My college newspaper adviser, Jim Wojcik, gave me a pep talk during my first job after I graduated. Woj told me everyone’s first job is hard. Think of it as boot camp. You’re there to get real world experience. Tough it out for a year. If you hate it after a year, you move on to the next place up the career ladder.
This post continues an occasional series on writers — how and why they write, what inspires them and how they overcome challenges like writer’s block and rejection. Previously we’ve heard from Jim Ottaviani, Lara Zielin and Jennifer Worick. Today’s Q&A features Bruce DeSilva, a retired journalist now putting his writing skills to work in longer form. From his bio: Bruce…
My second job after college was at the weekly South Lyon Herald. We covered a small town in southeast Michigan like a big, wooly blanket — as the education reporter, I did a two-page spread on prom, for example. My editor there was Maria Stuart. It feels like ages ago for me, as I’ve moved numerous times, both my home…
Apparently the topic of going to bed with your mate generates a lot of interest — and truly, I’m just talking about sleeping. The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Momania blog quoted my blog post about Lucy and Ricky beds maybe being good for your marriage. Check out Theresa’s post — and the dozens of passionate comments — here. Then Information House…
The media industry is going through massive transformation, from the long, slow decline of newspaper circulation to the continuing Internet revolution and now the financial crisis of several major media companies and the folding of some large newspapers. If you’re looking for the green shoots of recovery in the media, the recent Bar Camp NewsInnovation in Philadelphia was like a garden…
So far on this blog, I’ve written a lot about career transformations. Given the economy and the number of people out of work, that’s obviously a theme on a lot of people’s minds but it’s far from the only way you might improve your life. Maybe you’d like to: — improve your relationships? — make time for a hobby or…
Welcome to all my new visitors. Thanks in large part to Jim Carty’s Paper Tiger No More, I’ve had a huge spike — for me — in blog visitors. Jim gave my interview with Tony Dearing props on his blog last night, and my Monday stats were about four times my previous best day. Since I suspect many of you…
Remember in high school art class, when you learned that two parallel lines like railroad tracks converge in the distance? Joel Zeff’s career path looks like that, with his day jobs as a reporter and PR guy merging with his hobby as a stand up comedian and improv troupe member in his current incarnation as a motivational speaker. The beauty…
