By Tristan Wirfs

Gazette sports editor J.R. Ogden visited Mount Vernon High School journalism classes to give students an idea of what he likes to see in stories and how to get ideas for topics to write about.

Ogden has traveled to numerous high schools around the state of Iowa to tell students what he looks for in the stories he publishes. Ogden gave student tips for writing. “Make your stories fun, because you always write best when you are having fun,” he said.

Ogden suggested students find something that interests them when they are looking for stories and to be curious.  “It’s good to be curious, it’s motivation,” he said. Ogden’s other advice was to do the research, talk to as many people as you can while writing a story, and to listen to people, whether it be at a meeting or a simple one-on-one interview.

Ogden decided to pursue sports writing when he was a junior in high school. He quit football for cross country and ended up quitting baseball to get a job. It turns out that Ogden’s dad worked at the Gazette, so that’s where it all started.

Ogden has been at the Gazette as a sports writer for 39 years. A lot of people hate their job and are unhappy when they come home from work, but not Ogden. He has loved his job from the first day he started working there. One thing he likes most about his job is getting stories submitted to him by high school kids.

Junior Maggie Dale has been published in the Gazette for her story about her younger brother fencing. “It felt pretty cool to get published because it’s a lot more people seeing your story rather than just 15 other people in your class,” said Dale. “It felt really good to know that he thought my story was good enough to be published, too.”

Read Maggie Dale’s Story here: MOUNT VERNON’S ADRIAN DALE TAKES AIM AT NATIONALS