Follow-up

Nothing feels better than getting a phone call or an e-mail from a source I used for a story today or last week or even last semester, thanking me for a fair and balanced story, or simply for "a job well done." Of course one is doing something wrong if that is all one receives in response to their articles (isn't it part of our job to point out controversy?), but every now and then it feels nice. On the opposite side of the same coin, it's good to know when I have missed the mark on a story—gotten a fact wrong, missed a key source, lost the reader on analysis, didn't get the answer to an important question—so I appreciate critical feedback as well.

On my own end, I hereby resolve to do a better job following up on stories by informing my sources when the articles are completed and published, so they may have the opportunity to see the finished product. This will naturally result in developing a relationship of trust between my sources and me, they will see how their involvement affects the larger picture, and it will drive traffic to the publications for which I write.

Everybody wins when follow-up is involved.

getting grown up (and published)

This whole job hunt adventure is at least diversifying my portfolio a bit. Check out my latest byline at the Anniston Star today. Just sign up for the free 24-hour subscription to view the article, if you actually want to read it. If you don't, I guess you'll just have to take my word for it, until I figure out how to convert it to some file type I can upload here.