Back in the year of our Lord, 19____, I vowed to my college journalism instructor that I would never EVER be a reporter. Journalism was just one of the required courses for my degree in broadcasting. After that course, I was convinced I would never make a good reporter.
Uh huh.
Of my 25 years in broadcasting, I spent 15 of them as a reporter. Note to self: Never prove to the boss that you can do a job you don't want to do. I guess I didn't mind. I enjoyed the competition with the other news stations, if not the long drawn out County Commission, School Board and City Council meetings that ran into the wee hours. But it wasn't hard to give up when management ran three radio stations in our company into the ground and closed the doors. And certainly, when I answered God's call on my life and became a Pastor, I didn't expect to pick up my reporter's pen again.
Uh huh.
So now I'm freelancing for the Roscommon Voice and the new Ogemaw Voice newspapers. And I have to admit, it's kind of cool seeing my work in print. Even though I've published four books, there's something nice about knowing that someone somewhere is reading your words while enjoying their morning coffee, or sitting at a local restaurant somewhere. It's also humbling knowing that my work may be lining a bird cage or two.
So last night, I covered my first City Council meeting in over ten years. It felt very natural, even though I didn't realize that somewhere during the past decade they moved the meeting time back by an hour. Old habits die hard... I was up at 4 a.m. writing the story, just as I used to do in radio. Hmmm... I wonder if K-LOVE is looking for freelance reporters.
Uh Oh.
