“You have to get good at your craft,” shares Bill Bodkin JMS'04, as he discussed his career in journalism and storytelling that budded at Rutgers. Today, he is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of "The Pop Break," a digital publication that has grown over 16 years into a vibrant hub for writers, podcasters, and photographers from across the country.
Bodkin is also a contributing writer to Jersey’s Best Magazine, the last print magazine published by NJ Advance Media, as well as a full-time project manager for Privatel Inc., a telecommunications company that operates in 19 states.
Rutgers and Getting that Post-Grad Job
In retrospect, Bodkin credits his time at Rutgers for shaping both his craft and work ethic. As an English and Journalism double major, he immersed himself in campus media, spending four years at The Daily Targum, where he contributed to its arts and entertainment section, "Inside Beat."
“I basically took what we did at Inside Beat and just applied it to adults,” he says of "The Pop Break." His time at the Targum continues to be important to him – today, he serves on its Board of Trustees, helping guide the aspiring writers of the paper that trained him.
Bodkin’s first professional break came during college, when he landed an internship at Night & Day Magazine. He first found a copy of Night & Day at Easton Avenue’s time-capsule restaurant, Stuff Yer Face, a story that feels nostalgic for any Rutgers alum.
“Pop Break has been my passion project for the last 16 years,” Bodkin said. He founded "The Pop Break" in 2009 with fellow Rutgers and JMS alum Brent Johnson. They launched it as a small entertainment blog and steadily expanded it into a respected digital publication covering music, film, television, comics, festivals, and pop culture at large.
That internship opportunity turned into a full-time job after graduation, and he stayed with the company until 2012, when Super Storm Sandy devastated the Jersey shore and quite literally washed part of the business into the ocean. After a few transitional years, he found stability working as a project manager for Privatel Inc., a company owned by the same family as his Night & Day Magazine. That “day job” has helped support him for nearly a decade while he’s poured his remaining creative energy into "The Pop Break."
The Pop Break
“Pop Break has been my passion project for the last 16 years,” Bodkin said. He founded "The Pop Break" in 2009 with fellow Rutgers and JMS alum Brent Johnson. They launched it as a small entertainment blog and steadily expanded it into a respected digital publication covering music, film, television, comics, festivals, and pop culture at large.
Bodkin has guided its team to some of the industry’s biggest stages—from photographing Taylor Swift at MetLife Stadium, to reporting from San Diego Comic-Con, to covering the Toronto International Film Festival and Asbury Park’s Sea.Hear.Now Festival.
“We’ve shot every concert venue in New York. We’ve been to [Madison Square] Garden. We’ve been to Philly’s big arenas. 'We’ve seen a million faces, and we rocked them all',” Bodkin said, quoting the Jon Bon Jovi song "Wanted Dead or Alive."
The site has also built a loyal creative community. Over the years, contributing writers have celebrated “Pop Break weddings” with Bodkin himself officiating two of those ceremonies and welcomed “Pop Break babies,” including his own daughter, Sophie.
For Bodkin, the legacy he's created by helping launch other writers’ careers through "The Pop Break" is as meaningful to him as the site’s journalistic achievements — because, he said, they measure the outlet's success by the lives the publication has touched and the community it has built. This legacy is one that Bodkin says represents something larger than all the stories they've written and shared.
Overcoming Writer's Block
Despite his editorial leadership, Bodkin struggled for years with writer’s block due to his battles with depression and anxiety. That changed in 2024, when an unlikely spark reignited his passion: the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match. “I hated it so much, I knew I had to write about it,” he recalls. The experience of watching the match and then writing about it reminded him how much he loved the act of writing itself. Since then, he has set ambitious goals for himself—this year alone, he aimed to publish 100 pieces and is just two shy of hitting that mark.
Overcoming writer’s block isn’t about technique, but the simple act of believing in yourself. “I felt like that is something I knew in college and sadly lost along the way,” he reflects. “But, luckily, I found it again.”
