This month’s professional spotlight is Aron Yohannes, a multimedia sports journalist and social media editor. Read this month’s spotlight to learn more about Aron and his how he turned his passion into a successful career.
Could you briefly explain some of your responsibilities in your career role?
I have a wide range of responsibilities that keep me busy every day. The reason I tell people I’m a multimedia sports journalist and social media editor is because I write stories (basic news, features, analytical stuff), edit, shoot and broadcast videos, do photography and run social media accounts for brands. I don’t do one thing. I really don’t like doing the same stuff all the time, so being able to have a versatile skillset helps me not only be good at my job, but it helps me really enjoy what I do because it’s always something different.
What inspired you to pursue a career in journalism?
There are two things that inspired me to be a sports journalist: 1. I tried being an athlete but my parents didn’t really let me go after it and my grades were bad so I settled for this instead, and 2. I’ve always been extremely passionate about the world of sports from the athletes, to coaches, to even the fans around it. When it came down to focusing on what I wanted to do for my career, I just picked what I was really passionate about and what I wanted to wake up to every day, and to me, that was being involved in the sports world.
What is a project you are currently working on that you are excited about?
Without sharing the details of it (it’s not public knowledge right now), there’s something I’m working on dedicated to my hometown of Milwaukee, Wisc., that I’m really excited about. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for the past two years but didn’t have the opportunity to do so until now. I love everything about my city and this new project allows me to use my voice and strengths to connect with it in a different format even though I no longer live there.
How did you come to decide that this was the right career path for you?
Like I mentioned above, it really just came down to me realizing what in the world I wanted to wake up to do every day. We all have different career paths, but we all should be getting up and putting in the hours we want for something we really care about and love. For me that was being a sports journalist and telling stories about athletes and being a resource of knowledge and insight for people.
What do you consider to be your greatest professional accomplishment?
This isn’t meant to sound like me being Mr. Humble guy or whatever, but I really feel like I haven’t accomplished anything yet. There are some cool things I feel like I’ve done in my career like covering the NBA playoffs, the NFL and writing a column for the New York Daily News this year about Colin Kaepernick, but I don’t feel like I’ve really accomplished anything yet and it’s something I’m striving to fix in the next year.
How do you know when a story is ready to be published?
Besides knowing from how strained my eyes are and how irritated I am from hearing my annoying voice 1,000 times (any journalist will tell you they hate listening to their voice again from interviews), I know my story is ready when it’s at the point where everything flows the way that I want it to and I feel like it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever written. I try to have that approach with every story I write because people reading what I write is truly a huge deal to me — you’re taking time out of your day to read what I have to say — and I want to make sure I put everything I have into every story.
Do you always get to pick the stories you cover? How do you choose?
In the case when I was an NBA beat writer covering the Milwaukee Bucks, every time something came out on the Bucks we felt was newsworthy, I was the person on it. I really enjoyed that because you master that area and become a resource for people. When something happens, people want to read what you have to say about it, radio stations want to have you on to talk about it, etc. Additionally, you formulate your own stories outside the regular stuff and make pitches to editors and work with them to craft those stories. It’s a process, but it tests your creativity.
Who has been your favorite interviewee?
This is a really hard question. I’ve been able to interview a lot of different athletes, but my favorite was definitely Kobe Bryant, despite it being in a press conference setting and not one-on-one. It was after his final game in Milwaukee and the answer he gave to the question I asked was incredible. Covering that whole game was an experience I’ll never forget, it felt like a movie.
What tips would you offer anyone looking to take a similar career path?
There’s a lot I can really say about this but I’ll keep it brief.
- Have as many skills as possible. Don’t come into journalism in 2019 with one thing in mind. If you have all the multimedia skills needed to be a journalist, they’ll never have a reason to move on from you (unless you mess up). Be versatile.
- There are several people like myself in this field that are here to support other habeshas that want to be journalists, so although our career paths are outside the norm, don’t feel alone. Reach out to us, please.
- The other tip I would say is network your butt off. This field is about who you know, not your education level. Keep networking, learning and getting valuable experience that will make you better, the rest will fall into place.
What’s one piece of advice you would give someone looking to transition into your line of work?
If you’re transitioning to journalism or media, do it for the stories you get to tell.
Outside of all of your hard work and efforts toward building your brand, what do you do for fun? Hobbies?
I’m honestly interested in so many different things outside of work it’s amazing. The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve really begun to appreciate the simple things, so I travel when I can, go around to so many different food spots (100% a brunch person), random community events, and invest a lot in self-care and positive energy.