Billy Montgomery values curiosity from his journalists.
Montgomery will be the adviser of the upper school student newspaper The Chronicle and also the teacher of some journalism courses. In addition he will be working with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and watching his students develop by being an active participant of the activities at school.
Montgomery thinks asking why is what journalism is all about.
“But when you get down to your why, you get a chance to understand the purpose.”
He believes that is what’s missing from a lot of journalism right now and needs to be included.
“I can teach you how to report, I can’t teach how to be curious.”
He also believes that innovative thinking is another important aspect of journalism. For example, he enjoys people who think outside the box. Although a good foundation such as the inverted pyramid is an excellent way to start, it doesn’t have to end there.
By encouraging journalists to write from different perspectives, it makes them really think about what kind of story they want to tell.
Montgomery wants his journalists to be able to write in a way that can keep people’s attention and also keep it informative. He says, people can get news from a multimedia perspective, but reporters need to adapt to that perspective and be able to grow and develop beyond regular writing.
Montgomery’s advice to students interested in journalism is surveying your audience. You should take into consideration what the audience is interested in to draw them in. In his words, “different bait for different fish.”
His goal for Chronicle this year is to reach more marginalized people, such as the international students at HW.
“Stop interviewing, start getting an inner view,” he said.
The inner view lets journalists dive deeper into the interviewee’s story. To cover people who aren’t usually in the Chronicle.
Before taking the job at HW, Montgomery worked for Columbia College Hollywood, doing remote work at Roosevelt University Chicago where Montgomery was the adviser of the newspaper and teaching communications courses. He also worked in a youth development agency.
“It’s important that young people are heard,” Montgomery said.
