[media-credit name=’DEREK MONTGOMERY/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Students gathered in Chadbourne Tuesday afternoon to discuss careers, journalism and politics with political writer and Washington bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times Lynn Sweet.

Sweet has written on people and topics ranging from Newt Gingrich to the deepening conflict between Palestine and Iraq. Sweet first spoke on how she had the opportunity to report on Capitol Hill, which she said taught her many lessons.

“Although I’ve had a lot of success,” Sweet said, “it doesn’t mean I have not had some bumps along the way.”

Sweet started as an undergraduate hopping from the University of Illinois to California-Berkeley with no definite career in mind. When she decided on journalism, Sweet attended Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern to begin her training.

She worked up the promotional ladder through the years. She encountered camera mishaps with a local Illinois newspaper. She dealt with inaccurate figures while reporting for the Chicago Sun-Times. Through all the trials and mistakes early in her career, Sweet said she learned some valuable lessons.

Sweet stressed the need for aspiring journalists to take the initiative.

“You must enterprise,” she said. “I would find stories and investigate them on my own to develop stories that fell in between the cracks of the desks.”

Sweet said she believes the fact she did not sit back and wait for stories attributes to her success.

Sweet also discussed the roles of media and politics, specifically speaking about the quality of print versus broadcast media. She emphasized the need to distinguish local from national broadcast media.

In general, she said, print journalist held more responsibility to detail based on the nature of print rather than broadcast journalism. She argued that some local broadcast news lacked quality but accredited national broadcast reporters, like those from Fox, for thoroughly reporting hard news.

Sweet said it remains important in journalism for a reporter to write an objective story.

“To tell an objective story, you don’t have to be objective,” Sweet said. “You can have your beliefs, just keep them aside.”

Sweet also touched upon the decreasing amount of media sources known as media consolidation. Freshman Bryan Mueller voiced his opposition to the evolving news corporation.

“There’s the chance news can be distorted,” Mueller said. “It’s not how they write, but more how much they control.”

Mueller said he first came to take pictures, as a photographer for Chadbourne events, but said he got a lot more out of the talk than he expected.

“I really liked her description of White House security,” Mueller said. “It’s a very interesting process.”

Sweet said she is pleased to visit UW, because she thinks it is essential to reach out to students interested in journalism.

Sweet will be staying in Chadbourne Residential Hall this week as the public affair’s writer in residence. She will be speaking with journalism and political science students throughout the week on behalf of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, University Communications and the La Follette School of Public Affairs.