ESCANABA — Members of the Delta Force Leadership Program visited the Daily Press Thursday to experience a day in the life of a journalist. The visit was a part of “Media Day,” one of a series the themed-days that aim to educate members of the public about various aspects of the Delta County community.

During the visit, the Delta Force class participated in a mock press conference, hosted by Daily Press Editor Brian Rowell. Rowell, who spoke as “Herman Hoate,” told the participants about a planned Escanaba brewery he was starting that would produce a magical beer made with water from an old chemical plant. The beer would make the drinker decades younger but caused a hair loss in men.

After the press conference, the Delta Force participants moved to computer terminals, where they worked to write 10 column inches (roughly 1,800 characters or 300 words) about the magical elixer, the brewery, chemical plant and the eclectic Hoate. Because the experience was designed to mimic writing a story on a tight print deadline, the participants had 15 minutes to complete their work while also fielding phone calls and visits from Rowell, now back in his role as editor.

“This is definitely a challenge, but interesting. It’s really grinding my gears because I’m thinking, ‘how would I read this story?'” said Delta Force participant Connor Cappaert.

After the 15 minutes had ended, the budding journalists regrouped to discuss the experience with Rowell. In addition to explaining that even the wildest phone calls the participants received were based on actual calls fielded by Daily Press staff, Rowell explained some of the less-savory aspects of journalism, such as odd working hours and harassment from individuals who were named as suspects in stories about crime.

As the session came to a close, Rowell offered one piece of wisdom for the Delta Force participants as they interact with the press in their day-to-day life.

“Always remember you’re dealing with a real person,” he said.