Talia Buford was a Summer 2004 Chips Quinn Scholar at the Press & Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton, N.Y. A native of Flint, Mich., she graduated from Hampton University in 2005. She also was an intern for the Detroit Free Press, The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., and the Scripps Howard Foundation Wire. Since about 2006, she has reported for The Providence Journal in Rhode Island, and currently covers the town of Smithfield and state courts in three counties.

By Ryan Strong

Ryan Strong contacted Talia Buford through Facebook in 2008, while she was writing for Ten95, a blog she and five of her journalist friends, including Chipster Aaron Morrison (2008), maintained. Ryan was a reader of the blog. Ryan and Talia discovered that each would be going to the UNITY convention that summer and arranged to meet in Chicago. They’ve stayed in touch ever since.

Q: How has your job at The Providence Journal changed during the last four years?

A: When I started, I worked for a newspaper, and only wrote. By last fall, I was working for a news organization, which includes video reporting and multimedia.

Q: How have you incorporated the Internet in your reporting?

A: I have a Web site (www.taliabuford.com) and have used audio and video when I report. I am not as far along as I would like to be but am getting there.

Q: What did you take away from the Chips Quinn Scholars program?

A: The training before the internship was helpful before going into the actual job. The program placed me at a small newspaper in upstate New York. I did a lot of general assignment reporting, but I also wrote a lot of feature stories during the summer. After the program, I took away so much knowledge, friendship and preparation for a career as a journalist. My coach was so helpful; we still meet for lunch a few times each year. And I still keep in contact with some of the women from my class. A few years later, I ended up working with one of them at the Journal. It was great having another Chipster in Rhode Island to discuss journalism with.

Q: What did you do after your CQS internship?

A: I graduated from Hampton University in 2005 and went to The Poynter Institute for a fellowship. I was an intern at the Detroit Free Press for one summer and then came to Rhode Island and the Journal.

Q: What do you cover at The Providence Journal?

A: I’m a crime and court reporter, and I love it.

Q: Why have you decided to study law at Georgetown?

A: I’ve decided to get my master’s degree for a couple of reasons, mainly because I want to cover my beat better. The legal system is very complex and I felt that I could be more effective as a journalist if I had a better understanding of the law. It’ll allow me to ask more pointed questions of the lawyers I interview, instead of wasting time making sure I have procedures and definitions correct. Also, I want to teach at the collegiate level eventually, so I need to get an advanced degree. And I never wanted to get a degree just to get one, so when the opportunity to study something that I enjoy came along, I jumped at the chance.

Q: What did you do to prepare for your career as a journalist?

A: I asked as many questions as I could from working reporters. I watched them do their jobs and tried to apply their methods to my work. Watching a reporter can be just as helpful as reading their published work.

Q: How would you describe your writing process?

A: I like to know all the facts and outline before I start writing. I usually have to rewrite and rewrite until I am happy with it.

Q: Tell me about one of your favorite stories.

A: They are all my babies and I could not pick out one from the rest.

Q: Is there a future in newspapers?

A: I hope so. I would like to be a writer for the rest of my life. Journalism has been my dream since I was in elementary school, so I am going to continue to pursue it. Journalism is changing, but there will always be a need for journalism and news. I’m not sure if newspapers will always be printed, but there will be some form of newspapers.

Ryan Strong is a journalism student at Northern Illinois University. He was a Summer 2009 Chips Quinn Scholar at the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times. Strong has worked as the opinion editor for the student newspaper, Northern Star. He has been an intern at the New York Daily News, Tulsa (Okla.) World and Chicago Defender. This summer he will be an intern at the New York Daily News.