I decided to call the metropolitan desk to tell them about it, but the nearest phone was on the other side of the parking lot, past the window. As I foolishly walked toward the phone, all I was thinking was that if I died, my mother would kill me. I was wondering how you start. Consider working on high school or college papers to see if you enjoy the work. Later you might want to specialize in a field like law, health, politics, business, art or music, all of which are in the news every day.
Experts are often in a better position to report on such fields.
However, it doesn't always take an expert to FIND an expert and ask an intelligent question, then accurately report the answer, which is what many good reporters do. Many years after graduation, I started doing science writing, something I had never studied formally but understood at least partly because of the science courses I had taken more than 20 years before. There is also no rule about what kind of paper to start on, but most people do get their first jobs with small newspapers. As for personality, I think the most important character traits are honesty, curiosity, carefulness and patience, but to be honest, I am not always patient. Some journalists are outgoing, while others are shy and still get good stories.