Elections will ruin your life

But you knew that, right?

Elections consume a reporter's life for most of an election year (which is every other year) but they're also the press bread and butter. All the stops are pulled out, no holds are barred. On the night of elections, everyone - even in the sports department - takes part.

My job? My usual MO - tweet and live blog for my paper's website from the election commission office. Probably the easiest thing a reporter could do. Except during the primaries I was live blogging, tweeting AND doing some radio commentary at the same time. I rock.

This year, I hope to have a little revenge.

At work and on the clock, I never express any strong polarizing political views. Not to coworkers, readers, sources. I'm the only one with this rule at work, which is how I know I'm a long libertarian in a sea of liberal or moderate leaning reporters and editors. It's miserable, too, because I never write one editorial piece. But I digress --

On election night in 2008, the newsroom was party central when Obama was clearly winning. So much for neutrality. Democrats were in, Republicans out.

Now...one week before the mid-term elections and it's looking pretty promising for the GOP. Across the nation and in my state.

So here's hoping that when I'm in the newsroom on this election night, they're won't be as much of a celebration as there is hand wringing and fretting. It would be nice to see smirks wiped off and worshiping editorials extinct. NO matter the party - that crap annoys me.

Ugh

You may find this hard to believe, but although reporters and editors are in the business of communication, we suck at it when it comes to communicating with each other.

Case in point: in the past week, I have had five people all forward me the same email press release that I received from the marketing company last week. They all mentioned that I might be interested in covering this story, since it's in my beat and all.

A week later, I'm still receiving emails about this. Yes, I got it. Thanks. You'd know if you asked me, Mr./Miss Editor Person.

OK. Short little rant is over.

One-Woman Newsroom

Last week, a photographer and I drove an hour into the middle of nowhere for a Halloween-themed story. Yes, it's that time of year. No reporter is immune.

This assignment includes writing a story about the legends of this supposed haunted house and it's new owner, who is way too happy to share the ghost stories.

But whereas even five years ago all I would've needed to bring was myself and a pen and a notepad (maybe a tape recorder) -- this was the list of gear on me: smart phone for GPS and voice recording, pen and notepad, DSLR camera, HD video camera. Yes, not only do I write the stories, but sometimes I also end up taking the pictures AND shooting and editing together a video story to compliment.

It's what people in the biz like to call "Backpack Journalism" and what I like to call "Way Too Much Stuff to Carry." Don't get me wrong, I like the video stuff - but usually it's more fun when that's all I have to do.

Throw in a little creaky old haunted house and that's one little cocktail o fun. Here I am with a bag over one shoulder carrying the notepad, pen and phone, the DSLR slung over the other shoulder, and carrying the HD video camera on its tripod throughout this old, sometimes structurally questionable house. The camera wobbles a little on this tripod, so I grip it tight. There's also no electricity, so I'm shooting most of my video using night vision, which is downright creepy. As the photographer told me, that will only add the spookiness factor to this whole story. I think at one point I even hit my head on something hanging from the ceiling.

I made it out alive!

At least the tour by the owner was fun and he was willing to have me mic him for sound the whole time. Some people don't like the idea of me recording everything they say for an hour. (Part of the inspiration for this blog's name.)

When I graduated from college six years ago with a degree in journalism, I was taught nothing about online multimedia or video editing and little about photography. Now I see many students have to know how to do all that. It's the next generation of journalism - where the industry is basically making every person into his or her own little newsroom.

2010: The Year of the Twitter and the Facebook

I've spent a good part of this year as an advocate for social media and the important role it plays in sharing news. I've been on Twitter since January 2008, back when people were merely talking about what they had for breakfast. I've been on Facebook since 2004 (back when it was college students only, too.)

But now it seems this year has been the year that pretty much every newspaper in the nation has started paying attention to how they can use these new-fangeled social mediums to promote themselves. Including mine.

We've had a website (side note: this year also saw AP change their style rule from "Web site" to "website.") for many years but that was about it. Earlier this year we got a Facebook page. But not much was posted. Until I and couple other reporters asked to be added as admins so we could post on our paper's Facebook. Now we're putting more out there, people are paying attention and even *thanking* us for breaking news updates, etc.

Twitter has been the big uphill battle. There are really three of us who have been adamant that The Paper create a space on our website to link to any and all employees who tweet. But because they didn't know The Twitter from The Gawker or The Slashnet, I thought all hope was gone.

A typical conversation:
"So, what do you use it for?"
"I post links to stories, have conversations with followers/readers and tease some upcoming stories."
"And how do you do that?"
"Well, it's a little hard with only 140 characters, but there is an app that lets me Tweet from anywhere."
"..."

Or this exchange after leading a social media workshop with the whole newsroom:
"I'm not going to get on Facebook just to do this."
"Why not? It's not like you'd be required to post anything to your own account. It's simply a way to access The Paper's page."
"I just don't want my name out there."

Ugh.

And then last week happened.

Exec. Editor walks up to my desk and proudly declares that he created a Facebook page so he can now contribute to The Paper's own page. I was the first one he told. He was so proud. And then, the next day, the publisher sent an email to me and the other two reporters, with a link to a shiny new page on The Paper's website, with a shiny live Twitter feed widget for all our tweets.

Victory. Is. Mine.

It only took 10 months.

Um...who?

So, I work with some interesting people. I also interact with some interesting people. When you have a daily-published phone number and email address, you will get people who contact you. About anything.

But that's another topic.

A cast of characters (which may grow over time as I remember people):

M: a friend who covers the crime beat. Has a liberal political view on just about everything, and yet we still get along.

Editor 1 (E1): One of my editors, who is better at editing. You have to fight E1 hard in order to not be walked on all the time, because E1 will pile on as many assignments as you will say "OK" to.

Editor 2 (E2): my other editor, who is known by everyone at The Paper for sub-par editing abilities.

Exec. Editor (EE): We get along, EE listens to ideas and encourages where possible. But still a part of the management and feels the pressure a lot.

K: a close friend and one of The Paper's photographers. We have many inside jokes.


Then there are those I deal with on a regular basis:

#1 Fan: this woman calls and leaves me a voicemail nearly every day complaining about something - not necessarily on the same topic as the story she originally called me about.

L: a local politician who is cute and charming and is one of the inside jokes K and I share. Whenever we see him at an event, we tell the other about the latest "L sighting."

PD: whenever I have to call about a crime, arrest, etc. I deal with the same people at our police department. Sometimes it's good to be on a first name basis with the police.

Readers: sometimes, there are just people who see me on the street, at church, at work who complain or ask or share their opinion on my job/paper/writing.

Where to begin?

I was talked into this by some friends -- Internet friends, whom I've never met and hopefully will at least humor me by reading at least a couple posts.

The idea is to share some behind-the-scenes moments as a newspaper reporter. I do want to stay as private as possible, so I'll refer to my employer as The Paper and designate people with letters for names...like me, I'm T.

I do have a few ideas for some things to share with you in future posts, like a cast of characters I work with and interact with, some things that make me glad I do what I do and some things that make me wish I was born a generation earlier, when newspapers weren't about to die.

Any insights into things you would like to know about? Please feel free to leave ideas in the comments.

Thanks!