Overcoming writer’s block isn’t about technique, but the simple act of believing in yourself. “I felt like that is something I knew in college and sadly lost along the way,” he reflects. “But, luckily, I found it again.”
For Bodkin, the takeaway is simple but essential. “It’s not even faking it till you make it,” he says. “If you don’t believe in yourself, people can read you like a book.”
Lessons from Rutgers
Bodkin points to several faculty members who influenced his growth as a student. Professor Bruce Reynolds taught him the value of “actually doing the work” after nearly failing him for lack of effort. Bodkin remembers his college days writing for the Targum, where he’d coast through class “half-hearting it,” until Professor Reynolds finally cut through his slacking by asking him, “Why don't you ever try in this class? You’re good, but not that good.”
That unforgettable “ice cold water” reality check motivated Bodkin to work on a really great story for his last assignment for Professor Reynolds. As a commuter, Bodkin chose to challenge the lack of parking spaces for fellow commuters — and he kept changing it, working on it, and revising it for days until he suddenly realized this was the last day to hand it in.
“I was 20 years younger and in better shape, and I realized I had to hand in my paper in less than 10 minutes, and I was on the other end of College Avenue. So I tried to run from one end of campus to the other, but halfway through, I was out of breath. Then I saw Dana – a woman I hadn’t seen since high school and have not seen since – and I begged her to drive me to the SCILS building. I'm just like, Dana, I'm going to fail this class. Can you just drive me to the library? And she's like, Get in the car, and we sped down College Ave.”
Bodkin describes how he jumped out of the car without closing the door and raced down the stairs of the SCILS building, hyperventilating.
“I knew that mess coming down the stairs was you — you almost failed by three minutes,” Reynolds said, light-heartedly scolding him. Bodkin replied, "That’s an A-plus paper right there." Reynolds laughed and said sarcastically, "I’m sure it is," but Bodkin was right.
A frantic dash to turn in a final paper—completed minutes before the deadline—left Bodkin with both a passing grade and a lifelong lesson in time management.
The fundamentals of journalism Bodkin learned at SC&I continue to ground his work, Bodkin said. From fairness and accuracy to learning how to balance multiple perspectives, those lessons have carried over into everything from his reporting style to his leadership as an editor.
The fundamentals of journalism he learned at SC&I continue to ground his work, Bodkin said. From fairness and accuracy to learning how to balance multiple perspectives, those lessons have carried over into everything from his reporting style to his leadership as an editor.
Professor Steve Miller remains his enduring mentor, Bodkin added. “He's helped me so much while I was at school, and he’s someone I still go to this day for advice.” Bodkin urges aspiring SC&I students to contact Miller for advice, guidance, and professional opportunities.
Ice-Cold Advice for today's aspiring journalists
Bodkin is candid about the realities of journalism today. Opportunities are out there, he stresses, but they often come with little-to-no pay at first. Instead, he recommends aspiring collegiate journalists should embrace internships, side projects, and independent platforms as ways to sharpen their craft and get noticed. “If you put the work in, people will notice you,” he says.
His advice boils down to a few core principles: believe in yourself, don’t be a jerk, and always do the work. “Being a team player will take you farther than being a climber,” he explains. He also urges students to start early preparing to launch their careers—whether it’s writing, podcasting, or producing video—and to treat their time in school as preparation for the real thing. “You’re not just going to walk into an interview and be like, ‘I have a degree, I’m awesome, hire me.’ This isn’t the 1920s. You’ve got to build your fundamentals and your resume.”
Bodkin encourages students to act on their passions—not just to recognize where their heart lies, but to nurture that calling and keep it alive. “If you love to write, if you love to create, if you’re a storyteller, if you want to put in the hours and talk to people, this is the right place for you,” he says of Rutgers SC&I. “If that scares you off, you weren’t meant to do this.”
Discover more about the Journalism and Media Studies major at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information on the website.
