No, it's not permanent, just a one-month gig until a new reporter shows up.
Story count so far--10 stories--many about first quarter financial and operational reports from local energy companies. What an education. One about Fort Reno. Several on tap already for next week. Not bad for a geezer who immediately found the coffee pot, but could barely find the bathroom on Monday.
Yesterday, deadline writing on Devon Energy putting up for sale its downtown headquarters building. 2 pm news conference and then walk back to work. Turn out a short web version in 15 minutes, and complete story by 5 pm for Monday's paper. Former student, friend, and Oklahoman Real Estate Editor Richard Mize was there, covering it for today's Oklahoman. No way I can match his experience in the field or scoop him in print, since "we," the Journal Record, don't publish on Saturdays. BUT...thanks to the web, we had the news out first, on the website! And our photographer, Maike Sabolich was there too, so we have an exclusive photo of Devon CEO Larry Nichols and real estate agent and guru Mark Beffort.
It's interesting to me that after all these years, I get excited about a "scoop."
And, then on a whim, not knowing if they'd use it, I took JR Editor Ted's Streuli's email suggestion and wrote a blog: http://journalrecord.com/2
There are other stories here...getting used to a morning commute, becoming familiar with the downtown geography and the downtown business culture, working with the relatively small Oklahoma media profession when you know many of the journalists since I've been around a long time, scrambling for sources and trying to catch up at least survive working with younger journalists who know so much, working in the "real world" instead of academia, taking part in the almost palpable energy of downtown, so changed from just a few years ago, facing the pressure of having to perform so I'm not seen as some old fuddy-duddy professor who's out of touch. In other words, I survived a week completely out of my comfort zone, and I had fun and a sense of accomplishment, feeding off the energy and humor and professionalism of the people I work with.
Will write for food!
I sense that you are having fun doing something a little different.
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