Editor on the Fast Track

“You’re too young to waste your life with a career that’s going nowhere.”

Ananda Boardman heard that line more than enough times from people cautioning her from pursuing a career in print journalism. But less than two years after graduating from Ouachita in 2011, she has already been promoted
to editor of one of the Dallas Morning News’ neighborsgo community editions.

“It’s been a little crazy and weird [how fast everything has happened],” said Boardman, formerly News/Features Editor for The Signal.

Boardman started working at the Dallas Morning News in June 2010, between her junior and senior years, after being selected to be an intern by the Collegiate Network, a program that places college students in internships and jobs at newspapers across the country.

“My first day on the job — my press badge was literally still sticky — I was assigned to go to Arlington, where a police woman’s husband had recently passed away after a skiing accident and where her son was battling juvenile Batten disease,” she said. “I was really overwhelmed because, one, it was terrifyingly sad, and two, because it was a quick turn-around; it had to go in the
next day’s paper.

“I had never done something like this before, because at The Signal, we have a week to write an article.”

During her internship, Boardman was assigned to the public safety beat.

“Getting to see how the court system works was one of the coolest parts of working that beat,” she said.

She regularly saw her stories appear on the front of the Metro section of the newspaper, but the last story she wrote that summer was her first to make the front page of Dallas Morning News.

She was covering a recent decision allowing prisoners who were in jail on lesser charges to pay a fee and be released, with an ankle bracelet, until their next hearing. The article was printed the day after her internship ended in August.

“It was so good to watch her progress,” said Dr. Jeff Root, dean of the School of Humanities and adviser to The Signal. “I especially loved seeing her email me her front page stories.”

Boardman returned to Ouachita and decided to apply for a year-long fellowship, again with the Collegiate Network, in September. She found out in April that she had been selected and that she would be able to return to the Dallas Morning News from June 2011 through June 2012.

She covered various beats during her fellowship, including education. She continued to see her articles appear on the front page of the newspaper; she said she has had 6 or 7 appear on Page 1A, 40 to 50 appear on the Metro section cover and wrote about 100 articles total.

In May, Boardman’s editor, Oscar Martinez, told Boardman that her contract could be extended after her fellowship ended in June 2012 by 60 days if she would move to the neighborsgo publication. neighborsgo consists of eleven editions that cover different areas of the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area and are published each Friday and distributed with Dallas Morning News. Each issue features content created by members of those communities, along with original content created by the

neighborsgo staff. Boardman is currently the editor for the White Rock | East Dallas edition.

“I really like feature writing more than news,” she said. “It’s hard to do some of the hard news sometimes. neighborsgo
is more positive news and features about people in the community.”

Boardman said working at a newspaper has allowed her experiences she normally would not have had.

“My favorite Sunday assignment was covering 1,000 volunteers who put flags on the veterans’ graves for Memorial Day,” she said. “There were 30,000 graves with flags, and just as we were about to leave, a wind blew and stood all of the flags out. It was an emotional experience that I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t been working that morning.”

Root said Boardman’s accelerated career is evidence of the importance of internships.

Boardman said any students interested in careers in journalism should consider Collegiate Network. Applications are being accepted, and information can be found at collegiatenetwork.org/internships.

Ananda Boardman

Birthday: July 3
Home: Geronimo, Texas
Favorite Color: Red
Favorite Food: Spanish, Mexican, Italian
Favorite Music: Country
Biggest Influence: My mom
As a child, I wanted to: Be a tap-dancing zookeeper
Something few people know about me: I’m ridiculously shy
Something I hope to accomplish: It’s pretty stereotypical. I want to win a Pulitzer Prize, and to have a best-selling novel one day