coemgen
Rock n' Roll Doggie
OK, I'll be the last one to do this. I feel like Im standing before a firing squad, but I want to get my 500th post tonight, so ask away.
Ask the reporter.
- Thread starter coemgen
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
financeguy
ONE love, blood, life
Why did you first decide to become a reporter?
OP
OP
coemgen
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Cool, my first question. Thanks, man!
I had a hard time chosing a major in college because I liked everything. I wanted to be too many things. I had always been told I was a good writer, so I thought I'd just get a job where I wrote about everything. I later took a test in a career and life planning class that said journalism would be a good fit for me. It's a fun job.
I had a hard time chosing a major in college because I liked everything. I wanted to be too many things. I had always been told I was a good writer, so I thought I'd just get a job where I wrote about everything. I later took a test in a career and life planning class that said journalism would be a good fit for me. It's a fun job.
financeguy
ONE love, blood, life
Thanks for response! Those 500 posts are getting closer and then you leave your "Acrobat" days behind and become a "War child" 
OP
OP
coemgen
Rock n' Roll Doggie
I know. I feel like I'm earning a freaking Boy Scout badge or something. How about we keep asking each other questions and then you'll get above 800?
What do you do for a living exactly?
What do you do for a living exactly?
financeguy
ONE love, blood, life
What do I do for a living? Eh, complicated question.
I'm a qualified accountant by trade, but currently taking a career break to, uh, "find myself" (until the money runs out )
I'm a qualified accountant by trade, but currently taking a career break to, uh, "find myself" (until the money runs out )
OP
OP
coemgen
Rock n' Roll Doggie
So what are you doing to find yourself? I wish I could do something "until the money runs out." I'm already at that point. As a journalist, at least one working in a paper like the one I'm at, you don't make squat.
financeguy
ONE love, blood, life
coemgen said:
Travelling, and researching different career options. Realistically, I will probably remain an accountant, but hopefully in a field that I enjoy more than the one I was in for the past five years (banking / financial services). The advantage of having an accountancy qualification is that you can move from industry to industry, at least to a certain extent.
Actually I wouldn't mind being an accountant for a publishing company or newspaper now that I think of it but opportunities seem thin on the ground!
OP
OP
coemgen
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Yeah, at least here in the states the industry as a whole is a bit sluggish. As I'm sure you know, it's mainly driven by advertising and companies don't have the revenues to pump into advertising like they used to. I think it's getting better though.
I'm kind of at a crossroads in my career myself, actually. I've been here since I graduated from college about five years ago and I've done pretty much all I can do here. (Like I said, it's a small paper.) I'm looking to "sell out" as they say and maybe get a job in public relations where the hours are normal and the pay is better. We shall see.
I'm kind of at a crossroads in my career myself, actually. I've been here since I graduated from college about five years ago and I've done pretty much all I can do here. (Like I said, it's a small paper.) I'm looking to "sell out" as they say and maybe get a job in public relations where the hours are normal and the pay is better. We shall see.
financeguy
ONE love, blood, life
To ask a related question, you mentioned earlier on about taking career aptitude tests at college. Do you think these tests are accurate and reliable? The reason I ask is, I did a few similar tests myself a while back (to try and find my "true vocation" as it were).
OP
OP
coemgen
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Yes and no, I guess. We took a few in that class and I guess, in the end, you kind of just deal with the findings however you want, you know? I actually was surprised to see "Journalist" come up on mine. Even though I thought about checking out journalism, I wasn't totally sure if it was for me as a career. I'm still not sure what I want to be when I grow up though, and I don't think I ever will know. Part of it, for me at least, is just seeking God's guidance anyway.
I think the one I took that I liked was the Meyers-Briggs test (not sure if I spelled that correctly). I'm sure there are many online that could be useful.
Some general questions to ask yourself (if you haven't already) would be:
"If you could do anything, what would it be?"
"If money didn't matter, what would you do?"
"What do you get excited about?"
Stuff like that. If you're passionate about it, it'll happen. You're heart will find its beat, or its rhythm. Anything that helps others is always going to be fulfilling too. That's what I try to do through my writing — change things and help people. Hearing people say "Thank You" is the richest reward for my work.
I think the one I took that I liked was the Meyers-Briggs test (not sure if I spelled that correctly). I'm sure there are many online that could be useful.
Some general questions to ask yourself (if you haven't already) would be:
"If you could do anything, what would it be?"
"If money didn't matter, what would you do?"
"What do you get excited about?"
Stuff like that. If you're passionate about it, it'll happen. You're heart will find its beat, or its rhythm. Anything that helps others is always going to be fulfilling too. That's what I try to do through my writing — change things and help people. Hearing people say "Thank You" is the richest reward for my work.
financeguy
ONE love, blood, life
coemgen said:
True, true. So what kind of publication do you write for, is it a newspaper or magazine and what sort?
OP
OP
coemgen
Rock n' Roll Doggie
It's a daily newspaper in Northeastern Kansas. We have a small circulation (about 4,500). This leads to a small paper (about 12 pages). It's tough because we "compete" with the Kansas City Star, which happens to be a large metro paper that also happens to own us. 
