Irvine Herald reporter Lorraine Howard has returned home from a “journey of firsts” after a month-long trip to the USA which saw her working on 20 different local newspapers.

The 28-year-old journalist enjoyed a whistle-stop tour of Washington and North Virginia after winning a place on a Rotary Group Study Exchange scheme.

And she discovered that the world of journalism is much the same, despite the different cultures.

The trip was Lorraine’s first time abroad – and her first time on an aeroplane.

During her stay Lorraine visited various local newspapers, spending a day or two on each – even managing to make the front pages.

She also spent four days on the Washington Post, which she describes as being “in a different league”.

Lorraine said: “Most of the papers were in rural areas with only one or two reporters, so you were thrown straight in.

“But I realised that journalists all over the world have the same job and the newspapers are still serving the community.”

Lorraine at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington

Lorraine was part of a group representing the west of Scotland for the trip, and she also had to give 15 speeches to various Rotary clubs.

She said: “It was non-stop. We had two days off in the middle and the rest of the time we were working.

“But I quite enjoyed the limelight!”

As she travelled around she also stayed with more than a dozen families and wrote a weekly ‘Letter From America’ for her paper, the Irvine Herald, as she recounted tales of the ‘real America’.

Lorraine said: “It was completely different to what I expected – I thought it would be glamorous and wealthy.

“I saw the White House and I thought it was tiny – it just shows you what TV can do!”