Noah Brennan: From supply lines to storylines

By Angelina Havaris

Noah's job title: Journalist
Organization: Calgary Herald

MMJC alum Noah Brennan went from being curious about journalism to working as a reporter in his hometown.

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Noah Brennan has always had a penchant for storytelling. Hailing from Calgary Alberta, he went east to pursue an undergraduate degree in Creative Writing at Concordia University in Montreal. However, halfway through the program, he had second thoughts, switched to business and graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in Supply Chain Management.

After graduating, Noah worked as a freight forwarder. But after working for a few years, he knew he needed a change. Despite not having a background in journalism, Noah has always had an interest in the field. He decided to apply to the Master of Media in Journalism and Communication (MMJC) program at Western University in 2023. Western’s MMJC program considers students from all backgrounds for admission, and it was only one year long, which appealed to Noah from a practical standpoint.

“Most programs require having a journalism or communications [background]. To apply to Western, the requirements are just an undergrad degree plus your portfolio and a statement of interest. I think that was a huge part for me,” said Noah.

During his time in MMJC, Noah acquired many valuable skills, such as learning how to approach people for interviews and how to find stories. He also spent much of his time honing his broadcast and video skills for storytelling projects.

Fun Fact

Noah is a huge fan of Charli XCX. He became a fan in 2019 (yes, pre-brat era) and has seen her in concert three times.

Despite following the journalism pathway in the program, Noah also took the advanced communications course in his second term. He believed that learning about communications was important because it allowed him to see how both sides of the media work, since there is a lot of interchange between news organizations and communications professionals.

“Any knowledge and experience from any area can be very valuable in journalism.“ - Noah Brennan

As a component of the MMJC, Noah interned at London’s local newspaper, the London Free Press. While doing his internship, Noah continued to receive support from MMJC professors. Noah credits MMJC professors for how invested they are in student success, both during and after the program.

After interning at the London Free Press and completing the MMJC program in August 2024, Noah returned to his hometown of Calgary to work as a reporter at the Calgary Herald. While he currently works exclusively in print journalism, the wide variety of skills and experiences he learned in MMJC meant he could easily transition into other areas of multimedia journalism.

“The number of professional projects in MMJC are extremely valuable and you don’t even realize until you’re out working. Then I thought, ‘oh wow, I’m so glad they covered this in MMJC because it was very useful’,” said Noah.

While Noah learned many skills during his time in MMJC, his biggest takeaway was learning how to fail and keep on going. In MMJC, students work on multiple projects under tight deadlines to mirror industry standards. However, the program also gave Noah the space to make mistakes.

“Having the realization of ‘Oh, I should have done this instead of this, now I know that for next time,’ rather than getting discouraged by things you did wrong was an excellent way to learn,” said Noah.

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Profiles in the MMJC Career Success blog are written by students in the Master of Media in Journalism & Communication program, who are enrolled in MMJC 9604 - Professional Writing.