We have three news reporters and two sports reporters. I covered education for more than four years and I now do features and general assignement stuff. I'm known as the one who does the "disease of the week" stories because I always do the tear-jerker pieces about people in need of a heart transplant or whatever. They even created a trophy called the "Gentle Spirit Award." It's kind of nice I guess, in a sick way.
I'd like to eventually write for Relevant magazine or something like that. I also have plans to start my own little public relations company on the side, and primarly work with nonprofit organizations and churches for a low fee. Many of these organizations have nobody to get the word out to the public about what they're doing, and some of the best stories are found within their work.
We have three news reporters and two sports reporters. I covered education for more than four years and I now do features and general assignement stuff. I'm known as the one who does the "disease of the week" stories because I always do the tear-jerker pieces about people in need of a heart transplant or whatever. They even created a trophy called the "Gentle Spirit Award." It's kind of nice I guess, in a sick way.
I'd like to eventually write for Relevant magazine or something like that. I also have plans to start my own little public relations company on the side, and primarly work with nonprofit organizations and churches for a low fee. Many of these organizations have nobody to get the word out to the public about what they're doing, and some of the best stories are found within their work.
financeguy
ONE love, blood, life
Ok thanks. Answer one more question, and then you've got your 500! I've gotta log off soon.
This may seem like a stupid question, but what is Relevant magazine? I don't think it is sold over here.
This may seem like a stupid question, but what is Relevant magazine? I don't think it is sold over here.
odowdpa
The Fly
it made me laugh when you made that selling out reference because its so very true. i'm a young reporter/journalist myself, out of college only three years. the thing is, and im sure you know this as well, you won't make squat as a newspaper beat writer. you have to move to a more specialized region, whether it be as a sports writer, stock market reporter, industry whatever. you have to make yourself a commodity in some field in order to make some bucks in this biz. you have to be able to do something that the avg person wouldn't be able to do. there are always people looking to become a writer/reporter/editor because they think its a cool gig that they'd be good at, which is probably true, they can be good at it.. the fly by nighters as i call them.... they'll always be a flood of writers out there and most people can cover the local beats fairly well, which will push down salaries for obvious reasons at the small-town paper.
but find a niche for yourself. for ex., when i departed college a couple of years ago, the market was tough. the thing was, i knew i needed two things - money, and an edge to get that money. so i studied some financing and got a job at some financial industry rags. they pay well (comparably, roughly double to newspapers and that increases as you gain experience) and if you play your cards right, you can be leading a pretty damn good life as a writer. also helps if you're around a major city, but you catch my drift.
but, back to the original point, back when I was an intern at a financial publisher, i got an email of some guy's obituary.....I thought this was terrible, how some guy who was working here just died...turns out, all he did was hang up his reporters hat and became a PR guy........they sent out a whole RIP letter because of it. its very frowned upon in the biz. you're right.
sorry for the tangent! good luck!
but find a niche for yourself. for ex., when i departed college a couple of years ago, the market was tough. the thing was, i knew i needed two things - money, and an edge to get that money. so i studied some financing and got a job at some financial industry rags. they pay well (comparably, roughly double to newspapers and that increases as you gain experience) and if you play your cards right, you can be leading a pretty damn good life as a writer. also helps if you're around a major city, but you catch my drift.
but, back to the original point, back when I was an intern at a financial publisher, i got an email of some guy's obituary.....I thought this was terrible, how some guy who was working here just died...turns out, all he did was hang up his reporters hat and became a PR guy........they sent out a whole RIP letter because of it. its very frowned upon in the biz. you're right.
sorry for the tangent! good luck!
OP
OP
coemgen
Rock n' Roll Doggie
First I'll answer financeguy here — Relevant magazine is a Christian magazine, but not what you'd expect a Christian mag to be. It's kind of anti-typical American Christian culture crap. It's subject matter is "God. Life. Progressive Culture." It will review a Jars of Clay CD, a PJ Harvey CD and a CD from the Cure all on the same page. It's kind of about bluring the lines between the sacred and the profane I guess you could say. It's brilliant. The guy that started it, who's about my age, has been considered a "U2 Christian." Bono, in fact, is considered the Godfather of Christian relevancy and he graced the cover of the publication about a year ago. I'm big on Christians influencing culture because that's how I, in fact, became a dedicated Christian. When I realized what the lyrics in "Until the End of the World" were about, my world changed instantly. Here you have the coolest rock star ever, and he's using irony and quoting scripture. Amazing. That's what Relevant is about. It's about being an AUTHENTIC Christian and changing culture that way. Check out www.relevantmagazine.com or www.relevantbooks.com — there you'll find a book about U2's faith as well.
By the way, their whole Web site is about to change and be even cooler in a month or so.
Thanks for the good "craic" financeguy. I'll pray for you and your career path. God bless.
By the way, their whole Web site is about to change and be even cooler in a month or so.
Thanks for the good "craic" financeguy. I'll pray for you and your career path. God bless.
