M.A. Alumnus Cody McDevitt Lands Job as a Reporter for the Daily American Thursday, March 5, 2015
Meet Cody McDevitt
Degree earned at Point Park: M.A. in journalism and mass communication, 2013
Undergraduate degree earned: B.A. in journalism, University of Colorado, 2007
Job title and employer: Reporter, Daily American, Somerset, Pa.
Hometown: McMurray, Pa.
Now living in: Somerset Pa.
High school: Peters Township High School
Hobbies/interests: Skiing, hiking, reading and cooking
Twitter: @codymcdevitt
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/cody-mcdevitt/47/367/186
How has your M.A. degree helped you in your career?
Mostly, I learned from Bill Moushey the level of structure and research a good story requires. Writing is something you have to learn by doing it, and by actually having a job at a newspaper or magazine. But having a master's degree has allowed me to teach at community colleges as a side job, and the training I received at Point Park has been useful throughout my time as a reporter. Point Park University offered me the opportunity to improve my reporting and multimedia skills.
Describe the School of Communication faculty.
The Point Park faculty has a vast array of experience. Some are good at layout. Some are good at theory. Most of all, I enjoyed the practical education provided there. Journalism schools are best when they give you skills you'll use in the field.
What are your current job responsibilities?
I write enterprise stories, cover meetings, court cases and investigate for long-form series articles. I also edit video, take photographs and paginate.
What are your career goals?
I pretty much have my dream job right now. I get to ski multiple times a week for a ski report during the winter season. I also write for magazines and newspapers and take pictures. There is a temptation to go to a bigger paper in Pittsburgh, but the one I'm at now has a great work environment and a lot of flexibility in what I can write about. I hope to write more stories that expose problems in the community, including ones associated with poverty or corruption.
Anything else you would like to add?
Journalism is a tough business. You have to have a very thick skin because you're going to get a lot of both fair and unfair criticism. It takes a while to develop the skills needed to be successful, and you should spend more time with a book than a beer in your hand if you want to be a good writer. Journalism and mass media careers all begin with an enormous amount of time paying dues.