On Dec 14, Wall Street Journal reporter, Paul Vigna, stopped by West Orange High School to meet and talk with the next generation of journalists.

Paul Vigna is a current reporter for The Wall Street Journal, and has been a journalist for more than 25 years, working as a reporter, editor, and photographer. He currently covers the cryptocurrency sector, including bitcoin, and was formerly an equities reporter on the MoneyBeat blog, writing about markets, economics, and finance. In addition to this, he also was host of both the MoneyBeat show, a daily live webcast, and the MoneyBeat podcast. Vigna also writes about television and arts, with a weekly recap column for “The Walking Dead.” He is also a published author of four books. 

Paul Vigna is not your ordinary Wall Street Journal employee. In fact, he did not even want to go into the journalism field when he was younger. He told the students that he became a journalist because of his desperate need for money. Starting off small at a local newspaper, Vigna realized that the pay was not good enough and he was not exposed to as much content as he needed to be. He then slowly worked his way up the ladder until finally landing at the Wall Street Journal. However, he told the students that he will never take for granted all the lessons and practical skills he had learned at the smaller business he worked for.

One of the most important lessons Vigna has learned from these experiences was to take every opportunity given to him, which is something he emphasized to the student journalists. He works towards being as indispensable as possible and he achieves this goal by volunteering whenever he can. He initially didn’t even have an interest for covering bitcoin and cryptocurrencies but when it was offered and no one claimed it, he took full advantage. This decision is something that Vigna told the audience that he never regrets, as he has now become fully interested in bitcoin. Other than taking every available opportunity at the WSJ, he took chances the same way in his broadcasting and photography careers. 

After he finished speaking, student journalists then had the opportunity to ask Vigna many questions, with some pertaining to the future of the industry. Vigna is fully aware of a smarter and more determined younger generation, but for now he works hard to keep his job and do it to the best of his ability for as long as he can. Throughout the Q&A session, the student journalists were very engaged and intrigued with everything Vigna told them. Some even took the time after his presentation was over to spend time with him and ask him any other questions they had.

The Pioneer would like to thank Mr. Vigna for coming to speak and providing words of wisdom for the future journalists.