Douglas Schorzman: A journey from small town newspaper to the Big Apple

Many people know at an early age what they want to do for a career as an adult, for Douglas Schorzman he knew at age 15 what he wanted to do: work in journalism.

He is the son of Lee and Claudia Schorzman, and a 1988 graduate of Lind High School. Doug has four brothers, Boyd, Britt, Steve and Tim.

In the fall of 1985, as a sophomore, Doug began working for The Ritzville Adams County Journal. The Journal’s main reporter at the time, Patrick Sullivan, had heard that Doug attended journalism camp at Washington State University and asked Doug to start writing. Doug started covering Lind sporting events every week, then expanded to take on Lind Town Council and general features.

Doug credits his teachers at Lind High School for being so understanding and supportive of his work for The Journal.

“On deadline Wednesdays, they basically let me skip most of my morning classes to write.” Doug said of his teachers. “I wrote for The Journal steadily till I graduated, and came back for one more summer while on break after my freshman year of college.”

The science journalism program at Oregon State University drew Doug to the campus and he realized his calling in the newspaper field. For every hour Doug spent in class, he spent at least three working at the campus daily, The Barometer.

Doug interned at The Seattle Times in 1992, before taking an editing and page-design job at the Statesman-Journal in Salem, Ore., that fall, all while completing a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He graduated from OSU in December 1992.

After four years in Oregon, Doug moved to Austin, Texas, to work for the American-Statesman as a copy editor and then deputy news editor. It was there Doug met Jill Taylor, a copy editor and page designer working for the publication. They began dating and instantly had a great connection.

Two weeks into their relationship, Doug got a call from an editing recruiter at The New York Times, who asked if Doug would be interested in trying out for a position there. In the summer and fall of 2000, Doug began testing and working parallel news stories.

In 2001 their lives changed completely when Doug was hired as the copy editor working on the Metro Desk for The New York Times. The beginning of their relationship was challenged by distance from each other, as Jill stayed in Austin. They flew to see each other once a month and called as often as possible.

In the fall of 2001 he got caught up in the coverage of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. At the Metro Desk, he did not come to work until the afternoons, but that morning he got a call from his mother telling him to get up and go to work because the World Trade Center was under attack.

Doug lived in Hoboken, N.J., just across the river from Manhattan, and he made it down to the waterfront just as the second tower was going down. He described the moment as absolutely terrifying and the large crowd gathered at the waterfront that day watched in astonishment as they witnessed the tragedy.

“It was one of the most wrenching personal and professional experiences I’ve ever had.” Doug said of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Since Doug was unable to cross the river, he instinctively started interviewing people on the Jersey side of the river and phoning in what he had to The Times. Weeks of work flew by with no breaks while workers searched tirelessly through the rubble and debris for any signs of life.

“You see the best and worst in people during crisis time,” Doug said of the weeks that followed. “It was a defining time for all of us, an intense time professionally and personally.”

As a city desk, Doug helped cover the catastrophe, then shifted to the foreign desk in the end of 2001 to begin covering the war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

By the end of 2002, Jill got hired at The Times and moved to N.Y. to be with Doug. In 2003 they were sent to Paris to help start the International Herald Tribune that The Times had purchased. While in Paris, Doug found the opportunity to propose to Jill and they were married in Austin in June 2004.

Doug is currently the assistant foreign editor, in charge of Afghanistan and Pakistan coverage, and Jill works as an editor on the science desk.

“We both have very demanding jobs to do,” Doug explained. “Journalism as a life can be very tough on your family. We understand what we are going through so that tension for us is gone.

“We can support each other in it, rather than it be something that tears us apart.”

As the assistant foreign editor, Doug is responsible for assigning all the coverage areas and working directly with the correspondents to decide on ways to cover the war, lines on what to report and helping the correspondents deal with the challenges they face abroad, especially in war zones. Doug is the first eyes on a story and has to determine how to make things balanced and fair, while also being presented in an engaging way.

“To me, it’s all about the story,” Doug said about editing. “This job allows me to focus on providing people with proper coverage of the Afghan war.”

In September 2012, Doug traveled to Afghanistan for two weeks and had the opportunity to meet with the reporters, as well as military and political officials based there.

Working as a journalist comes with many rewards as Doug explains, “It’s important news that millions are reading, mostly on the website now, but it gives you a sense of importance of what you do.”

Doug credits many teachers and mentors along the way who supported him or gave him the tools he needed to follow his passion.

“If you want to do something, you go do it,” Doug said about choosing a career path. “Then look for the people to help you along the way and thank them profusely when they do.”

Doug and Jill have a three-year-old daughter, Maeve, and another daughter due in late July. They make their home in Brooklyn, near Prospect Park. They enjoy having access to a nearby park lake, with lots of trees and grass, making living in the city a lot easier.

When Doug is not busy at the office or fulfilling his role as a father, he has a musical outlet. Music was always a huge part of Doug’s life growing up. His mother was the choir director for many years at Christ Lutheran Church in Odessa, where Doug gained his first performance experience. Since childhood, Doug has studied piano, trumpet, bass and guitar. Now when time allows, Doug sings and plays piano with Maeve.

Doug describes journalism as a trade, not a profession, because you get further in the business by doing the work. He said there are a lot of programs available today for those who want to study the trade, but you have to work in the industry to really grasp what it’s all about.

“It’s hard work,” Doug says about journalism. “But it’s fun too, and I can honestly say that I love my job.”