Typewriters and dreams

Claire Doll
MSMU Class of 2024

(3/2024) Before you read my article, take a moment to flip to the front of the News-Journal. Just between the title and the first headline is a quote in italics, small enough to be tucked into the paper, and large enough to resonate with you: "Exalting the importance of ideas and information" – Edward R. Murrow.

My first article for the Emmitsburg News-Journal was titled "The Power of Words" and established the truth-seeking, empowering ability of journalism. To write this article, I sought information about Edward R. Murrow and his work as a broadcast journalist. The risks he took to remain truthful no matter the cost. His prominence during the rise of communism, and his strides for journalism. Watching the film that tells his story—"Good Night and Good Luck"—encouraged me to cultivate my own identity as a writer and my consistent pursuit for the truth. In fact, writing for this News-Journal has ensured the validity of my craft and exposed me to a small corner in the world of journalism.

I’ll take you through what inspired me to apply to the Emmitsburg News-Journal in the first place. It really traces back to me being around eight years old. All my life I have dreamed of being a writer, but the obsession with words and language began with Kit Kittredge, an American Girl Doll. Cropped, blonde hair parted into a bob and freckles scattered across her cheeks, Kit Kittredge was an aspiring journalist who wrote articles about the Great Depression for her town. She was only ten, and I was a bit younger than her, but I saw myself in this doll, how she carried a journal and ventured through her town and kept a typewriter in her attic bedroom. I wanted to have a typewriter because of her; to this day, I search antique stores and consignment shops for one.

But as I grew through middle and high school, and as Kit Kittredge found her way to an old bin in my garage, my love for writing narrowed to a concrete, attractive focus: creative writing. I loved novels.i I dreamed of being a published author, with bestsellers lined on my shelf and a writing desk overlooking the ocean (or a lake, or a river), and my name, in print, on a hardcover. In college, I began writing for literary magazines, editing my university’s publication, and taking all the writing classes I could.

I then received the notification to apply for the Emmitsburg News-Journal, in a schoolwide email.

My curiosity to explore a new form of writing and return to my childhood love of American Girl Dolls ultimately inspired me to apply. I thought about Kit Kittredge in my garage, about my untouched dream of being a writer, about how amazing it might feel to see my name in print. Claire Doll. I realized then how important it was to apply, to branch out. To acknowledge my love for writing in a new field. To take a risk.

Since September of my sophomore year, I have written more than fifty articles for the Emmitsburg News-Journal and Woodsboro-Walkersville News-Journal. Through Four Years at the Mount, I have been asked to reflect on current events, or research lost parts of history, or tell stories from my past. I also began writing feature stories by venturing out into the community and introducing myself to prominent town members of Emmitsburg, Thurmont, Fairfield, Walkersville, and Union Bridge and telling the stories of others: the history of fire departments, cats living in small businesses, the accomplishments of local individuals. When I was asked to do feature assignments—something I had no experience in—I felt obligated and excited to try. I fell in love with the process and trained myself to report the news and document these stories in authentic, respectable ways.

In my own small way, I have honored Edward R. Murrow’s quote. After all, to write for the Emmitsburg and Woodsboro-Walkersville News-Journal means to focus on truth and information and ideas. Journalism—ethical, truth-seeking journalism—requires the heart of a writer, the fight for a story. The lit-up keyboard of a MacBook, or the tapping of a typewriter. The scrawls carved in a notebook, the ink stains on hand. Journalism is commitment. It’s different from creative writing, but do not think that it's not as beautiful, as inspiring, as relevant.

Local journalism is especially important in that it fosters an informed, educated community and promises ethical writing. You might notice how our paper is not littered with advertisements, but rather filled with community contributors, astronomy columns, cooking recipes, creative writing, gardening advice—our paper encourages involvement and engagement. It’s what I love about this News Journal, and why I handle each article with intention and attention to detail. I know who I am writing to. My professors who read this paper, or any local community members I’ve ever met (hi, everyone!). My parents, who lovingly read every article, or my roommate Emma, who listens carefully as I read my articles out loud for her. I know my audience; I live in the same wooded mountainside of Emmitsburg, the same backroads meeting Main Street. I feel not only obligated, but also honored to report the most truthful facts, to treat each feature story with the utmost respect. Because, after all, these stories go right from my fingertips to the entire town. There is no in between. No ads blocking my words, no filter. Local journalism protects authenticity and promotes identity.

Edward R. Murrow also said this: "To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful." My journey through journalism has been informed completely by Edward Murrow, tracing back to my very first article. With every feature article, every Four Years at the Mount column, every interview, I find myself thanking the Emmitsburg News-Journal for truly a one-time opportunity. I still write creatively, and it’s still my dream, but I’ve learned more about myself through journalism. I’ve learned how devoted I am to tell one’s story, and I’ve learned how rewarding this can be. I have a couple months left as a student at Mount St. Mary’s, but I hope I’ve left my own legacy on this paper, hope I can continue to write like this any way I can.

And I hope I can one day find myself a typewriter.

Read other articles by Claire Doll