Cara Mckenna, 32

Editor, Indiginews

Education: Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, University of British Columbia (in progress); a diploma in journalism from Langara College.

What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

You can always learn something from other people. Ask questions, show respect and appreciation and remember that it’s a very small industry, so your relationships and how you carry yourself matter. When it comes to stories, be cognizant of journalistic rules and protocols but always listen to and trust your own intuition first.

Before publishing, take a breath, reread the piece more times than you think (including aloud, even if it’s for print) and try putting yourself in the shoes of your sources and readers.

Really look at the language, consider the implication behind each word and ask yourself if it could be done better. Also, never make decisions out of panic. Being accurate and trustworthy is so much better than simply being first. What is your strategy for creating content that will engage your audience?

The entry point to any story is so crucial. You have to make people care by giving them a hook — whatever that means for an individual story. Sometimes I like a more colourful, literary-style beginning and other times, I think a strong news lede works best. A strong nut graf is also really important, and impactful visuals will drive it home.

I guess I’m old school because I think of engagement more in terms of quality than clicks. Are people actually reading the piece and understanding it, or are they just clicking on a grabby headline and then losing interest and closing the tab?

I also think a nice part about online media vs. print is that we don’t have the same obligation to fill up space, so we can really consider what we’re adding to the conversation before publishing a piece. There’s nothing less interesting than a story just for the sake of a story. To me, there needs to be a “why” behind it.