Blogs » To venus and back » Sometimes reporters have off days too.

Subscribe


 
Sometimes reporters have off days too.
By adriana_acosta in To venus and back
April 20, 2011

This week has felt like I am a balloon without a string and in desperate need for someone to grab a hold of me and bring me down to earth. On Tuesday I will be on a plane to Chicago to attend the Inland Press Association’s Mobile and Social Networking Boot Camp. This is part of one of my requirements as a fellow of the program.

I can either attend the seminar live or online and then write a report. But why not attend them live and in Chicago?

Sometimes I find myself working odd hours, mostly because I enjoy working in a quiet office – I find no distractions get me somewhere, sooner. That’s just the way I have been working for almost two years.

Facebook friends, who know I am at the office, send me messages with, “Go home!” or “Get some rest!” But I end up pushing myself to complete what I must do.

Have you ever felt like sometimes there are not enough hours in the day?

Don’t get me wrong, there are days that are not too hectic, but as production a day approach, that’s when time starts to slip out of my hands. At least that is how it feels like. You have a list of things to do, planning out what you will be doing and something gets in the way? This happened yesterday.

By Tuesday I usually know what is going on the paper, unless there is breaking news – like yesterday. Rearranging and strategically moving photos and stories have to be done. Pushing stories to the next week is also an unfortunate thing that I have done in the past.

But back to the breaking news, I was able to listen in to the NRG investor’s conference call for the STP news. I was writing notes as David Crane, president and chief operating officer of NRG spoke on the line. Once the call ended, I sprung into action to call Buddy from STP and David from the NRG. (Both spokespersons for each of the companies.) I then found myself calling different people to get community reaction. Then I called someone for a quick interview and I found myself being rude. Didn’t mean to, I was in such a rush and only focusing on one thing – to get this article out to the daily.

Now I am not saying what I did was right, I apologized – twice for having been rude. After finishing and sending the story to the Victoria Advocate editors, I found myself crying. Sometimes I find myself so focused on trying to get out the paper and gather news that I forget I am human or that the other person took their time to speak to me. Sometimes being a workaholic has its disadvantages. But I quickly had to compose myself and continue on to working on paginating Thursday’s paper.

So what is the point to this entry – sometimes reporters have off days too. I try not to show what I am thinking or feeling because, well, reporters are like poker players sometimes – you can’t let your guard down.