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journalism stuff

Blog posts reflect the views of their authors.

I started work in this field several years ago. So I really like it. I don't really have much in the way of concerns other than stuff like 'the internet is completely taking over and is going to completely eliminate the newspaper, in particular the weekly newspaper.

I have been on the weekly 'routine' for nearly 4 years and the biggest concern is how to make the jump up to a larger paper with more than 1 press time.

I've sent my resume to numerous newspapers over the past couple years and the only response I had come to me was from Prince Albert, Sk. 


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more covering stuff

Submitted by Hamilton_93 on mer, 04/18/2012 - 01:41.

Hi everyone,

I just got back from a banquet tonight and thought I would check my blog. I am totally new to blogging. Someone told me a few years back that bloggers are eventually going to put newspaper journalists out of work, which would be bad news for guys like me.

I just got back and logged on to the Media co-op page and checked emails and saw that someone apparently left a comment under my blog, which currently contains about 8 lines! Not very much for a journalist eh? Anyway, Supposedly someone wrote something on here but either they went and deleted it or I am way too stupid to find what they wrote.

I went out to take a bunch of hockey pics tonight then came back to my desk at work, the only place in the world that I currently have internet access. It's the only place I can check Facebook, hotmail, bank updates and eventually Twitter feeds. I'm too nervous to start putting stuff on there. I got seriously facinated with Twitter when a young woman who teaches at one of the local schools here told me that she is on Twitter. She happens to be a curling coach (which now officially means she's under the category of good looking too). That was back in early March I think. She obviously has no fears of Twitter. She posted regulary when she and the team that she helped coach were in Weyburn. I signed up for an account but haven't actually used it yet. I am planning on it in the summer time. It's kind of the only thing that makes me look forward to the summer (a little bit). Nowadays, I come home from the office on a Tuesday and my first 'want' is to go home and eat something. My next thing to do is go back to sleep for a little while. I really don't like sleeping in the day time. I rarely actually get any. I am too young to sleep during the day. My body really doesn't need much of it. I was brought up as a 'nighthawk'. When I was in school in Hamilton, I would get up for 5am twice a week. We did radio broadcasts at 6 am, again at 6:30 and so on right up until 9am. It's like the army life all over again. You get your a#$% out of bed really f*&^# early then you are done for the day and it's still really early. I am like that a little bit in Yorkton on Tuesdays. It's weird because part of me really loves it. I like getting out of bed early. It makes me feel normal. Everybody else it seems does it, especially in this office, the publisher, prepress, sales, etcc., pretty much everyone except me and the newspaper's assistant editor Calvin.

He's more of a family guy. I don't think he has quite the free time that I do. Today after press, it was 'go home, eat breakfast, sleep for a bit, workout my body, watch 2 periods of Stanley Cup playoffs, then take a bunch of pictures of kids at a hockey banquet. Tomorrow there's nothing on the agenda except maybe clean up my apartment and get ready to maybe move out one day. I have a good feeling that that day will come. It is in the back of my mind all the time. My thinking right now is to one day go to the beer store, get a 2-4 or something and party myself into the night when I know that my time here is going to be done (both leaving for someone's house somewhere or leaving Yorkton altogether). I try to enjoy my time to myself as much as I can. I try to not complain about anything. I think that some people think I'm an ass sometimes, I joke about a lot of things. I can't take myself too seriously. If I do I will self destruct.

monday

Submitted by Hamilton_93 on mar, 04/24/2012 - 00:17.

Today didn't really feel like Monday. Some time ago (a few weeks or so), I decided that I would be better off by getting out of my apartment earlier each morning and hopefully get more done at my desk. Today I didn't see the need for it. There was a press conference scheduled for high school football. They had it at 11am at the football field. I got up at 8:30am. The guy that called it actually texted me four days ago seeming like he was asking my permission to do it. The guy that called it doesn't normally call little get togethers like this. I remember the last time it happened goes back to 2010 for Football Week in the Parklands. I remember Sherri was there and it was more of a conference 'feel' to it. The mayor was there, most of us media and they had it in the curling club of all places.

I got there about an hour and a half early, kind of scared that i would have the wrong time. We set up some chairs on the race track around the field. I think it was just one of those really low keyed things that, in big cities, would be one of those huge conferences that you would run into in the pro sports leagues, cameras set up everywhere, rows of reporters waiting to ask questions. I am not even one to do too much of it. By nature, I would rather sit back and take everything in. Instinctively today, I just started writing things  down on notepad. One thing I really don't ever do is ask questions in front of other people. I would argue that it's not my thing. I did get one in this morning about the scheduled starts for next year's games. I am trying to recall the Football Week conference in my head as I'm typing this. I know I had funny visions of myself being a comedian, but not sure if I actually said anything out loud. I guess now I have to do a story of some sort on it. Interestingly, with the other stuff I have ready to go, I think I want to keep this  writeup short and very sweet. I think I'm going to go home first and eat, then apply for more jobs tomorrow night after press. I keep thinking about Brittany. She's really nice. I wanted to reply to her message. I wonder what she thinks about me. I will probably cross paths with her again. Instantly the thought scares me. What if she thinks I'm an asshole now or something? Part of me can't wait for the  weekend. I am going to meet Darian Durant.

another Friday

Submitted by Hamilton_93 on ven, 05/04/2012 - 19:52.

