Small State Journalism Enthusiast Ready to Make it Big Time  by: Bobby Raposa

Journalism wasn’t Chris McCarthy’s first college Major choice. In fact, it took him a year and some months to figure out he wanted to become a journalist.

McCarthy first realized that he wanted to be a journalist during his sophomore year of college. McCarthy was a Biology Major at first, choosing this path because of his love for animals. But after a year or so, he came to the conclusion that he wasn't that invested in the material, and that biology just wasn’t for him. At first he chose writing as his alternative major, but quickly learned that there isn’t all that much money to be made and if there was, it wasn’t in the area of studies that he wanted to go.

After this realization, McCarthy chose to double major by adding journalism. He said that it is the best thing for him, and in some cases it shows credibility. He elaborated by saying, “I know that if I have a major in writing and I have some published work, I will be able to show that work to companies and it will show them that I am taking my profession seriously.”

Now although he is not too certain about the direction in which he wants to go with journalism yet, McCarthy does like the idea of one day working for a newspaper, such as the New York Times or the Boston Globe. He also likes the idea of traveling and covering news as well. McCarthy said that he would love to work for Vice. Vice is Vice Media’s current affairs channel. It produces daily documentary essays, along with video through its website and YouTube channel. It was created in December 2013 and is based in New York City, focusing on “under-reported stories”.  

McCarthy said Shane Smith, who is the CEO and Co-founder of Vice has been someone he looks up too, saying, “What he did with Vice in the amount of time he has had is incredible. He’s definitely an entrepreneur and he is someone I look to in order to help better promote myself as a journalist.” McCarthy also likes the idea of possibly working for himself, stating, “If the opportunity ever came up, I would definitely go for it. I would like to have my own magazine. To me, it seems like it would be pretty cool and in the long run, well worth it.”

One specific memory that came to McCarthy's mind in regards to what was at the roots of him picking and committing to journalism, was that of him in middle school, watching 60 Minutes with his parents, saying "It just always interested me and I looked back on it and figured if I used to love watching and reading about the news when I was a kid, so what better profession to seek out now than journalism?" Along with what he has already learned from others about journalism and how things work within it, McCarthy also has his own motto that he goes by, "Make good decisions and always think of others." And as long as he does that McCarthy Said, he will be satisfied with his work. 

In his spare time, McCarthy stated that he has many hobbies, but writing stands out the most. He likes to write various academic pieces, such as essays and research articles. He is also looking forward to writing for a volunteer project in one of his classes that is starting up, soon. McCarthy also plans on joining and writing for The Cigar, which is the University of Rhode Island’s student news organization. It was established in 1971 and is published in print weekly, updated digitally daily, and is also free to the University community. He said, “I feel like it will be a great opportunity to develop my skills and get my name out there.”

Although it’s just The University of Rhode Island’s newspaper, McCarthy knows that getting your name out to the public as early and as often as possible will only help better his journalism career going forward.