Star reporter: get the scoop on TV's most popular medical journalist.

What would you do if you were given a choice to skip homeroom? When Sanjay Gupta was a middle school student in Novi, Michigan, he wanted to spend that chunk of time writing for his school newspaper.

More than 20 years later, Gupta is still cranking out stories. As the senior medical correspondent for CNN, Gupta traveled to Iraq to report on the medical procedures taking place in the war zone. And in 2005, he rushed to New Orleans to report on the health crisis that unfolded there following Hurricane Katrina.

Besides being a journalist, Gupta is also a neurosurgeon. He works at the Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.

HEAD START

Gupta's interest in medicine began when he was very young and he visited his grandfather who had suffered a stroke. This sudden interruption of blood supply to the brain damages brain cells, impairing brain areas that control certain body functions, like movement. Gupta was fascinated by the neurosurgeons who treated his grandfather: "They made him better. I thought that was the most amazing thing." So Gupta decided to become a doctor. At age 18, he entered medical school at the University of Michigan.

Although Gupta decided to pursue medicine, he didn't abandon his interest in writing. During his medical career, Gupta continued publishing articles. Many of these stories revolved around how to help people through better health care.

To gain an in-depth understanding of U.S. health-care policies, the doctor spent a year as a White House Fellow. Gupta's duties involved writing press releases and speeches on health issues. The media noticed his stellar communications skills. In 2001, at age 30, Gupta joined CNN while continuing to practice medicine.

CAMERA READY

The new job brought beginner's glitches. Gupta delivered his early reports in his natural speech, which is considered too slow for TV news. "Sometimes they cut me off because they thought I was finished," he says.

Gupta's broadcasting know-how grew over time, and in 2003, he got a challenging assignment. At the start of the war in Iraq, Gupta went into the battlefield to report on the "Devil Docs," the U.S. Navy's medical unit.

Amid gunshots, Gupta led viewers into makeshift operating rooms housed in tents. Unexpectedly, viewers also saw the journalist switching hats on the job: The Devil Docs didn't have a neurosurgeon. So on five occasions, Gupta lent a hand. His action drew some criticism. "As journalists, we have the responsibility to report objectively," he says. Some people asked: Can he operate with the Devil Docs and report on them at the same time? "That's a fair question," Gupta says. "But I think no matter what you choose to do with your life, you never stop being a human being. For me, it was the obvious choice to operate out there."

THE WRITE STUFF

Gupta recalls submitting articles to various publications when he was 12 years old: "My stuff wasn't very good at the time. But every now and then I got them published." Now an award-winning journalist, Gupta credits his childhood dedication to writing for giving him a leg up in his career: "It made me a better journalist now."

Did You Know?

* Sanjay Gupta says a good journalist--especially one who covers breaking news--has to be very knowledgeable about his or her beat. That way, the reporter won't be caught off guard when a story hits. Gupta's advice: To be on top of things, "read and learn as much as possible. You have to be 100 percent prepared. If you haven't done your homework, you have no right to be translating [the news] for your viewers."

* Gupta wasn't quite camera ready when he started at CNN. "As a doctor, I wear scrabs most of the day. Owning a suit wasn't a priority for me," he says. So he wore the same suit each time he went on the air. Unfortunately, viewers took notice. So Gupta had to invest in new suits.

RELATED ARTICLE: Lyndsey McKenna.

FUTURE JOURNALIST

Fifteen-year-old Lyndsey has a nose for news. She enjoys "uncovering something that no one else is able to," she says. As a journalist for Xpress, the children's section of her Florida hometown newspaper, the St. Petersburg Times, she has reported on topics ranging from the Web site MySpace to music.

Lyndsey's love for journalism began when she was in elementary school. At that time, she started reading the newspaper on a regular basis. She says the practice made her more aware of different topics, including politics and pop culture. It also inspired her to spread news by contributing to her middle school's paper.

When she became a freshman last year, her high school didn't have a school newspaper. So Lyndsey and her friends started one. It was a hit. "This year, the school hired a teacher to help us," says the sophomore.

Lyndsey is considering becoming a journalist one day. She thinks writing for her school and local papers is helping her improve her communication skills.

Do you love to write? From journalism to poetry, Scholastic's online program called Write It will help you hone your writing skills, publish your work, and chat with fellow teen writers. Visit: www.scholastic.com/writeit

RESOURCES

* This Web site has an informative booklet about careers in science journalism: www.casw.org/careers.htm

* For student-friendly resources on journalism, visit: www.highschooljournalism.org

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Learn more about journalism at: www.poynter.org/highschool