Matthew Creamer: A first job at a small newspaper brings big results

The alum of the grad class of ‘00 is a news reporter for the Anniston Star, a newspaper known for developing great writers. I applied to the Star the summer before graduation. I knew they had the reputation for offering writers more freedom in topics and length than did the larger metropolitan papers. Plus I didn’t want to just make deadlines, I wanted to write longer and more thoughtful pieces,” said Creamer.

Creamer initially started as the rural reporter covering up to five counties around Anniston, an old army town. The Columbia Journalism Review recognizes the Star as one of the top 50 newspapers around the country. “I have covered everything from murders to myths of monsters at the Star,” said Creamer.

Last November Creamer switched beats and became the chemicals reporter covering one of the major issues Anniston has had in a long time. “Last year the Army built an incinerator to destroy the more than 2,000 tons of chemical weapons stored at the Anniston Army Depot. But understandably the locals had a lot of questions and concerns about its safety,” said Creamer.

This story has Creamer driving 25-55 miles a day around Calhoun County. The regional news wires have even picked up Creamer’s stories occasionally. “These may not be big issues elsewhere but it matters here. Anniston is small with practically no social life but I have been very happy with my decision to take my first reporting job here,” Creamer said.

Creamer says NYU’s journalism school provided a very strong foundation for his work and his internship at the Daily News was a great place to get his feet wet. “NYU’s greatest strength is its connections with media outlets in New York City. The program gets you places,” Creamer said.

By Halima Kazem, ‘02G