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To Venus and Back: the two year newspaper journey.
By adriana_acosta in To venus and back
September 27, 2011

Being a journalist is difficult sometimes.

You have your fans who tell you what a great job you are doing, and then you have those who disagree with what you write.

But that’s what this job is all about.

As a professional reporter, I am there to tell the story and report the news of the day in a fair and balanced manner.

If there is a car accident, or a drug bust or even an event at the local high school, my job is to cover what’s news and happening around our county. Some stories are heart felt, community oriented stories, and other stories will entice controversy.

I was in Austin last week for the LCRA board meeting in which they discuss water for our rice farmers. I have driven as far as Dallas to write a story about a fallen hero from Palacios.

But the good thing about working for a weekly is the pace of things.

Unlike my Victoria Advocate reporter friends, they work at a harder, more hectic pace. They can be in the middle of writing an article and a car accident happens – they must drop what they are doing and go to the scene to report what’s going on and get the news to our readers in a timely matter.

As I journeyed through the path of being a reporter, I shadowed a friend who is a reporter at the Advocate. I learned a lot from him, just watching what he did, how he acted and what he did to get the story written was a great experience.

This job has its perks, but it also has its ups and downs. One day you are supported by the community for what is written, others you get not so friendly phone calls or comments.

And that’s what I enjoy about being a reporter. An article can bring many to remember a good time or event that happened, others can bring up discussion or debate about a topic that many want to know about.

As a representative of the Victoria Advocate and Matagorda Advocate, I will always strive to honor my duties as editor and general manager. I will report what is out there and never include my opinions in my writing.

When I started this column, my intention was never to have a small space in the newspaper to tell people what I was really thinking about a certain issue happening around our county.

I have always used it as a space for people to get to know me. In a sense, the real me. I have gone to events where people meet me and say, “I can finally put a face to the name.”

Anyway, the point of this column this week may not make much sense to many. But to those that does, I am happy because you have followed me through the journey of current events.

This week I celebrate two years of happy employment with the Victoria Advocate. As I have always said, I am living the dream. Two years have come and gone, but they sure have felt like I have been here longer than that.

Through this time, I have learned and grown with this newspaper.

I have seen the good - the honoring of a fallen hero, to a community gathering to deal with a local issues, to school plays and football games.

I have seen the bad and have covered a drug bust, a drowning (which I hope I never do again) to a court trial.

I love and appreciate that people in the community have always opened their door to me and have allowed me to tell their story.

That trust, I will never break.

I am glad I am editor and general manager of this newspaper during the newspapers 15th year.

This makes me glad to be a part of a newspaper that people want to read. In a sense, I feel like I am carrying the torch left by all those who have come and gone.

As I look back to the many sleepless nights, the worries and stress of putting out a newspaper every week, I am happy to know that there are people out there that enjoy reading what we work so hard every week to print and for that, I will be eternally grateful.

What do you like best about the Matagorda Advocate? Email me at aacosta@vicad.com