Then I Became A Country Hound

My most recent journalistic endeavor begain in summer 2008, when I began an editorial internship for Country Hound, a Country Music news Web site which is updated daily. I created their daily news agenda each day and assigned writers to each of the eight stories. I also wrote music chart histories, which were posted on the site.

In August, I was offered a job at Country Hound as an editor. I accepted the offer and now work part-time editing stories each day and posting them to the Web site using a content management system.

Visit Country Hound to see my work.

Student Reporter Courtney Drake Receives Inaugural CMA Close Up Award of Merit

In June 2007, I had the opportunity to be a media volunteer for the Country Music Association. I was one of four college students chosen to cover various aspects of the 2007 CMA Music Festival. At the end of the four-day festival, one of us would be chosen as the CMA Close Up Award of Merit winner. As a reward, the winner would attend the 2007 CMA Awards in Nashville in the press room.



A week after the Festival had ended, I received a call telling me after much deliberation, they had chosen me as the winner of the Award of Merit. I was ecstatic the night I attended the awards, my dreams of becoming a music journalist unveiling themselves. See the photo, above, with me holding my plaque with CMA Close Up Editor Bob Doerschuk, left, and Wendy Pearl, CMA President of Communications, right.



To read the press release about the award, click here.



To read my work during the CMA Music Festival, visit the following links (look for the article titles in bold on each page):

• Day 1 (see: The Party Continues at the Chevy Music Tour; Souvenirs, Autographs and a Mellow Pace of Celebration Reign at the Fan Fair Exhibit Hall)

• Day 2 (see: Cruisin’ with Chevy on a (Briefly) Rainy Afternoon at Chevy Music Tour; Autographs Flow from Stars at Fan Fair Exhibit Hall)

• Day 3 (see: Arena Concerts Take Country Music from Heartland to Hispanic Horizons; Up-Close and Personal Items Abound at YW Celebrity Auction in Crisco Family Zone; Ugly Betties and Country Hunks Entertain at ABC Block Party)

• Day 4 (see: LP Field Extravaganza Brings Memorable End to 2007 CMA Music Festival)

The Tennessean

During my sophomore year at Belmont, I was approached by a journalism professor who was impressed by my work and recommended I inquire about a freelancing job at Nashville's newspaper, The Tennessean. I got the job and from February-April 2007, worked at The Tennessean as a freelancer in the Religion and Education departments.

I created briefs based on press releases and was also sent on several assignments. My first assignment was to cover a middle school as they created quilt squares to send overseas to less fortunate children through a program called More Than Warmth. Above is a picture taken after returning from my first "real" assignment as a reporter. My story was published in The Tennesean in the Classroom section the next week.

A Vision for the Vision

My freshman year of college at Belmont University, I began working as a student worker/staff writer at the student newspaper, the Belmont Vision, my first journalism job. My main task was to write articles, as well as do organizational work for the newspaper.

After working as staff writer for two years, I was asked to be editor-in-chief of the Vision. Thrilled, I took on the responsibility and led the Vision for two semesters. My main focus was creating a larger online presence for the newspaper due to the shifting media world. As a result, we cut back to a monthly print product (as compared to bi-monthly) and posted stories online more often, leading to more awareness of the online product. I also wrote a column for each print edition of the newspaper.

Visit the following links to read a few examples of my work published in the Vision:

• Got Spirit? (Article, page 1, left side)
• Gunmen on the loose? Who ya gonna call? (Column, page 10, left side)
• No arrests yet for campus graffiti (Article)
• Eric Volz challenges news media to be fair, ethical (Article, page 1, left side)
• Foundation for journalism must be ethics (Column, page 10, left side)

Why Journalism?

Now that I think about it, reading and writing have always been my strong points. In elementary school, I was reading books meant for fifth graders in third grade, and by the time I was a freshman in high school, my English teacher would tell me time and time again that I should consider writing as a career. However, I didn't think I would enjoy writing and continued to rack my brain, trying to come up with a career I would be passionate about. Finally, around my junior year, it hit me. I was passionate about Country Music and skilled at writing. Why not combine the two? Music journalism was calling my name.

But journalism is more than just a career more me. It's become a second passion. I enjoy meeting new people, hearing their stories and gaining new perspectives on life. I love the process of writing and thinking about innovative ways to tell a story so the audience will gain the most from it. Every time I'm assigned a story, I learn more about the world, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.

As a college senior, I've already had some wonderful experiences working in the music journalism industry. I'm so excited to graduate and see where this tide will take me next.