Kiera McGuire

Editor-in-Chief

At The College of Wooster, experiential learning is implemented to engage students with fields they are interested in exploring. In one First Year Seminar (FYS) class taught by Dr. Matt Krain, professor of political science, students gained knowledge on the journalism field through guest speaker Bryce Buyakie, the courts and public safety reporter at the Akron Beacon Journal.

The FYS, titled “Breaking News! or Breaking Down? Journalism, Politics, and Society in a Challenging Era,” acts as an introduction to the field of journalism. Students explore topics such as misinformation, objectivity, journalistic ethics and the many forms of news media. Buyakie joined the class on Thursday, Sept. 24, to discuss some of his work and take questions from the class.

To begin the lecture, Krain mentioned that Buyakie previously worked for University of Toledo’s paper, The Collegian, as well as Toledo’s City Paper. After attending graduate school at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York (CUNY), Buyakie reported for Wooster’s Daily Record, covering community interest, crime and government stories. Now working at the Akron Beacon Journal, Buyakie started out as a breaking news reporter before transitioning to criminal justice and public safety news. According to Buyakie, his reporting focuses on murder and high profile cases, as well as public health breaking news.

The lecture was set up to focus on student questions. While some students inquired about Buyakie’s experiences with reporting, others asked for advice on certain situations one might find themselves in as a journalist. Note that not all questions and answers are shared in this article.

One student asked about the process behind profiling high-pressure events while still being sensitive to the topic and community. Buyakie responded by saying that, for him, focusing on the people in the community is important. “I’m usually trying to start [interviews] with neighbors, family members or friends [of the article’s subject],” Buyakie began. “I try to keep the interviews short: ask about loved ones first, then go into what happened … I want them to feel comfortable before getting into the more difficult [topic].”

On the same note, Buyakie was asked how he and other journalists remain objective while reporting on some community stories related to criminal justice and other heavy topics. “I’ll focus on what happened, create a timeline from the start to end,” Buyakie said. “When I’m writing, I remind readers that people are involved here.”

Buyakie continued to say that reporting objectively means that he needs to keep both sides of the story in mind, as he did with his article “Akron sweeps homeless camp citing ‘numerous’ complaints, displaces over a dozen people.”

“There’s this ‘not my backyard’ mentality of homelessness … I wanted to be fair to people living there and to the city of Akron, as they got complaints [about the situation],” Buyakie said.

Some students asked about the importance of local papers and news teams. The Daily Record and Akron Beacon Journal, two publications Buyakie reported for, have been acquired by USA Today Co. (formerly Gannett, Co.). The company reportedly owns more than 200 newspapers –– a vast network that aligns with its purported mission to eliminate news deserts and “keep local publications viable.”

“It’s hard to establish trust in different places,” Buyakie said in response to the distinctness of local news sources. “You wouldn’t understand certain things [being reported on] if you’re not in the area.”

Buyakie continued to say he got to know people in the cities he worked in, who would provide tips and story ideas, strengthening the connection between journalists and the community. 

Buyakie closed out his discussion by sharing why he went into journalism, and his dedication to staying in the field. “I enjoyed the writing process and talking to different people [for a story],” he said, emphasizing that journalistic experience was mostly attained by making mistakes and working in the field. The class ended with time to ask questions personally to Buyakie.