When are we ‘real’ journalists, with Lisa Urlbauer
By 26 years of age, Lisa has written pieces for outlets in the States, Germany and Denmark. Yet she is acknowledging something had been missing for her to feel like an accomplished journalist for a long time — and she is far from being alone. In our twenties, some of us have already been practicing our craft for 10 years but we wait for an authority to grant us the permission to call ourselves journalists.
Join me in a conversation with Lisa Urlbauer, former curator of The Response, a newsletter by Solutions Journalism Network, and journalist from Germany.
Reading this piece, you will explore:
- Starting out, why there seems to be a dichotomy between journalism as paid work and as a creative outlet.
- What it takes to feel like a journalist. Is it a school, a press card, a paycheck — and how this perception changes over time.
- How solutions journalism helps reframe the current narrative and why there seems to be a need for it.
- How to create compelling newsletters and make a brand’s voice your own.
The first conversation took place in July 2019, when Lisa just finished her Master’s degree in Amsterdam and worked for the Solutions Journalism Network
Entry level journalism
“That was my first impression of a newsroom, just filling in Excel spreadsheets.”
Was journalism something you’ve always gravitated towards? What were you like as a kid and how does it translate into what you do now?
As a kid I would spend a lot of time crafting, taking whatever around the house just to create something out of it. I don’t really know where my wish to become a journalist is coming from or when it started. But I do remember that around 6th grade I came home one day super excited because I had found out that 7th graders had their own school magazine. I was intrigued by the idea of writing and I joined them right away as an after-school activity.
Can you recall some of the stories?
Not specifically, I remember they would talk about neighbourhoods and events going on at school.
How did this relationship with journalism evolve over the years?
My pursuit of journalism progressed along school life — I worked for student magazines all the way from elementary to high school and later in university.
In Germany, we do internships while going to school to gain professional experience. So in 9th grade, I spent my fall vacation interning with a magazine covering the ins and outs of my hometown. For two weeks, I spent eight hours a day re-writing press releases and checking opening hours and addresses for a restaurant guide. Voluntarily. That was my first impression of a newsroom, just filling in Excel spreadsheets. In high school, I was still sure I wanted to do this professionally, so I googled the heck out of how to become a journalist.
Getting validation as a journalist
“I’ve been struggling with how to see myself, at times feeling like a real journalist and other times still wishing to become one.”
Was there something valuable that came out of this internship?
There were articles that had my name on them which I later used to apply for another internship at a daily newspaper– and got in.
Your introduction to journalism was a mere admin work. Can you compare the first professional newsroom you were in to working for a school magazine? Was it different? Was it contradictory or complementary? Did you compare the two experiences?
In my mind, both experiences were valuable. Working for the school magazine, I had so much fun, we got to create the whole thing from scratch. We had teachers taking care of what we were doing. At university, it was similar. The university magazine was a space where I could try and see what topics I was interested in. I started covering European politics, which was something I could not yet place in a (paid) magazine, and I was able to practice my craft.
But I do see the two as two separate tracks. I believe the creative outlet was important but also that I needed the professional track, working in a newsroom, doing internships. At some point you need to jump into the journalistic profession.
How was the jump for you?
I actually jumped back and forth for a while. I was still at high school when, as I mentioned, I scored that second internship. That one led to a freelance job. After I graduated, I took a gap year, before studying European Studies in Germany, because I wanted to become an expert in a specific field. Creatively, I was active at the university paper. Professionally, it took a bit longer to gear up again. By the end of my Bachelor’s degree, I did another internship and continued freelancing after that. It was great, I could fill pages with my work — in an actual newspaper.
Still, I felt like I needed more education to be equipped to cover the complexities of politics and society, so I decided to get a Master’s degree. Throughout these I’ve been struggling with how to see myself, sometimes already feeling like a real journalist and sometimes still wishing to become one.
Where do you think such belief comes from? Do we, as journalists, only get validation and feel like journalists when we get paid for work? What (else) makes us “real” journalists?
I believe that for most of us it’s the payment part. It’s quite easy to get a story published in a newspaper once or twice. But to make the cut in the real world and to be able to support myself financially, that’s what I feel gives me credibility to call myself a journalist. When I was freelancing for the newspaper during my Bachelor’s degree, I received a German press card — which you can get when you earn the majority of your income as a journalist — and it felt like a huge accomplishment. It does not get any more official.
So after that, when people asked me: “What do you want to become when you’re done studying?” I started saying: “I *am* a journalist” instead of I wanted to become one. That felt fantastic! But when I met my peers in my Master’s degree, I was still doubting and comparing myself, because some of them had so much more experience, working for different outlets, pitching their own stories.
With power (of words) comes responsibility
“I’ve never wanted to produce journalism that would contribute to a harmful narrative. Journalists are in a powerful position; words and images can have a strong impact.”
How did you come across solutions journalism?
Rooted in those insecurities about my experiences, I really wanted to give my professional track a boost. Originally, I wanted to go into a traditional newsroom, but just at that time I heard of the Solutions Journalism Network and their work really sparked my interest (SJN is a non-profit organization with free access to toolkits and resources on how to thoroughly cover responses to social problems).
