Trevor Baratko has always loved to write and tell stories. Journalism became an obvious career choice for him.

“I love getting to know people,” Baratko said. “Helping them share emotional facets of their life and just overall playing a role in informing the general public.

Baratko focused on journalism and English courses all through high school and college and read a great deal of newspapers to prepare for his career in journalism.

Baratko started his journalism career by freelancing for various magazines and writing for a few weekly papers in South Carolina.

“Currently, I’m primarily responsible for government and political dealings in Loudoun County and more broadly Northern Virginia,” Baratko said. “I’ll pick up the occasional feature, human-interest piece when I can.”

Baratko has tried many different roles in journalism. He has covered everything from sports to school boards to hospitals. He is currently covering government.

“This is just where I’ve landed, and I love it. I wouldn’t say it’s set that I’ll be covering government and politics for the rest of my career, but it’s a crucial beat to at least be familiar with,” Baratko said. “I consider my versatility a strong suit. I urge any reporter-to-be to not limit their coverage areas and topics of expertise.”

Baratko’s favorite piece he has ever written was a long-form piece about the Carolina Cup for the Colombia, Free Times.

Baratko believes that Journalism will survive but that it needs to evolve and experiment with new modes of storytelling.

 “Often I think there can be too many rules restricting journalism’s reach, such as strictly following AP guidelines when often those protocols are outdated or make things more confusing, ‘dumbing down’ stories so they make sense to everyone, and certain managers or editors can be too caught up in ‘playing it safe,’” Baratko said, “For me, there’s nothing wrong with, as the British say, ‘having a real go”’ at a politician or high-profile personality.”

Journalism will always be an important part of Baratko’s life.

To read a recent story by Baratko follow this link

http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/government/