OP
OP
coemgen
Rock n' Roll Doggie
odowdpa, you're so right. The pay is crap unless you specialize. I always told myself when I had a family I'd get out of newspapers because the pay and hours are crap, but my wife and I had a family unexpectedly and I haven't found a good "next step" kind of job yet. PR is seen as selling out, but my overall goal with my writing is to change things for the better, inspire people and help people. (Yes, I was inspired by what U2 does with their music.) Essentially, I'd do that with PR so I don't consider myself a sellout, but we'll see what others think if that time comes. (Not that I give a crap what others think though.)
What do you do? What kind of publication do you work at?
What do you do? What kind of publication do you work at?
financeguy
ONE love, blood, life
coemgen said:
Thank you and God bless.
OP
OP
coemgen
Rock n' Roll Doggie
I'm going to bed for the night.
Peace all.
coemgen (i.e. War Child.)
Peace all.
coemgen (i.e. War Child.)
Bono's shades
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
Another reporter reporting in...
Coemgen, have you ever thought of trying to get a job as a religion beat writer at a newspaper? We have a reporter who does that at our paper and we are only a mid-sized daily. It might be a nice way to work your way up to a job at someplace like Relevant.
Coemgen, have you ever thought of trying to get a job as a religion beat writer at a newspaper? We have a reporter who does that at our paper and we are only a mid-sized daily. It might be a nice way to work your way up to a job at someplace like Relevant.
Macfistowannabe
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
Now that you're a War Child... are you reporting for duty?
foray
Rock n' Roll Doggie
A friend of mine illustrates for Kansas City Star!
foray
foray
OP
OP
coemgen
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Bono's shades — I actually do a lot of religion writing here too. We have a religion writer, but she only does one story a week. If there's something else that's interesting going on in the faith community, I'll do something. We're based in a town of about 115,000 people and we're considered the holy land of Kansas because we're all churches. There's some crap ones out there, but there's a lot of good ones too — and they all have amazing stories coming out of them.
Macfistowannabe — Yes. I'm reporting for duty. What's the next level to get to? When do you get there?
foray, who's your friend? I know some people over at the star.
Macfistowannabe — Yes. I'm reporting for duty. What's the next level to get to? When do you get there?
foray, who's your friend? I know some people over at the star.
OP
OP
coemgen
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Bono's shades — what do you do? What kind of publication do you work for? Where?
foray
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Allan Chow
OP
OP
coemgen
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Can't say that I know him. I'll keep an eye out for his stuff though. How do you know him?
foray
Rock n' Roll Doggie
churchies.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
do you see journalism as having a "mission"? or a unique kind of public responsibility? if so, what steps do you take as a reporter and writer to further this mission?
OP
OP
coemgen
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Good q Irvine – I definitely think journalism's mission is to inform the public, be a watchdog and tell people's stories.
I do features here, so I'm not so much of a watchdog I guess, but I get excited about telling people's stories. I think everyone of us has a life filled with amazing stories. That's why I like these "Ask the" threads — we get to hear each other stories and get past our preconceived ideas of each other. People need to hear stories too. It lets us know we're not alone and at the same time, what's possible. It's also important to know what others go through. I do a lot of stories on a friend of mine here, Akot, who is from Sudan. He has a relief organization for his city of Akon, Sudan. People in Kansas are awakening to his story and the plight of his people, simply because they've heard his story (not just by me, but by others and Akot himself). That's the power of a person's story.
I also always try to do stories where people can help someone else out. You'd be surprised how willing the general community is to help others and give of themselves. And I'm sure it's not just unique to Johnson County, Kan. I think the media needs to do a better job of getting the word out about stuff like that.
I do features here, so I'm not so much of a watchdog I guess, but I get excited about telling people's stories. I think everyone of us has a life filled with amazing stories. That's why I like these "Ask the" threads — we get to hear each other stories and get past our preconceived ideas of each other. People need to hear stories too. It lets us know we're not alone and at the same time, what's possible. It's also important to know what others go through. I do a lot of stories on a friend of mine here, Akot, who is from Sudan. He has a relief organization for his city of Akon, Sudan. People in Kansas are awakening to his story and the plight of his people, simply because they've heard his story (not just by me, but by others and Akot himself). That's the power of a person's story.
I also always try to do stories where people can help someone else out. You'd be surprised how willing the general community is to help others and give of themselves. And I'm sure it's not just unique to Johnson County, Kan. I think the media needs to do a better job of getting the word out about stuff like that.
Bono's shades
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
coemgen said:
I work for a daily newspaper in Iowa with a circulation of around 20,000. My main beats are arts and entertainment and whatever goes on in a couple of the smaller towns in our coverage area. But at a paper our size any reporter can be reporting on almost anything on any given day - and that's particularly true in my case, because although we do have a pretty decent cultural/arts scene for a community our size, it's not enough to keep anyone busy 40 hours a week. I tend to fill in a lot for other reporters when they are sick or on vacation, or cover stuff that doesn't fit in any particular beat. I love covering arts and entertainment - something I never really got to specialize in before I came here even though I've always been into that kind of thing (I worked on mostly small weeklies before), but I still like being able to do some hard news.
