WILLIAM TONG
Journalism Portfolio
I'm an inquisitive journalism student at Northwestern University who's particularly interested in media law, press freedom and the public’s right to information. Four years of reporting for my high school paper has made me passionate about reporting, and I'm constantly looking for ways to develop my skills in the field.
My Story
Until junior high, I never really thought about the people behind the news. However, enticed by morning meeting donuts, I joined our middle school paper. After a month of exploring the community around me, I wasn’t writing and editing for just the donuts anymore. I grew to love the process and product of journalism. I grew to love being in the know.
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In high school, my student journalism experience felt professional, yet familial — the staff of the Central Times built a close-knit, passionate staff devoted to serving our school community while having fun. My reporting at the time was far from perfect, but I relished every learning opportunity to improve my craft. I also encountered censorship and institutional opposition to my reporting for the first time.
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During my sophomore year, our paper underwent illegal prior review and restraint for a story that, while sensitive, met its responsibility of minimizing harm. When my then editor-in-chief spoke out against subsequent efforts to strip away student journalists’ rights through school board policy, she was laughed at and dismissed.
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Once I filled her shoes — as editorial editor and editor-in-chief — I encountered similar attempts from those in power to control the narrative and weaken the press. Realizing my interest in open records and press freedom advocacy, I started looking into a career in press law. Whether at JEA conventions or during the Medill Cherubs summer program, I’d always ask experts and industry professionals extra questions about defamation, privacy and records law.
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Now, I’m a journalism student at Northwestern Medill and reporter for The Daily Northwestern. Working with the Student Press Law Center, I served as a Student Press Freedom Day Co-chair, planning training events and creating resources to help students develop their skills, passions and voices as journalists. While I’m still exploring my options for the future, I hope to keep being curious and use my reporting skills to make positive change in the world.
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