Random journalism insight

Cutter's Log - Stardate 0 (Happy Birthday to ME!)
Current Song - When I Meet Them (Seals and Crofts)

I am 22 years old, and I am an unemployed sportswriter.

For the past four years, I have been tweaking my work as a web publisher and web sports writer (they call me an "online"). I don't get paid to do the thing I do. Parents, athletes, coaches and schools do not pay me to have me over at their athletic program and write stories about them. If anything, I have spent around $5,000, give or take a grand, on maintaining the site, traveling, supplies, and other miscallany. That's quite alright.

This calendar year, I experimented with writing news stories related to sports. It's like your front page news stories that have to do with front page stuff, and not about stats and scores.

Meanwhile, while I am doing that, newspaper after newspaper is writing at least one feature every couple of days. It's like they'll do a background check on each athlete in their coverage area and find something to make it a story. It's slowly becoming the norm, and unfortunately I don't have the resources to do that kind of background checking. These days, a newspaper sports section is a personal momento for a family.

They call the thing a NEWSpaper! Now its called a scrapbook sampler.

Unfortunately, I can't tell editors out there that I don't write for scrapbook collections. Then I won't be working for anyone. I don't know if they are trying to create a gridlock by doing these things.

But I propose a challenge to sports editors in northern Illinois.

Hire me. Then train me, and tame me.

Here's what I need work on:

1) Deadlines. I only served four months at a daily paper, and that was during the spring and summer sports season. Maintaining my own site meant that I made the rules and deadlines. I understand that major dailys have nightly deadlines of 9:30 to midnight. Fridays and Saturdays are even earlier. Some nights stories have to be written in 15 minutes or less. I've never had that experience before. Probably because I have no access to a laptop. Training me for deadlines is a must.

2) Trying to accept that any idea from me is a stupid one. At times, I have been bitter at the fact that something I wanted to do was rejected. Like columns. I might write something that could be newspaper smiley-face suicide. I suggest trying to vent my fustrations into a notebook or something. Because if I have an issue with something, I will write it and post it onto my website.

3) These "background checks". How did you know so-and-so athlete has cancer? How did you know about this baseball player having a boa constrictor? How did you know what this star basketball player had for breakfast yesterday? I'm unaware about how to do a background check. Why should I do a background check? Who do I do one on?

4) I'm a very isolated person; help me work well with others. Even when I was at SVN, I thought I was in my own little sportswriting world. But I AM in my own world. Being able to connect me to you is tricky.

5) Grammar, and all that good stuff. Duh.

I am from Sterling, IL - the epicenter of the Sauk Valley Newspapers conglomorate. My immediate area has a couple of NCIC schools, as well as the southern part of the NUIC, and pretty much all of the TRAC-8. I could correspond from a fixated area (NE rep, NW rep, southern rep, northern rep). I'll even shoot for stringer pay if I have to.

But the Mr. Hyde you think I resemble can quickly turn into a Dr. Jekyll in a snap, and stay there when tamed.

On the Job Hunt

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.62.40
Current Song - Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The 5th Dimension)

It's been no surpirise that the BP gas station has been losing business since the new owners took over. In order to help them achieve a profit, they have resorted to sucking money from our paychecks. If there is a drive-off, it comes from our check. If we are more than $2.00 short on our drawer, that comes out of our paycheck.

I have decided I didn't want to be a part of this bullcrap, so effective this past Wednesday, I left. I can't see the business surviving any longer.

I have applied at Angelo's Pizza for a part-time daytime delivery driver that they are advertising for. If that doesn't work, I'll try to find something else around here to my liking. I have thought about giving newspapers a call as well. Until then, I have a lot of finances to re-manage. I'll also have to sell off a few things in order to make an extra buck. That also means gas at Checkers (I get $0.04 off a gallon). I don't think living off the cheap end will be so bad. No fast food. Good.

Ball and Chain

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.22.40
Current Song - Reveille

Just got off of a meeting of the employees, ordered by owner Ghanshyam. He said someone got angry with him about the cleansiness of the store, and now there are reprecussions if the store is not clean. He didn't seem angry at all, probably because he knew people like me were going to come into it with a cross and yell "the power of Christ compels you!"

Overall, it wen't alright. Sam has been named assistant manager. I'm already drafting the power abuse charges, because I know there will be many. Upon Gary's orders, if Sam does not see the place we are docked an hour of our pay - which is just great because she is so nitpicky.

The thing I worry about the most is how the aura of the workplace will be after today. Although Gary has said that it would be best if we were paired up with someone we like working with. The inspections will be brutal. That's just a guess.

It has now challenged me to work better when I'm working with someone. Right now, I'm still used to working solo. Working with someone else is better off because someone else is doing half of your chores. But when I'm working with you, it's like who gets to do what.

I got to get in the shower, more later.

Summer Plans: NISB / IHSGD Tour

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.11.40
Current Song - Early Autumn (Stan Getz)

When I'm not studying for class, I plan on making tours throughout Northern Illinois promoting Northern Illinois Sports Beat and Illinois High School Glory Days.

I plan on making flyers with rip-off pieces of paper on the bottom of them. Plus, instead of just barging in and thumbtacking my propaganda all over the place, I plan on coming up with a informational flyer for the businesses that wish to display my flyers, just to tell them good reasons my flyer should be put up.

The cost of paper will be up there. But I don't plan on putting them up on every single pin board in Northern Illinois. I'd like to find out where the most trafficked places are in Northern Illinois cities and towns. I'm shooting for five places in each town, and maybe a few more in the bigger cities.

The cost of gas will be up there too! I'm still trying to find a solution there. The routes will be tough to determine too. There are so many directions from Sterling to head to.

I will test this either today or tomorrow when I make a trip to Princeton.

Summer Plans

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.80.40
Current Song - Moonlight Feels Right (Starbuck)

I'll be making my summer plans known soon. I just got done taking my next biology test, but probably did worse than the last two tests. Oh well. I'm kind of excited for the coming days because after I go to work in an hour, I will be getting four days off. Hence, more time to think about my summer plans.

Basically, the plans are to travel around Northern Illinois to spread the word about NISB and Illinois High School Glory Days. As well as making improvements on NISB, and preparing for Team Previews to be sent out. The family is thinking about taking a trip to Memphis as well.

I will have class in the summer, though. I plan on taking Humanities 210 (internet) and Physics 175 (on campus).

In the coming days, I'll be posting segments on my summer plans.

BIO test

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.30.40
Current Song - the one on the new K-Mart commercial

I had to put off taking my BIO test for a week due to a busy schedule. I'm working mornings for four straight days and can't get a grip on anything else afterwards, except for sleep. It sucks.