The pitfall

Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.
-Joseph Pulitzer

It was one of those days. I just did not feel like going to my internship today. I think it was the looming problem of what I was actually going to achieve since Linda was going to be away. It's not as if I can't be productive without her there but it just made me feel a tad uneasy.

I knew I had hardly any work that I could complete. Back to the age old problem of people not returning the calls and e-mails I had previously sent them. I struggled through the day searching for subjects to write about. I was lucky enough to receive an e-mail from one person which let me complete a CareerOne story. I edited another previous story of mine and then everything came to a halt.

I felt I had nothing left to do for the rest of the day. My contact for my feature had not confirmed a date to meet for an interview and my other CareerOne profiles had not contacted me. So I decided to start work on my feature gathering some background information and writing from some personal experience. The feature is about dance so I thought I could start filling in some gaps with my thoughts and why dancers had such a passion for it.

Another problem I faced was one of my stories being cut. Due to the deadline Linda had to give my story to another journalist. I did feel a bit disappointed not so much that I wasn't writing it but more that it would be one less story for my profile. As I have a feeling my grade for the internship will depend somewhat on how many stories I have written and had published.

I have learned the features can be a difficult department to work in. Not only is it hard because I am only there once a week but also because of the type of articles that are written. The deadlines are longer which means we have more time write the stories, but this is a long winded process.

I can't help thinking back to my day of filling in for a missing journo in the newsroom. Although it was a busy day. I felt the way of writing was a lot more proficient. The interview and photograph was set all I had to do was go out and collect some quotes along with reading the media release.

Nothing can compare to having your articles published in your local newspaper and I am happy that I have seen my name in Saturday's Bulletin a few times nothing. There is a great pleasure in seeing your own byline, something I think I could never get sick of.