My grade nine English teacher at the end of class one day announced that the local weekly newspaper was hiring a student reporter. This reporter would be paid by word.
Paid? By word? To write? This was a new concept to me. Instead of cutting lawns or cleaning toilets, I could sit in front of my computer and type.
So I applied. Everyone else sent in their resumes filled with great experiences and jobs. Sure, I sent in mine too but knowing that my ability to shovel snow wouldn’t exactly impress the editor, I added a sample article. I was the only applicant to do so. The article was printed and I got the job.
I had never taken any journalism courses. I wasn’t really a big newspaper reader (I was young and found them boring). Instead, I wrote what I thought were entertaining pieces about school activities, covering more than the facts.
They became such a success that the regional daily paper hired me on also. I covered…hold your breath…town council meetings (sitting in the press box). Again, I didn’t know what exactly I was supposed to write (not having read anyone else’s coverage of politics) so I again made my articles amusing and light.
I developed a cult following, had a head shot by my articles, and was stopped on the street by complete strangers (and once in a pharmacy while this very conscious teenager was purchasing feminine products…I wanted to roll up and die). I was also offered full time jobs from both of the papers upon graduating.
Learning:
Just because I wasn’t “the best” applicant, didn’t mean I wouldn’t get the job. If I offered something extra, something special, that might overcome deficiencies. If I tried harder and learned quickly, I could possibly make up for lack of experience.
Media and press coverage makes a difference. I could write about a person no one knew and all of a sudden he was a local star. I’d mention a restaurant and the next day, it’d be busy. It went the other way too. I unfortunately covered a comment from a councilmember. It was used against him in the next campaign and helped lose him the election. That was a difficult lesson to learn and today, I still regret putting his words into print.