Communication major Cal Hoag appreciates the various structural formats of journalism. Through his extensive experience in journalism, he has discovered the ways in which a writer can have fun while creating interesting pieces (Cal Hoag/copy editor).
Throughout his academic career, communication major senior Cal Hoag has discovered a love for journalism. His love, which first began in high school, has continued through his college experiences as he continued to write and involved himself in more journalistic opportunities.
“When I first got to college, I knew that I wanted to write for the school paper, but I was never actually able to go to a Lamron meeting because of my class schedule. So, I wasn’t able to actually get involved [with the paper] until my sophomore year. When I finally got involved, I just started writing,” Hoag said. “I always wrote for Arts because that’s what I’m interested in and then it took until my junior year for me to become a copy assistant. I moved into the copy editor position this year.”
As someone who has moved up in his positions within The Lamron, Hoag explains the importance of trying career choices out. He also believes that being able to write well is a skill that can be applied universally.
“There’s value in any kind of journalistic pursuit so, even if you’re unsure about a career, it’s worth it to try. If the career isn’t for you there’s value in interviewing people, writing and editing,” Hoag said. “I think that can be applied anywhere. I’ll always advocate for liberal arts, kind of English-y majors; I think there’s a lot of value in that. STEM isn’t all that there is. If you’re questioning something definitely write for The Lamron, we always need people.”
He undoubtedly exemplifies his own message regarding “trying it,” as he started his own column for the Arts and Entertainment section. In his new column, entitled “WTF,” Hoag writes about whatever he chooses, ranging from Shrek to a bad, bad goose to Porgs from Star Wars in this week’s issue. His main intention is to have fun with the writing process, rather than follow a structured formula.
“I write about really whatever I want to in the entertainment world in any given week. It could be like a movie that I watched recently, or an album that I listened to; something in the news. Sometimes I write about weird stuff and I just try to have fun with it. That’s a good example of something I didn’t know I could do early on,” he said. “When I started writing for The Lamron it tended to be reviews for a movie, or I would cover an event and it was more like hard journalism. It took most of my college experience to realize there’s a lot more wiggle room and creativity to be found in the field.”
As a student who has gotten so heavily involved in writing, Hoag describes how journalism, and The Lamron especially, has made him more aware as a writer. He previously had not understood how open-ended writing could be.
“I guess it’s kind of made me more aware of how much there is to do with it. Like I never understood the nuances, the intricacies, the behind-the-scenes part of it,” Hoag said. “I really like writing the column that I do now for Arts, because that shows that you can kind of have fun with it and be a little out there and goofier.”
As a soon-to-be graduating senior, Hoag hopes to involve himself in a career that will give him some level of stability, but he vouches that journalism is something he will always continue to pursue for himself. He really wants you to read his WTF column on page 12.