Difference in Style

The difference between journalistic and academic writing has presented a variety of challenges. Having previously only written academic papers, journalistic style differences seemed unnatural at first. My whole life a paragraph consisted of at least 4-6 sentences; admittedly making me a wordier writer at times. However, the idea of a one sentence paragraph as totally acceptable seemed like something that would cause those Ursuline nuns physical pain. Rather than being told exactly what to write, how to write it, and simply reproducing fact in a uniform 3 point fashion, I am given creative freedom. While at first this was very exciting, upon review and realization is mildly horrifying. Having to decide what is news worthy and the most important issues of any given topic is a lot of pressure. Not to mention, once my work is published I am held credible for the facts and truth within that article. Rather than reporting of the findings of someone else I am informing others of what it is important to know.