New Haven Register education reporter Brian Zahn describes a journalist’s job as “comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.”
Zahn recently visited the MASH News to interview students about what it’s like to write for the school newspaper, then was interviewed about what it’s like to be a reporter.
Zahn is 2013 graduate of University of Connecticut and began working as a journalist in 2014.
“Journalism is about making change and pushing things forward,” Zahn said. “I like to challenge power structures. You’ve heard the saying that life isn’t fair. As a journalist, I don’t see any reason why we can’t make it fair.”
Zahn is inspired by the work of Nikole Hannah-Jones, a fellow education journalist. “She believes that schools have become resegregated over the years and I agree. Resegregation will cause social problems down the road. “
For example, Zahn, who writes mostly about education, might do a story on why test scores in New Haven differ from scores in North Haven and would ask administrators why scores would differ.
Zahn became a journalist because he thinks “If journalists weren’t here to ask questions people wouldn’t know about the world.”
“I believe in the truth,” said Brian Zahn.
Fun facts about Brian Zahn:
- His favorite Harry Potter character is the three-headed dog, Fluffy.
- His favorite childhood book is “The Monster at the End of the Book.”
- His middle name is Matthew.
- His parents made him read for 30 minutes every morning before school.
- He likes to be a journalist because he gets to leave his office in the middle of the day.
- Zahn went to college on the Storrs campus.
- He is left-handed.
- If he doesn’t know how to spell a word, he writes how he thinks it’s spelled and Googles it later.
- When asked whether he would rather fight 10 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck, he said he’d rather fight one horse-sized duck. (Interpret this answer however you like!)