Headaches, Hunger and Happiness

In all my years of life, I don’t think I’ve ever had a more challenging week than at Next Gen Radio. I ended this week with an empty stomach and a huge headache, but with such a sense of accomplishment. Nearly 40 hours put into this project. I need a nap.

I made a lot of mistakes this week, but I’m going to use them as a learning experience. Before, pacing in my audio pieces were nonexistent. My first draft was too quick and unnatural. As Traci Tong, our managing editor, said, I need to let the man breathe.

I wish I could go back in time to when I was conducting interviews so I could do that better. Even the smallest things, like moving the microphone a centimeter away from my subject’s face would cost me an hour at the editing bay. Those hours added up to give me a pretty nasty migraine.

Making these mistakes gave me an opportunity to exercise my problem solving skills. As a journalist, it's good to be light on my toes to get around these errors. The only reasons I was able to get my piece in (relatively) on time was my problem solving skills.

I also wouldn’t have been able to get through this week without the help of my mentor, Vanessa Vancour. She kept me focused throughout the week and provided really great insight on how to build my piece and how to be a better journalist.

For the past year, I’ve been struggling with my journalistic identity. Should I use my degree to go into public relations or work for a news organization. This week helped me realized my future is in news. The only PR I want to do is NPR.

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