Sarah Spicer, 25

News Editor, Committee to Protect Journalists Education: Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and English, Emporia State University; Master of Science in Investigative Journalism, Columbia University

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

Journalism and the tools we use to uncover secrets and speak truths make the world a better place, so take the steps ahead of time to avoid burnout and keep yourself in the industry.

When I started journalism, it was “New York Times or bust!” However, as I began working and formulating my path, I realized a true passion for longer-form work and working on a daily wasn’t affording me the time, space or energy to pursue that. It was a difficult decision, but I took a half step back from journalism.

Now that I work as a news editor at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), I get to use the tools of journalism to protect journalists during the day, and I have the freedom on nights and weekends to pursue my journalistic projects and write my books. Everyone brings something unique to the table of journalism. Find your niche, and don’t be afraid to focus all your energy on it, despite what anyone else says.

With everything going on in the world, what keeps you optimistic about working in our industry?

The variety of ways in which people practice journalism. We have a definition of “journalism” that we all learn in our reporting classes. We also have a mindset of what journalism looks like — people on a screen and blocks of text in a paper.

However, there are people worldwide who are practicing journalism in new and inventive ways, often risking the personal safety of themselves and their families. At CPJ, I have had the privilege of helping to tell the stories of those brave enough to subvert totalitarian regimes to spread factual information or follow along as journalists use cutting-edge techniques to undermine technology-based censorship. In realtime, we are observing journalism’s evolution as it rises to meet the challenges ahead, and this is what makes me optimistic about the industry.