Rookie Is Lead Reporter On Sniper Story

By: Joe Strupp When Matt Young graduated from journalism school six weeks ago, his initial hope was to write some local features or police briefs for his new editors at The Northern Virginia Journal in Alexandria. Instead, the aptly-named Young, 22, dove head-first into the shark-tank of national and international news coverage -- as the lead police reporter for the Virginia daily smack in the middle of the "suburban sniper's" favorite turf.

"It's been sort of learn as I go," said Young, a Maryland native who graduated with a master's from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University on Sept. 6 and joined the Journal soon after. "I've been trying to feel it out." Since Monday, Young has been the lead reporter on the story for the Alexandria paper.

He got his first taste of sniper coverage on Oct. 9 when the shooting in nearby Manassas occurred. Young was called in for rewrite and some editing to help the paper's Manassas newsroom. His big assignment, however, began Monday after the sniper struck again in Falls Church, which is closer to his newsroom in Alexandria.

"It was a great assignment for a new reporter," said Young, who was called in after-hours following the 9 p.m. shooting and worked the newsroom phones through the night. "I had about two hours of sleep that night because I had to get up Tuesday and wait out most of the day at the police station for a follow-up."

Despite the strain on his nerves, the story that ushered Young into the world of daily newspaper insanity more quickly than he'd planned has an upside for him. "I hadn't received that test by fire until now," he said. "I'll look back on this as the time I became a real reporter."