What was appealing on solutions journalism, why did it resonate?
It could have stemmed from confusion I had about the media as a kid. I just couldn’t understand it — when something good was happening why wasn’t it being celebrated on the news? If the unemployment rates were low in Germany, why wasn’t it the main thing on the news? Why was it a side note? I understood much later that it is an inherent law of the current media system that everything is negative. Actually, there is a study called The Structure of Foreign News that explains the different factors of what makes something newsworthy. One factor is negativity. I recommend reading this interview with one of the researchers by The Guardian alongside the study:
“Galtung said his definitions were intended to show how news was getting it wrong. He stressed that his paper said that if news continued to reflect the world in this antagonistic way, it would generate extreme negativity, and ‘a growing tension between the centre and the periphery both nationally and globally’.”
I’ve never wanted to produce journalism that would contribute to a harmful narrative. Journalists are in a powerful position; words and images can have a strong impact.
I liked the idea of focusing on covering solutions and found an internship with SJN in New York. Luckily, it was a paid one — otherwise I wouldn’t even have considered it, because that’s one expensive city. I took a chance of applying even though I knew it would not be a writing position, meaning I wouldn’t be working as a journalist but *for* journalists.
How do you get across what solutions journalism is? Especially when talking to people who aren’t journalists?
Usually, I start out by asking people if they also notice the incredible negativity that is present in the news and most of the time I receive heavy nodding. Then I go on explaining that solutions journalism as a shift in coverage, which highlights the efforts of solving problems, instead of *just* the problems.”
Curating American news as a non-American
“I’ve been hearing such positive feedback on solutions journalism from people who aren’t journalists. Even avid news-avoiders showed genuine interest. If we listen and follow suit, I’m hopeful that we get more people to consume news again.”
How has the experience been? What was the work setup?
I worked full time at SJN’s headquarters in NYC for three months as their community intern which was a combination of supportive administrative work and being in touch with journalists pursuing resources or grants. I also did a lot of Facebook and Twitter. The biggest fun was that I got to attend all the meetings, so insightful. I was sitting in every conference room and got to meet the co-founders, David Bornstein and Tina Rosenberg, who grew the movement while working for the New York Times.
How did you then become curator of SJN’s popular newsletter The Response? (The Response is a weekly newsletter that reframes current news events, highlighting ways people are responding to issues we see every day in the news)
It was good timing. I am German native and SJN was interested in working with German newsrooms, so that’s what I’ve been for them since the end of my internship, scoping out opportunities in Germany and working on translating toolkits in German. I also continued to work on their social media. Half a year in, I was offered writing The Response by my editor Samantha McCann — I was super flattered! Of course I thought: ‘Am I even the right person for the job, mostly because I am based in Europe and the newsletter’s focus is mainly American?’ I was a bit worried.
But I had been working for an American organization for almost a year at that point and I’m an avid follower of what’s going on in the U.S. The previous curator, Marie, created a great guide of how she put each issue together. They all really helped me to make this work. Plus, they also encouraged me to broaden the topics and talk about European issues, adjust the newsletter, make it my own.
Make your writing personal
What’s the process like? How do you find topics and stories, what filters do you use and how do you put a newsletter for journalists together?
I built up on what my colleague did with the newsletter before me. The newsletter goes out to both journalists and non-journalists interested in reading solutions journalism. What kind of topics did she pick, which lens did she apply? Some topics like the Women’s World Cup seemed pretty obvious to me — I used the event to share solutions stories on how to empower women through sports.
I was also encouraged to make the newsletter more personal. So for example, I came up with highlighting responses to overcrowded cities because I’m living in Amsterdam — an overcrowded city. Other than that, I’m browsing news sites, The New York Times, BBC, German news sites like Deutsche Welle to find a news peg. I’m aware that my perspective is western, American and European. But I try to put emphasis on picking out issues and stores that are not only for one continent or the other, but are more globally. Before writing the newsletter, I talk to my editor about the theme and find the respective solutions stories in the Solutions Story Tracker.
Did you ever get feedback from readers? If so, what kind of messages were you getting?
One comes to mind instantly — I got such a nice response a reader living in Beirut, because I shared a story on the first gay hangout in the Arab world.
What are you most hopeful for in the media, journalism and current narrative?
I am most hopeful for the positive reactions I have received from people who I’ve told about solutions journalism who aren’t journalists. Even avid news-avoiders showed genuine interest. If we listen and follow suit, I’m hopeful that we get more people to consume news again. A close second are the daily changes in my personal outlook on the world we live in when I read a solutions story from our tracker. It’s just so empowering.
Since this interview was conducted nine months ago, here’s a quick update on Lisa’s work:
She has moved back to Germany last fall to continue working for SJN, as well as doing traineeship in a German newspaper, rotating through different beats like sports, politics, news desk, and so on. She says she’d definitely never doubt again that she’s a real journalist.
Keep in touch with Lisa and her work via LinkedIn, Medium or Twitter.
