I have something very exciting to share. Today I was told I would get to start doing some entertainment reporting for the Hutchinson News in their weekly special section called “The Bee.” I’m elated. Hopefully this will prove to be a new and exciting challenge for me.
It goes without saying that I have an opinion. It hit news stands and front porches today. Hopefully the first of many professional columns printed. In a way it’s a milestone for me. Yes, I’ve had stints as a columnist for the Collegian and I’ve been published in large papers for news and even feature writing but never for editorial. Let me know what you think. I welcome feedback. The good, the bad and the indifferent. I won’t be able to improve without it.
Before getting out of my SUV today I noticed the temperature displayed on my rear view mirror read 104. I didn’t need to look there to notice. Simply walking out to my SUV was enough. (Not to mention I’ve been designing the weather page almost everyday now for a month.) What I find so interesting is how caught off guard by the heat. Living in Kansas I’ve come to expect that summers will be hot. Then it hit me. No matter what conditions you are surrounded by or what the circumstances may be people love to talk about the weather.
It was almost 8 p.m. When i first started writing this post. (Now it’s nearly midnight.) I have been here since about 2:45 – at the time I was at a stand still waiting on some stories to come in so I can slap them on a page and send it off to the folks at the prepress. Just when I least expect it content came in and things picked back up and we were in a rush to finish, but we actually beat our deadline for possibly the first time this week. That rush really makes the time go by. Today’s big topic was redistricting. A state representative moved into a church to stay in her district (I couldn’t help but wonder why the reporter didn’t ask her how she ended up buying the church and a couple other odd questions.) It honestly Doesn’t sound that much different from my time at the Collegian. Yet it is. At 3 I was presented a huge packet of information about insurance, 401 K, vacation and sick leave, and many other benefits. I guess I’ve reached “the real world.” I’m having trouble wrapping my brain around that one. The folks at the copy/design desk here are really smart and I’m slowly but surely learning the quirks of this edition of quark xpress, but I anticipate missing reporting this much. At least I now know I’m a reporter at heart and it’s definitely something I plan to get back to. Where to go from here I don’t know.
It finally happened. Today I accepted a position with the Hutchinson News. Next Tuesday marks the starting of my next chapter: Tim Schrag the copy editor/page designer. Growing up I never thought this would be my first professional job. When I took editing and design my sophomore year at K-State I didn’t think I would end up in this area of journalism either. (That was one of the best classes I had in the Miller School because I had to work for the “B” I ended up with. It also taught me about the importance of good copy editors and design) Up until a few days ago I really thought the first gig I’d get out of college was going to be some type of entry-level reporting job.
Taking all of this into consideration I’m really looking forward to these next few weeks. Some of my closest friends come from copy editing/page design backgrounds (All of them could take me to school if we had a competition), I come from a writing and editorial supervision background, but there are few things I do clearly understand from this:
1) I’m glad I have these people in my life because they challenge me to do better.
2) It’s good to have friends to bounce ideas off.
3) None of us ever stop learning and this will be a good way to improve my craft.
Tim Schrag 