Fridays are the one day of the week I never look forward to. At this time of year, you really have to look for something to do. When I was at my last job, it was more of a Monday to Friday job, which made it a little easier.

In this line of work you really, really have to go digging sometimes. I hate it right now because I am currently staring my 4th year on the job in the face, and I still have to put in all kinds of time on the phone in. One thing you really begin to understand with a job like this is, rarely does anyone ever come to you. For me it's always a toss up whether that's a good thing or not. I hate having to run after people all the time, but at the same time, sometimes I hate it even more when someone comes running after me. This morning me and Deb started talking really early. She has almost become someone that I have come to trust. We have some kind of respect between us. It's usually a good thing when her and I start it up. She's really busy every day, while I am completely on my own doing my thing.

Anyway she asked the lady at the front (the one who always wears sandals even when it's -15 outside) to tell me what she heard about the WHL Bantam Hockey Draft. Matt Kustra told me about it a few weeks back (April 15) which also happens to be the day I messaged Brittany and may have even started something there???  Other than that, most of what goes on on a Friday is so boring. It's probably not nearly as bad as I make it seem sometimes. But the early parts of a Friday are really hard to take. I can come across as an asshole sometimes. There's a track meet in town tomorrow so that's something. I have in my head what I want to do with the bantam draft piece, but somehow I seriously doubt that I will get ahold of all 4 players by late on Sunday. 

I took out that advance again today, took out way more than I did before. I will finally get a new iPod Touch later this month, a month and a bit without one was long enough. It was weird going to FNIS last Saturday without that thing, yet look what nearly happened with Brittany probably because I didn't have that thing in my ears. Not like anything was going to happen anyway, but it was so awesome to see her. Allthough I don't get the feeling that I communicated that to her. She is such an outgoing girl. I see good things in her near future. She has the intelligence to match her looks. I don't get that close to gorgeous girls that often.

Part of the problem with being in newspapers/journalism is coming up with something hafl decent to think about/write about. Sometimes I think of it like I'm a musician trying to piece together the perfect song. I get most of my motivation from hockey but that can't last a lot longer. My 4th column in a row could be on the NHL playoffs. Never have I written so much about Los Angeles before. And I've never been there.

It's Nashville and Phoenix tonight. Phoenix wins and Ryan is probably going to win the hockey pool. I've got Erat and the goaltenders so they're going to be my team. St. Louis is the other team. However, they may not last past Sunday evening??

I did get somewhat of a surprise when a woman I know somewhat copied one of my stories to her Facebook page. Someone commented on it making it sound like she wrote the story. Since I started in journalism, I've seen that happen twice.

Tuesday morning/night

Submitted by Hamilton_93 on mar, 05/08/2012 - 23:45.

THe Gardon guy just called again. Damn that's gets annoying sometime. I came in again tonight, trying to get in the habit of looking at other job opportunities once a week or so. There are surprisingly a lot on there. Applying for them is getting a little hard though. Anyway, checked the hotmail again and there was a message from Brittany. I didn't see that coming. I came in with the desire to delete a picture off my computer but apparently it's too late. I did a story today on a bunch of little kids going off to a summer camp as part of a school experience for some Gr. 8s. I'm a little confused about how to write all this stuff. One of the things I told him before I left St. Als was don't expect much in the way of some really long story. I probably won't start putting the information together until Thursday or Friday. I told Neil I've got a Thursday interview lined up with the woman who is the new cheerleading coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. To do it though means I have to come in on my day off.

part of me doesn't mind too much, I would rather keep myseld busy talking to supposedly hot girls (hahaha) than sit around at home all day. My stomach is hurting right now. Don't know what the hell I did (or didn't do) but it hurts. I made a note to call that landlord chick and politely ask that she tries to turn DOWN the thermostat in our building, it's so hot. It's not even funny. It's May out there right now and it's hotter inside than it is outside. Anyway there is a potential new place to look at in Canora I think sometime this week. The guy called me back but didn't mention a rent amount.

I did a column this week on the LA Kings. That was a first. I don't even like them but they sure are easy to write about these days. Almost wonder what it would be like to be a daily write in LA right now.

I have to try and find those pictures from the track meet on Thursday/Friday.

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