‘Don’t think – just do’ by Ben Waterworth
As Ben Waterworth says in this piece – which just happens to be his 100th article for upstart – I first met him when he was a first year student in 2009 and I was a lecturer who was part of the team that had just launched upstart. Knowing Ben’s enthusiasm for sport, I encouraged him to start writing for us.
And he’s never stopped. Fast-forward less than two years, and the now 20-year-old veteran has notched a 100 articles milestone all of his own making.
He says his ‘early work’ makes him cringe. No comment.
But Ben’s persistence has paid off in all kinds of ways, as he explains in this article.
Ben’s story – or stories – illustrates what I and many others have long believed: not publishing while you study journalism is like doing a music degree without learning an instrument. Ben will leave La Trobe University this year able to blow his own trumpet – or as it happens in this case – his trombone.
He’s not bad at that either.
Lawrie Zion is Associate Professor of Journalism at La Trobe and editor-in-chief of upstart.
Want to contribute to our list of the 100 articles every journalist should read about journalism? Full details, including the list so far, can be found here.
