Q&A: Rebecca McCarter (’97), former Beacon editor

News Editor

In an effort to see what changes to the media have looked like from the ground level, I spoke with my mom, Rebecca McCarter, about her experiences as a staff writer and student life editor for The Daily Beacon from 1995-97, and what she thought about the current state of student journalism.

The following interview has been edited for length.

Autumn Hall: What was the newsroom dynamic like when you at the Beacon?

Rebecca McCarter: The newsroom was so much different then versus now. We had to physically go to the newsroom every time we needed to type out a story. I remember one time, I had a story completely done and the electricity went out. I lost the entire story.

Hall: How did you communicate with writers?

McCarter: It was all either written down or by word of mouth. The system wasn’t nearly as sophisticated as it is now. I do think that it worked just as well then, though. I think we were clearer with each other on what we wanted to write and what we did. There are so many distractions with social media and different things. Back then, it was just clear cut communication.

Hall: What were some of the biggest issues that you faced during your time at the Beacon?

McCarter: My peers editing my work. I got in hot water because of their edits sometimes. One time, I did a story on Mothers Against Drunk Driving. It was the cover story. They did skits depicting the effects of alcohol abuse and drunk driving. I had an editor who added the words “funny skits” into the article. The next morning, I woke up to the head of the UTPD calling me.

Hall: Oh no! How do you think that impacted your personal editing style?

McCarter: I think going forward, it taught me a valuable lesson that words can easily be twisted. Your article can mean something very different just by the change of a couple words in a statement.

Hall: What was the campus climate like when you were going to UT?

McCarter: It was awesome. Of course, we had a fellow called Peyton Manning. He was such a great athlete. Football was wonderful. We also had Pat Summitt. What a powerful female to be a role model to so many students. Also, the campus was really growing. We thought UT was huge then, but look at campus now!

Hall: How would you say student readership with the Beacon was back then?

McCarter: I think readership was definitely higher back then. There was much less social media news. People would actually pick up a paper and read it. I do think newspapers are still alive in some ways, though. More so than people think.

Hall: What would you say is the biggest difference between my time at the Beacon versus your time at the Beacon?

McCarter: Of course, the personal computer. Where you type everything, I wrote everything. I had a writer’s notebook. I think we were more hands on, more in person. With social media, I feel like a lot of the information people get for news stories is from online sources. I don’t think it is as personal as it used to be.

Hall: What about from a content perspective?

McCarter: You guys definitely delve into harder news and issues that we never would’ve written about back then. I think the Internet has opened up people’s minds to more and more ideas. That information is just so available to you. You also focus on more entertaining things. Listicles are an example of that.

Hall: What advice would you give to someone who is just getting started in the field of journalism?

McCarter: The advice that I would give to a starting reporter at the Beacon or anywhere else in the field would be to ask a lot of questions. Come up with ideas. Be excited every day. As a reporter, you never know what you’re going to do that day. to listen and be willing to take on stories outside of your comfort zone because you never know what will come of it.