (at IU). I started as a freshman and then I was editor-in-chief of the fall of my senior year. It was the biggest part of my IU experience. I spent a lot of time in the newsroom. If I wasn't in class, I was probably in the newsroom.
I think it was just a really great experience to have that professional working newsroom and be able to do it with all your best friends. We had really high standards for ourselves. Student journalism is an opportunity to really learn all those things right before you graduate.”
Written By Emerson Elledge
Photos By Olivia Smith