“No two days are alike when you’re a newspaper journalist. On
Monday I could be assigned to report on a murder and on Tuesday, I
could be sent to cover a story on the New York Mets,” says Nicholas
Hirshon ’06CPS, an alumnus of St. John’s College of Professional
Studies.
The native New Yorker’s practical knowledge of Queens, the borough
in which he was born and raised, is invaluable to his work as a
reporter for the Queens Bureau of the New York Daily News, “I like
the fact that I get to cover everything that involves Queens. This
is where I grew up; it’s what I know so well.”
Nicholas’s interest in journalism began at an early age, and he
recalls making his own monthly newsletters when he was a child, “I
always loved the creativity associated with writing. Journalism
gives me the freedom to write about the things I’m most interested
in.”
Determined to break into the field of journalism, Nicholas began
writing for local newspapers while he was still in high school, “I
wanted to be a journalist so I could inform people about what’s
going on in the world, especially the parts that seem inaccessible
to them. I believe an educated society makes better decisions about
how to lead their lives.”
His search for the perfect college where he would gain valuable
insight into the field of journalism led him to St. John’s
University, “If you dream of working at a big-city newspaper, St.
John’s is a fantastic choice. I learned all the basics of
journalism – reporting, writing, ethics and legal issues – from my
professors at St. John’s. I really didn’t have a firm understanding
of the industry until I began taking classes with professors, like
Professor Calvin Lawrence, who had written for distinguished
newspapers like New York Newsday.”
One of Nicholas’ favorite pieces to write, “History in Peril,” is a
series highlighting the possible demolition of Queens’ oldest
buildings and unlandmarked sites. His articles influenced the the
city Landmarks Preservation Commission to hold a hearing to
preserve the Ridgewood Movie Theatre. Considered to be one of the
“oldest continuously operated theaters in the country having
survived the Depression, World War II and the advent of the VCR,
TV, and DVD,” it was built in 1916 and closed in 2008. “Before I
wrote that article, people never even considered it as a place that
should be preserved. I like to think I had something to do with
that.”
Nicholas’ next objective is to share his knowledge and experiences
with students interested in becoming journalists, “I will begin
teaching journalism at the college level while continuing to work
for a major city newspaper. I believe journalists have a very noble
mission to change the direction of the world and I’m honored to try
to live up to it.”