The Fresher’s fare

The new job’s been a whirlwind. Almost three weeks into proceedings and I’m part of the furniture. What else could a newbie want than to blend in?
A newspaper is not a world in which one eases into things gently. It’s the nature of the business that you get in and get on – the phone, to that meeting, event, press conference, council meeting, launch, court hearing…unexpected circumstance, and so on.
Anyone that’s never worked on a newspaper will never really understand what it is like. I refer here to other journalists too.
We’re talking magazine journalists with longer deadlines, freelancers, feature writers on national dailys even – they might only write one piece per day.
The life of a news reporter is exceedingly different.
That pressure, the hectic-mania that fill you as you race to file for deadline, the buzz to be had when you get it all done can only be experienced by being on the newsdesk.
And when it’s done, there’s that sweet, sweet feeling of relief. This is when your editor tells you the final edition had gone to print.
You might get a 20 minute breather. This is when you and your colleagues have a power laze-around. I’m partial to hysterical giggles.
And then it starts all over again.
The only reason I spell all this out is because non-journalists won’t necessarily understand the mad desire to want to do this job. It’s relentless. It’s demanding. It’s not one that lets you get away with a botched job.
But there’s nothing else we’d rather get out of bed to do.