Newsweek editor shares secrets to success

By Katie Glueck

When Bret Begun came back to his high school newspaper after completing the cherub program, he typed up pages of writing instructions, made countless “do and don’t” lists and even advised a staff member to check out his mother’s claims of  maternal love. 

Instructors Jenny Hontz, Bret Begun and Community Associate Kristin Ellertson pose for a picture at a Cubs game.

Begun said by late fall of senior year, much of his staff had quit the paper. Then he said he learned a major lesson: sometimes, high school newspaper editors have to accept mediocrity to maintain their sanity — and their staff.

Begun, now the national affairs editor for Newsweek magazine, said that is “Rule No. 1” in pursuing journalism after the cherub program.

“Aspiring journalists don’t always get great mentoring,” he said in an e-mail. “So I figured I’d try to do what I could.”

Begun walked cherubs through the next five years of their lives, beginning with senior year of high school, where many cherubs will be editors of their papers.  He stressed the importance of working on a college paper and of pursuing internships, and finally, outlined the best ways to break into the journalism job market. 

“The most important piece of advice for a cherub hearing the lecture is the bit about how to manage — or not to manage — high school newspaper staffs in the wake of the cherub experience,” Begun said.

Begun recommended that cherubs edit the work of staff reporters only for clarity and brevity. This piece of advice was particularly relevant for Alex Katz, a cherub from Newton, Mass., who will be editor of his school paper this year.

“I liked what Bret said about going back to your high school as an editor and not being cocky,” Katz said. “Earlier, I was thinking about doing a lot of the things he recommended we didn’t do, like making 'do and don’t' lists, so he saved me a lot of work and potential embarrassment.”

Begun also gave cherubs an insider’s look at what editors value in internship and job applications. 

“He talked about what we can do to start getting jobs now, and next year, and in five years,” said Adine Mitrani, a cherub from Bay Harbor Islands, Fla. “The whole talk was practical and relevant to our lives.”

Jim Santel, a cherub from St. Louis, said that while he won’t follow Begun’s entire plan, he’ll consider the advice over the next few years.

“I was comforted by the talk,” Santel said. “There’s no set-in-stone path to success, but it’s a nice template to follow.”

Begun said there are many ways to break into journalism.

“The talk I gave is specific to the path I took,” he said. “And it’s just one path.  There are many routes one can take to become a journalist. I only know one of them, so that’s the one I talk about.”

Katherine Driessen, a cherub from Columbia, Md., said she felt a career in journalism was attainable after hearing from Begun, who began as a cherub like her and who “made it” in the media world.

“It was really his determination and work ethic that got him through and it’s heartening to see hard work pay off in the end,” Driessen said. “I think I can have a career in journalism by the time I’m legal, too.”